Dive Brief:
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At a scheduled press event Wednesday to be led by CEO Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com is widely expected to announce its development of its first-ever smartphone.
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Bloomberg first reported in 2012 that Amazon was developing a phone that it hopes will rival the iPhone. Amazon has found success with its Kindle reader and Kinder Fire tablets, and earlier this year introduced a streaming player, Fire TV. Rumors have persisted ever since.
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If truly a reality — the purpose of the Wednesday event technically remains a mystery — an Amazon-branded phone could exponentially grow the retailer’s ability to tie consumers’ mobile behavior to its own products and services.
Dive Insight:
Sales of smartphones have dampened recently, but Amazon has a history of introducing hardware without regard to its profit potential. The motivation is much more likely to be an effort to drastically increase its already amazing ability to capture and keep customers who will buy from Amazon.