YOU ARE AT:Mobile MinuteReport: Amazon smartphone will be AT&T exclusive (RCR Mobile Minute)

Report: Amazon smartphone will be AT&T exclusive (RCR Mobile Minute)

Mobile Minute:
The Mobile Minute is sponsored by SpiderCloud Wireless. Amazon may be trying to create an iPhone-like buzz around its new smartphone by giving the device exclusively to AT&T. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the expected Amazon smartphone will be available only to AT&T subscribers, at least initially. Apple’s iPhone was an AT&T exclusive from 2007 until 2010.
For a wireless service provider, the benefits of being the only carrier of a new smartphone are clear. For the phone’s manufacturer, the benefits may include a streamlined manufacturing process (since the phone only needs to be configured for one U.S. network) and a marketing commitment from the carrier partner. Amazon knows that its phone will need a major marketing push in order to stand out, even if it does have the expected 3D display. Previous 3D smartphones have faded from memory and from the marketplace. For more on those 3D smartphones, see today’s video below.
Other top stories:
Report: T-Mobile US gains $2B breakup fee, will keep brand, management
If Softbank does bid for T-Mobile US, the deal will include a $2 billion breakup fee, and would install John Legere as chief of the combined company. … Read More
AT&T warns of potential device hack
The carrier says that people who have tried to unlock their smartphones may have been hacked. … Read More

ABOUT AUTHOR

Martha DeGrasse
Martha DeGrassehttp://www.nbreports.com
Martha DeGrasse is the publisher of Network Builder Reports (nbreports.com). At RCR, Martha authored more than 20 in-depth feature reports and more than 2,400 news articles. She also created the Mobile Minute and the 5 Things to Know Today series. Prior to joining RCR Wireless News, Martha produced business and technology news for CNN and Dow Jones in New York and managed the online editorial group at Hoover’s Online before taking a number of years off to be at home when her children were young. Martha is the board president of Austin's Trinity Center and is a member of the Women's Wireless Leadership Forum.