For months we have had a small trickle of rumors suggesting that Amazon intends to extend their massive success with tablets into other areas of the mobile world by developing an Amazon smartphone that is likely to be Android powered. Today's newest rumor seems to confirm these rumors, and comes along with some more juicy details. Supposedly, Amazon has already contracted with Foxconn to build 5 million Amazon smartphones. Here's a quote with some additional info,

In fact, Foxconn has reportedly actively scrambled for Amazon’s contract order for the smartphone model earlier, in order to seek a new driver for its handset shipment after witnessing its major customers, such as Nokia, bested by other smartphone vendors.

Now that Foxconn is reportedly working on Amazon’s smartphone, a couple of Taiwanese parts suppliers maintaining close business ties with the electronic contract manufacturer, including J Touch Corp. and Young Fast Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. (touch panel makers), are very likely to share the huge business pie.

Market observers pointed out that Amazon has emerged as one of the most competitive players in the global market for mobile Internet devices, mostly thanks to its low pricing strategy. Backed by its huge loyal consumer base and successful marketing strategies, the U.S. brand is believed to quickly gain its ground in the segment for smartphones in the short term.

In addition to the upcoming budget-priced smartphone model, the U.S. brand has been developing a new-edition Kindle Fire, which is scheduled to land on the market in the third quarter of 2013 and will be allegedly supplied by Quanta Computer Inc. and Compal Electronics Inc.

Supposedly, this new Amazon smartphone will debut sometime between the second and third quarter of next year and will sell between $100-$200 dollars. The source of this info was not specific on whether that price was the manufacturer cost, the full retail cost, or the subsidized cost. Of course, we will keep an eye on this and let you guys know as soon as we hear anything else.

Source: CENS

Mozilla has just added their name to the list of critics concerned with attempts to rewrite the International Telecommunication Union to give governments control of the Internet. On December 2, 2012, Mozilla came out publicly on their blog to condemn a top-secret meeting in Dubai this week that could lead to changes with how you experience the internet. The ITU is quoted as saying:

This landmark conference will review the current International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), which serve as the binding global treaty designed to facilitate international interconnection and interoperability of information and communication services, as well as ensuring their efficiency and widespread public usefulness and availability.

Yes you read that right, we are talking about a governing body controlling what you see, read and hear on the Internet. You may ask how will they be able to control the flow of information, and the answer is quite sobering. According to leaked documents, the shot callers from around the globe attending the United Nation’s World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) meeting have "floated the idea of adopting a new standard for the Internet that will implement deep packet inspection, or DPI, essentially allowing all traffic sent across the Web to be reviewed by a governing body." Remember this meeting is taking place in secret and that is why Mozilla is speaking out. An excerpt from their blog reveals their concern over the implications of such a treaty:

The issue isn't whether our governments, the UN or even the ITU should play a role in shaping the Web. The problem is that they are trying to do it behind closed doors, in secret, without us. The Web lets us speak out, share and connect around the things that matter. It creates new opportunities, holds governments to account, breaks through barriers and makes cats famous. This isn't a coincidence. It's because the Web belongs to all of us. We all get a say in how it's built.

Mozilla isn't the only Internet name jumping into the mix opposed to the ITU talks, Vint Cerf and Sir Tim Berners-Lee have joined ranks. These 2 gentlemen are two computer scientists widely regarded as instrumental figures in getting the world online. Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, spoke against the ITU just recently while attending the WCIT. Berner-Lee warned that rewriting the international treaty to put Internet regulation in the hands of government is not just unnecessary, but would cause a “disruptive threat to the stability” of the Internet as we now know it.

A lot of concerns I've heard from people have been that, in fact,

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If there was any doubt that Android and the Kindle Fire tablets are a resounding success, then you can probably dispel that theory now. To go along with rising sales of Android tablets, and especially the Kindle Fire products, we now have word from Amazon that their Appstore has skyrocketed in use. App downloads from Amazon's Appstore have risen 500% since last year. Here's a quote with a few more details,

“Amazon offers the best end-to-end solution for app and game developers,” said Aaron Rubenson, Director of Amazon Appstore for Android. “Developers can use Amazon Web Services’ building blocks as the infrastructure for their games. To enhance customer engagement, they can add features like GameCircle’s Leaderboards, Achievements, Friends, and Whispersync. Amazon’s In-App Purchasing allows developers to generate additional income. Finally, since discovery can be a major challenge for app developers, we’re providing more and more ways to help developers reach customers on Amazon, Kindle Fire devices, and in our Appstore. We’re working hard to make lives easier for developers, and to give them more ways to grow their business.”

Of course, it probably shouldn't come as a surprise that the Amazon Appstore is seeing tremendous success. Amazon has pulled off a marketing miracle with the Kindle Fire and Fire HD line of products. Their tight integration of this popular and affordable tablet within their entire Amazon ecosystem was exactly what they were aiming for. Right now the three big dogs in this field are the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and the Amazon Appstore. This market dominance will likely only increase as time goes on, since these three competitors have the most well established consumer ecosystems on the planet.

Source: BGR

Here's an amazing Monday morning deal for you guys. It's also only good for today and is limited, so take heed! Amazon is having a today only sale on their 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD. You can get the tablet for $50 bucks off, which brings it to a very tempting $249.99 price-point. The skinny of it is that you need a coupon code to get the deal. You just have to enter FIREHD89 at checkout which drops the price down from its normal $299.99. However, the deal actually works on any of their 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD tabs, so you can also get the the 32 GB or the LTE versions for $50 bucks off as well!

Source: Amazon

Amazon has announced that new technologies to help vision impaired consumers use the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD seven-inch tablets will be coming early next year. The new features are called Voice Guide and Explore by Touch. The accessibility features were previously available only on the Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch tablet.

These features will help vision impaired consumers to be able to more easily navigate the menus and content on the Kindle Fire seven-inch devices. Using this technology, visually impaired consumers will be able to enjoy books, audio books, and listen to music or easily. The larger Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch tablet has had both Voice Guide and Explore by Touch features since it launched.

Amazon says that the Voice Guide featured uses technology from a company called IVONA, which is a leading text-to-speech software engine company. Using Voice Guide navigation, any action performed by the customer on the device is read aloud. When the tablet launches a book, the system announces the book title and the fact that the book has been opened.

Continue Reading @: Kindle Fire and Fire HD tablets to get Voice Guide and Explore by Touch early next year - SlashGear