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Is Amazon's one more thing an Android smartphone?

Amazon is holding a press event today and while it is pretty certain they will show off a couple new Kindle devices there are also rumors of an Android smartphone.
Written by Matthew Miller, Contributing Writer

September is a crazy month for mobile fans like us and today we see Amazon holding a press event. All indications are that we will see new Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire devices, but The Verge also has information that we may see a first glimpse of an Amazon Android phone. If we do see one, you can bet it will run a custom flavor of Android similar to what we see on the Kindle Fire with the entire focus on Amazon content and their store.

Amazon announcement live blog 10am PT / 1pm ET

An Amazon phone can be a success for Amazon as it gets access to the Amazon Store into more people's hands, but it isn't easy selling phones in the US without direct carrier support and sales. With the Kindle Fire priced currently at just $199, I imagine a phone would have to come in at $99 to be competitive. The recent news of the Kindle Fire sporting Nokia Maps makes sense for a phone, but I still think the Kindle Fire is a better GPS device with the larger display. It will definitely be interesting to see how Amazon sells the phone and through what carriers. Google sells the Galaxy Nexus through the Play Store for $349, but Americans are not big fans of buying devices without a subsidy.

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