Amazon, HTC talks of an Amazon smartphone

Amazon is reportedly entering an agreement with HTC to have the Taiwanese phone maker manufacture Amazon-branded smartphones. Devices bearing the Amazon logo could be showing up on the online retail giant's website as early as next year, The Financial Times reported Tuesday. The move would greatly benefit HTC, analysts said, which has been struggling for consumer attention while trying to compete with smartphone giants Samsung and Apple. Amazon has long been rumored to be considering entering the smartphone arena. A partnership with Amazon would not be the first such arrangement for HTC; the company joined with Google in 2008 to produce the first publicly available Android phone, and built the first of Google's Nexus phones 2 years later. It also linked up with Facebook to create the first device to be pre-loaded with the social networking giant's Facebook Home interface. An Amazon/HTC phone is not a sure thing, The Financial Times said, pointing out the timeline for launch "has been changed before and Amazon may yet decide not to release the device."