Bloomberg has reported that Amazon is developing their own phone in order to compete with both Android and the iPhone. They are working in conjunction with Foxconn, who also produces chipsets for Apple. However, the company won’t officially comment on the matter. Reportedly, Amazon has started to acquire several patents from different parts of the mobile world to ensure that the phone will not come under scrutiny from their competitors, adding fuel to the fire that is the recent patent wars.

With the huge success of the Kindle Fire tablet, and the next one expected to be launched in Q3 of this year, it is no surprise that Amazon would take a stab at a smartphone. It will most likely run a heavily-modified version of Android, like the Kindle Fire does. The Fire is not really an Android tablet, though, as there is almost nothing recognizably Android, with the Google Play Store having been removed.

Since they have already modified Android to such an extent, and running their own Appstore, creating a unified ecosystem wherein both the tablet and a smartphone will work should be quite simple. Questions do arise, however, as to whether the device will be made available globally, as the Kindle Fire is only for sale in the US. Amazon has quickly evolved their business from an online shopping portal to much more. It will be interesting to see where they go from here.