Submitted by Mike on Fri, 07/06/2012 Amazon’s plans to enter the smart phone market this week have been running the rumor mill crazy because if there is one thing that people know is Amazon will be a real contender to take on Apple iPhone and Android based devices. With the success of the Kindle devices, no doubt the Kindle phone will sell like wild fire. Amazon also is purchasing a company that was started just 16 months ago called UpNext (1), that makes mapping software for mobile devices. So they will have their own mapping software as well. I think this should be a massive threat to smart phone makers as no doubt Amazon will sell its kindle smart phone for under $200. I for one think that it more completion in the market is a great thing, and maybe Apple will buckle and start selling the iPhone for a more reasonable price. It will be interesting to see if they use the AT&T 4G LTE network as the provider for the devices when they come out. (1) http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/02/us-amazon-maps-idUSBRE8611FI20120702