Will Amazon make a smartphone of its own?
EMILY: Hey, I�m Emily Dreyfuss.
KARYNE: and I'm Karyne Levy.
EMILY: Welcome to Rumor Has It! The show where we
round up the week's hottest tech rumors.
KARYNE: And vote on what sounds legit, and what seems
like total bunk.
EMILY: The best part is that you guys can vote, too, so don�t
go anywhere.
KARYNE: Our first rumor is from Bloomberg, citing
nameless sources who say that Amazon is working with
Foxconn to create a smartphone that'll challenge Android-
based phones and the iPhone. (Duh, what else would it
challenge... the BlackBerry?)
EMILY: Amazon has won the desktop shopping wars, but
the whole world is going mobile, and they want to capitalize
on it. For it to work, it would need one-button shopping, and
a HUGE screen so people can see what they�re buying.
KARYNE: And Amazon would sell the phone directly, which
they already have a good track record of. They proved with
the Kindles.
EMILY: Which didn�t work very well for Google and the
Android phones. So I say yea. I think the person who has
enough hubris to think Amazon can sell high-end fashion
alongside its penny books and cheese gift baskets has a lot
of nerve. And that�s Jeff Bezos, so I I say he�ll make a
smartphone.
KARYNE: Here's why I say nay. Amazon is smart, and
getting into the cell phone business this late in the game
doesn't seem like a very smart idea. It's a brutal landscape
with so much competition. How would an Amazon phone be
any different? It wouldn't. Stick with what you know
Amazon: Kindles and cheese gift baskets.
KARYNE: If you�re watching on CNET, cast your vote now
using the thumbs up, thumbs down right next to Emily�s
head in the CNET Interactive player.
EMILY: See 'em? Right there! You have the next 30 seconds
to vote. In the meantime, let�s go ask the streets of San
Francisco.
EMILY: Our second rumor is just ridiculous. The phablet
known as the Samsung Galaxy Note is being redone,
according to MK Business News who cites anonymous
sources. The next-gen Note would get Android 4.1 Jelly
Bean, which makes sense, but here�s the part that kills me:
it�s rumored to be getting a bigger screen.
KARYNE: Up from 5.3 inches to 5.5.
EMILY: That doesn�t sound like much, but the thing is
already the size of baseball glove. Karyne, when this phone
came out a few months ago, do you remember people
saying they wished it were bigger?
Karyne: Hmmm...that�s not quite how I remember it. I don�t
think people want it to be this big.
Emily: Yeah, people don�t need to be putting it in a wheel
barrow.
KARYNE: Our third and final rumor is that the next
PlayStation 3 will be super super duper slim. Plans for this
device showed up on the FCC's Web site, and UK-based
gaming site Eurogamer thinks that it's the new PS3 based
on the model number, CECH-4001x. (The current PS3's
model number is CECH-3000.) Good sleuthing!
EMILY: I wish I could swear on CNET. I�m so bleeping
excited! But honestly, size is not the most important change
that could happen to the new PlayStation. We want
innovation, a sea-change in how gaming works and looks.
So this is just about the most boring new PlayStation rumor
you could imagine, but whatever, bleep me!
KARYNE: Sony already released a PS3 Slim in 2009, so now
this could be an even slimmer slim. A cheaper slimmer slim.
Maybe it'll fit in your pocket! Maybe I'll buy one! Bleep!
EMILY: OK, so let�s get back to our first rumor. KARYNE: So
we asked them: Does Amazon have a smartphone in the
works?
EMILY: And the CNET verdict is NAY. Wow, our anonymous
council of CNET experts voted 4 to 1 against my prediction.
KARYNE: Finally!
EMILY: How did you guys do? Better than me? Our
comment of the week last week goes to HeyItsTony, who
wrote: "Apple doesn't have any law suits in the 7 inch tablet
department. So yeah. I think they'll launch their 7 inch tablet.
After they do, they can sue the hell out of everyone because
they invented it."
KARYNE: That�s our show everyone, share your rumors at
rumorhasit@cnet.com or call us at 1-800-750-CNET.
EMILY: Tune in next week for more tech rumors.
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