With 2014 behind it, Amazon may take all of 2015 to work on second generation Fire Phone to make debut in 2016

As we get ready to put 2014 in the history books, one of the notable releases of the year, the Amazon Fire Phone, holds a place in history as a great idea with less than ideal execution, and downright dismal sales performance.

It would be understandable to think that Amazon would not want to have another go at the smartphone segment, but that is not Jeff Bezos’ style. However, it looks like Amazon may actually take some real time to ensure its second attempt at offering a smartphone does a wee-bit better.

Of course, the fact that the company had to write-off an ulcer-inducing $80 million in unsold inventory likely has something to do with it as well. It may take the better part, or all of 2015 to sell that inventory, even at fire-sale prices, while work on the second generation Fire Phone proceeds.

By “work on the second generation,” we mean starting all over. Sources have reported that the Fire Phone team has wiped the slate clean and is starting over from scratch. Truth be told, Amazon can make this move because it is not as heavily vested in the smartphone market as its competitors who routinely release a new standard bearer every year.

On the other hand, Amazon’s late arrival to the smartphone scene also means it has no mindshare, and we are certain that Apple, Samsung, et al, are not going to take a sabbatical from development plans while Amazon draws the curtain closed for a while. The Fire Phone was a risk for sure, but the model was not well thought out, the price was wrong, the features were too much of a gimmick, and the exclusivity with AT&T probably did not help either.

What ingredients will Amazon mix into its new recipe for Fire Phone Part Deux? It is probably too early to tell, but Amazon’s Fire HD tablets have done very well in the segment, offering a lot of features while enticing customers to use Amazon’s other notable services. It stands to reason that Amazon would want to ensure all those goodies are part of whatever we see in a smartphone a year down the road. 


via: FierceWireless