Amazon is reportedly working on its own Android based smartphone. Bloomberg published a story last week and now Wall Street Journal has also reported the 'existence' of Amazon smartphone. According to their sources the device is being tested with Asian suppliers and can go in mass production later this year or next year.

Will I Buy One?
Amazon's devices are not 'generic' Android tables or phones as you may want. They are portal devices, which means these devices give you a screen and processing power to consume Amazon content. It's a walled garden just like Apple's iOS.

One of my biggest gripes with Amazon Kindle Fire is the way they block access to Google Play Store which has a far bigger number of apps as compared to Amazon's own App Store.

Which also means you are locked into Amazon devices unlike Google Android where you can pick the device you want and still have all that content that you bought from Google Play Store.

I Love Amazon
Personally I have nothing against Amazon and I am a huge fan of Amazon when it comes to buy stuff from them. There service is awesome. But at the same time am pro-user which means I care more about the freedom that a user must have and Amazon's Kindle Fire denies that freedom, so will Amazon smartphone.

Blocking access to content from Google Play and thus also blocking access to awesome apps like Chrome Browser is not pro-user. It's not good for users as well as developers. While Google allows users to access Amazon's App Store from then Android devices, Amazon doesn't do the same which in my opinion is bad for a customer.

Amazon's smartphone will be a very restricted device unlike Android phones, so I will not be buying one unless Amazon unblocks the Google Play Store and let 'Android' users use what 'Android' has to offer.

You Can Root It
Unlike Google, Amazon is extremely notorious when it comes to the rooted devices. They behave more like Apple and Sony and push updates to break the root. So it is a constant battle between a root user and Amazon. Life is far more easier on Google Android device - unlock it, root it and use it the way you want.

As I stated above the reason I love Android is that I am free to choose the device I want. My content will always be available on that device. But with Amazon, I will be locked into the device Amazon will sell.

I just don't want to be locked down to a 'website', no matter how much I love it.

So, Amazon open up and I will embrace you.