Amazon.com has denied a report that it plans to launch a free smartphone for consumers. The former Wall Street Journal reporters Amir Efrati and Jessica Lessin reported that the online retailer wants the device to be free, regardless of whether consumers sign up for a mobile service plan. According to sources familiar with the matter, Amazon would sell the phone to consumers from its website, and is also talking to operators about distributing the device. However, an Amazon spokesman denied the plans. "We have no plans to offer a phone this year, and if we were to launch a phone in the future, it would not be free, " he said.
