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"Amazon, the world\u2019s biggest e-commerce company, and HTC Corp. have been in talks since at least June to develop handsets for sale to users of the Amazon Prime service, according to two people familiar with the talks.\nA final decision hasn\u2019t been made on whether to proceed with a product or when it would be delivered, the people said, asking to not be identified because the talks are private. Amazon wants to increase the number of devices that can access its Amazon Instant Video service and seeks to sell phones through subscriptions with carriers, one of the people said.\nAmazon Prime, introduced in 2005 as a fast-shipping service, has developed into a platform for streaming and downloading media, including movies and television shows. Amazon started working with Foxconn Technology Group last year on a smartphone that would enable customers to view its content, Bloomberg News reported in July 2012.\nThree devices are being discussed by Amazon and HTC, the Financial Times reported earlier, citing people familiar with the project it didn\u2019t name.\n\u201CHTC doesn\u2019t comment on rumors and speculation,\u201D the Taoyuan, Taiwan-based company said in an emailed response yesterday. Drew Herdener, a spokesman for Seattle-based Amazon, didn\u2019t return a request for comment.\nApart from its own Kindle Fire tablets, Amazon Instant Video is compatible with Apple's iPad, iPhone and iPod as well as a range of televisions, media players and computers, according to its website.\nHTC, which worked with Facebook to develop the HTC First handset featuring the social-network company\u2019s Home software, also is helping Amazon broaden its hardware beyond the Kindle devices.\nAmazon\u2019s Herdener said last month the company has no plans to introduce a phone this year, and if it were to offer a handset it wouldn\u2019t be free.\nImage: Mandy Cheng/AFP/Getty Images"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/10/16/amazon-htc-prime-handset/>