Amazon's Smartphone Delayed Until Later In The Year

Citing sources in the "flat panel supply chain," they report the "smartphone is still under its engineering verification test (EVT) period due to issues related to its mobile platform."

Because of this set back, it's not going to be produced in volume until June.

This is the second time we've heard that Amazon's smartphone production was delayed.

It's smart for Amazon to get its software perfect before releasing a phone. It's going to launch into a very crowded market: iOS and Android dominate, but Microsoft and Blackberry both have very good platforms vying for third place.

Amazon will be playing catch up with those platforms. Unlike with tablets where it made a splash through low pricing, there is no pricing advantage for a Kindle phone. Apple offers the iPhone 4 for $0, and there are a lot of low-cost Android phones.

Really, if Amazon is going to do something special with the Kindle phone, it's going to have to figure out how to cut down on data and voice plans.