Not to be deterred by its Fire Phone disaster from a few years ago, Amazon is reportedly working on a new “Ice” lineup of smartphones. The new lineup of smartphone from the company will be aimed at emerging markets like India and will be budget oriented.

The handset will be priced around $100 and feature Google Mobile Services i.e. it will come with access to Google Play Store and other apps and services from the company. All of Amazon’s existing devices do not come with GMS access so this will be a major change in the company’s strategy.

The company is testing multiple budget prototypes of the handset, with one of them featuring a display of anywhere between 5.2-inch to 5.5-inches. It also features a Snapdragon 435 chipset, 16GB of storage, 2GB RAM, and a 13MP shooter at the rear. When it does launch, the handset will be running Android 7.1.1 Nougat. The price of the handset is not finalised yet but the company is aiming to launch it at around $100.

Surprisingly, the unit currently being tested internally at Amazon features Google Assistant but does not come with Amazon’s own Alexa. However, it is possible that by the time the final build of the software ships with the handset, it will feature Alexa integration. Alternatively, it is possible that since Alexa will be of hardly any use in a country like India, Amazon could go ahead and launch the handset without its assistant. (https://elemergente.com/) Or it could use its ‘Ice’ smartphones to officially launch Alexa in the country.

The smartphone market in India is extremely competitive so if Amazon is hoping that its ‘Ice’ smartphones don’t end up meeting the same fate as its Fire Phone, the company will have to ensure that the handsets offer a compelling feature set and hardware and don’t just rely on Alexa or Amazon integration as a selling point.