Seeking Alpha Seeking Alpha Portfolio App for iPad  You're
right, (AMZN) does not make a smartphone. The closest gadget it
creates is a tablet, which has been a huge success. But Amazon
created this before the tablet market had so many players.
Developing a smart phone is the next logical step, and it has
been inching ever closer to all the needed ingredients. Make no
mistake, the idea of an Amazon smartphone is alarming to the big
players Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Google (GOOG). It
should also strike fear into the already dwindling Nokia (NOK)
and Research In Motion (RIMM), but those are largely out of the
game at this point.  Two new developments point yet again to the
widely rumored Amazon smartphone.  First, it was announced today
that Amazon acquired 3D mapping start up UpNext for an
undisclosed sum of money. As those of you who follow the
industry will immediately note, this news come quickly on the
heels of Apple using its own maps for iOS 6 and Microsoft using
Nokia Maps for its smartphone.