The Amazon Kindle Fire has become one of the hottest-selling tablets, thanks to its low price and easy access to Amazon content. Now here comes a rumored Amazon phone, which according to reports will hit the market by the third quarter and cost between $100 and $200. The problem with an Amazon phone is that the current interface isn’t well suited for communications and sharing content. It’s all about buying more stuff, which lends the UI better to larger screen devices. I have also found Amazon’s supposedly breakthrough Silk Web browser to be slower than Safari on the iPad and Chrome on Android.

In order for an Amazon phone to really make waves, the mega-retailer will need to prove that it can evolve the Kindle user experience beyond a mere virtual vending machine. I’m talking about deeper social networking integration, a much more fluid multitasking experience, improved notifications and robust mapping and navigation (which Apple has so far failed to nail). And with only a subset of applications in the Amazon store compared with the Google Play market, Amazon could have a tough time persuading shoppers to look away from devices like the Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5S. Here’s hoping they prove me wrong.

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