Just two days after the initial report, according to Efrati on Lessin's blog, an Amazon.com Inc. spokesperson has said that the company would not launch an Amazon smartphone this year.
The report went on to say that "if it did launch one in the future, it 'would not be free'."
While this doesn't quite confirm the existence of an Amazon smartphone, the spokesperson doesn't outright deny that the retail giant may still be working on a handset either.
Not free, but still cheap?
Previous Amazon smartphone rumours have pegged the phone to retail at a very cheap $100-200 (around £60-120/AU$95-190).
The 7-inch Kindle Fire HD has shown that Amazon is capable of putting together smartphone-like hardware at below-$200 prices, and with the company set to launch the Kindle Fire HD 2, an Amazon smartphone for a low price isn't so far reaching.
Of course, as the spokesperson has seemingly squashed any hopes of seeing a handset this year, we'll have to take any news with grains of salt until Amazon comes out with an announcement of the smartphone's existence.
While the spokesperson's use of "if" makes us inclined to believe that Amazon is working on a smartphone, you can also have a look at our Amazon smartphone news and rumours roundup.
Samsung offering £100 off when you buy Note and Gear
Samsung has stuck an official price tag on its unlocked Galaxy Note 3 smartphone, ahead of its release in the UK later this month.
On its UK website, the company has priced the SIM-free version at a lofty £649 with interested parties able to pre-order the device in black or white ahead of the September 25 on-sale date.
Pre-orders are also open for the Galaxy Gear smartwatch, also announced at the IFA tech show in Berlin last week, for £299.
If both devices are bought together, Samsung will knock £100 off, for a total cost of £848. How kind.
Trade-in option
Samsung is also offering the first 500 customers who pre-order to pick up from the fancy Samsung store at the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, London £50 off when they trade in an old smartphone.
The Galaxy Note 3 packs a 5.7-inch screen, Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and a Full HD Super AMOLED screen with a 1920 x 1080 resolution.
Driving Mode and screen orientation changes coming
The next update to Windows Phone 8 - known commonly as GDR3 - will incorporate a host of new features, including the ability to close apps within the multi-tasking view, it has been revealed.
The word comes from a WPCentral message board user who claims to have purchased a device from Craigslist running the as-yet-unreleased update that's scheduled to land later this year.
The heavily-requested multitasking boost will make it easier for Windows Phone users to manage open apps on their device.
Also part of the update, there'll also be a new Driving Mode, which will mute calls and texts when paired with a bluetooth headset, either automatically, or manually through the phone's options.
Textual orientation
More tidbits from GDR3 (General Distribution Release 3) include the option to control screen orientation, as well as create custom alerts for emails, messages, social networking notifications etc.
The update will also enable backups to be restored to phones over Wi-Fi, rather than USB, during the phone's initial set-up.
Is this what Apple fans will be holding aloft later this month? (credit: CTech)
The new iPhone won't be revealed for another 48 hours or so, but if you need a fix in the meantime, here are some alleged pictures of the retail box it'll arrive in.
Chinese site C Tech posted the photos this weekend, sent by an unnamed tipster, claiming to showing the iPhone 5S name and the device in all its glory, running the new iOS 7 software.
If the pics are real - and we have our doubts - it would confirm the expected iPhone 5S as the naming convention for the new handset.
However, perhaps more interesting is the depiction of a silver ring around the iPhone's classic Home button, which has been rumoured in recent weeks.
Integral
It has long been speculated that the iPhone 5S' Home button will have an integrated fingerprint sensor, allowing users to unlock the device by placing a digit on the button rather than using a passcode.
Previous reports have suggested the silver ring is simply there to distinguish those iPhones with the security tech and those without.
However, an AppleInsider report this weekend speculated that the ring's addition is integral to the workings of the fingerprint sensor rather than an aesthetic choice.
All will be revealed at the iPhone 5S launch event on Tuesday at Apple's Cupertino campus. In the meantime, do you reckon those photos are legit? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
The carefully laid SEO plans of thousands of tech sites were shredded by Google and Nestle this week, as the Android creator and the chocolate company formed an unlikely alliance to change the name of the next version of Android from 'Key Lime Pie' to 'KitKat'.
When it was announced, amazement turned into... more amazement. Feelings then stayed as amazement. Everyone is still amazed. It's amazing. It's also completely ludicrous, as Google has now turned its world-beating mobile OS and covert advert delivery mechanism into one huge, very obvious ad for an admittedly quite nice chocolate bar.
Apparently no money changed hands, although both will be expecting some serious returns thanks to the vast amount of marketing cash that'll be blown on promoting the name change, the competitions, the future phone updates and more.
But did the internet give the shock Android name change one big chunky thumbs up, or did the commenters of the world hold up some slightly smaller fingers in response?
Class action
Opinion has not been mixed on the matter. Virtually everyone is aghast. Google may as well have announced that the 'S' iteration of Android will be known as Sarin. Even on AdWeek, a site devoted to the marketing world, commenters were baffled. Michael Barnathan echoed the thoughts of many, saying: "I kept refreshing the page expecting the date to change to April 1."
But it remains September. We've just, for the tenth time, refreshed it to make sure. And if you're planning on criticising the plan, make sure you keep the confectionery experts out there happy as well as the phone nerds, as Al Shaw on AdWeek complains that the site's report was an: "Awful bit of US centric reporting given that Kit-Kat is owned by Nestle and only produced under license in the US by Hershey. Do your research!" And you do yours as well, Al, as you have incorrectly hyphenated KitKat there.
Wave the finger
Over on Wired, which rather led its readers down a certain path by having "WTF?" in its own headline, reader The Gnome wasn't happy with the new corporate dream team either, saying: "Good to see Google innovating on things like... er... more stupid Android names and even more fragmentation. I guess the fat chocolate eating nerds that buy their phones will eat this up though."
A comment which was rightfully pulled up as being a bit dumb by ElyasM, who responded with: "As opposed to the gullible, elitist hipsters that buy iPhones? I'm not sure which stereotype is worse..."
Eh? to Z
It also didn't take more than 30 seconds after the announcement for the history of Nestle to be called into question, a company which, alongside its joyous range of sugary snacks and convenience foods, has battled complaints about darker ethical dilemmas faced by some of its practises.
But for fear of lawyers, they won't be repeated here. But there was on of the more baffling comment made by TechCrunch reader ElleryFamili who complained thusly: "I hate Google's decision to formally name their Android OS versions. How am I supposed to remember if eclair came before cupcake when dealing with QA issues."
You'd think a QA person would be a bit more on the ball than that, as user KunalBhat politely and gently pointed out that: "It's alphabetical... 'e' comes after 'c'."
Totally broken
Some people found it funny, though. In the minefield of YouTube comments, where no opinion is left unhad no matter how wrong or embarrassing, user Michael Atia revealed he enjoyed it and totally got the references in KitKat's satirical video, saying: "LOL... this is like the Apple keynote when the English guy (John Ive) is talking, similar music too!" to which Eric Santos responded with the classic "Thank you, Captain Obvious."
Inflame is TechRadar's weekly look at the web's wierdest and wonderful comments. If you want more, check out what the internet said about the Hyperloop, Steve Ballmer's retirement and the PS4 and Xbox One.
