We’ve long heard rumors of Amazon and its plan to release a smartphone. However, nothing has happened up to this point, but that doesn’t mean the plans are out the door. According to a new rumor-report from former Wall Street Journal reporter, Jessica Lessin, Amazon is interested in offering consumers a phone without contract.

Interestingly enough, this is not just another unlocked/contract-less phone; this particular phone is said to be completely free of charge. Furthermore, it is understood the retail giant is already in talks with carriers to make this plan a reality, though it is not certain if any of the top 4 carriers in the U.S. accepted the offer as of yet.

We aren’t exactly sure how Amazon will manage to sell a free smartphone without requiring customers to sign traditional two-year contracts with their carriers; we’re guessing Amazon would require a subscription to one of its own services, for example, Amazon Prime.

If Amazon pulls this off, there could be serious ramifications for the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Google. However, at the end of the day it would depend on how well built the Amazon smartphone is, and if the features and specifications are able to match up with the top selling smartphones on the market. Although, for $0 you can argue customers won’t complain too much about shortcomings.

We are curious to see how this plays out if the rumor is right on the money. We could be in for a whole new era in the mobile industry where consumers don’t exactly pay for any particular device, but the underlining services that come with it.

Should you be excited? Yup, for this means you will likely save a bit of money to go see a movie or to purchase ice cream. I don’t like ice cream!

[via Jessica Lessin, image via Wikimedia Commons]