back to article Amazon axes hated Fire Phone price: 99 pennies but a niche? Ain't none

Amazon's much-hyped Fire Phone was the talk of the town when it finally appeared in June, but the buzz died down quickly, and these days it seems like the e-commerce giant can hardly give the thing away – not that it isn't going to try. On Monday, Amazon slashed the price of its mobe to just 99 cents, provided customers sign …

  1. ecofeco Silver badge

    2 year ATT contract?

    I think we've found the problem.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 2 year ATT contract?

      Here's another...

      "...Fire Phone runs Amazon's custom "Fire OS" Android fork..."

      1. RyokuMas
        FAIL

        Re: 2 year ATT contract?

        But, but, but...

        Isn't the whole point of Android that it's open source and you're able to fork it, right? I mean, Google only guides a particular variant of Android, it doesn't control it... right?

        1. wikkity

          Re: 2 year ATT contract?

          Of course they can fork it and have done. Doesn't mean to say I want their fork on my phone. I won't even have their app store on my phone even though I've purchased a fair bit of software via it a while back.

        2. Ol' Grumpy
          Coat

          Re: 2 year ATT contract?

          They "forked" it up alright! :)

        3. Indolent Wretch

          Re: 2 year ATT contract?

          Of course... but that doesn't mean a crap fork isn't crap

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 2 year ATT contract?

      Not to mention that up until the price cut, they were pricing it the same as a iPhone 5S or what the GS5 was at launch. If they'd started with a 99 cent price they might have generated more interest, but they wasted all the launch hype by releasing it as overpriced for what it was.

      Not to mention that they'll piss off all 12 current owners of Fire phones by cutting the price by $200 only a couple months after launch. At least when Apple made a $200 price cut on original iPhone a couple months after launch they had the courtesy to make it up to the early adopters.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 2 year ATT contract?

      Carrier Exclusive deals.

      Which moron though this was an awesome way to get their phone into the hands of punters???

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: 2 year ATT contract?

        Carrier exclusive deals didn't seem to hurt the iPhone too much...just sayin'.

    4. admiraljkb

      Re: 2 year ATT contract?

      Yeah, there is NO discount. For a 2 year subsidy contract, you pay 99 cents upfront for a Fire Phone I wish the US Trade Commission would start calling the telco's (and others like Amazon) out on this. "Free" Phones really, really aren't when you pay a subsidy like that. Its just "Zero down and pay it off for two years."

    5. Levente Szileszky

      Re: 2 year ATT contract?

      Exactly. No one wants to switch to the shittiest provider a.k.a. AT&T by default, much less for a brand-new, never-heard-of new Android phone.

      And even if you would give it a run it only comes unlocked with a $450 price tag - you gotta be freakin' kidding me, Mr Bezos. Even if I consider the 1-year free Prime extension tacked on ($99) it's still $350 upfront... why on Earth Amazon does not offer *any* payment plan, like T-Mobile's highly successful Equipment Installment Plan (EIP) where it is decoupled from your plan and you pay its monthly fee independently?

      Amazon should drop it's price to $399 and offer it with an optional payment plan with no strings attached - just like TMO does wiuth EIP, they even take the phone back anytime (sans refurb offerings), clearing off any remaining payments (sort of like renting your phone.)

  2. gregthecanuck
    Trollface

    Abandon ship!

    Starting to sound like a fire sale to me...

    1. Sarah Balfour

      Re: Abandon ship!

      Fork…fire - anyone got any marshmallows…? How's about bread…? Crumpets? Muffins? Pikelets? Teacakes? Hot cross buns? Waffles?

      Talking of waffle, I'll shut up now… I know most of you don't understand how my mind works (much if the time, even *I* don't understand how it works… or even IF it works…)

  3. John Tserkezis

    Kinda makes the trend of pricing the additional 32G of flash (in the 64G model) at about 5x actual value seem not so bad when you put the lock-in and other "features" (cough) in place.

    Well done Amazon, you've bollocksed up something to the level that the carriers were unable to...

  4. Bruce Hoult

    They call $1920.99 a "fire sale"??

    Good grief ... I spend NZ$19 a month for more phone service than I need (especially minutes and SMS). In 24 months that's $456 or US$377 at today's rate.

    The Fire is only $0.99 on an $80 per month two year contract. A total $1920.99 commitment. Without a contract it's $449. And locked to AT&T.

    1. silent_count

      Re: They call $1920.99 a "fire sale"??

      The idea is that you're so focused on the alluring "99¢ up-front" cloak that you fail to notice the sword the matador cashier is holding behind it.

      1. Paul Shirley

        Re: They call $1920.99 a "fire sale"??

        The idea is amerkins are so used to getting shafted on mobile rates they know there's no escape.

    2. big_D Silver badge

      Re: They call $1920.99 a "fire sale"??

      Same here Bruce, I pay 9.99€ a month for my contract and supply my own phone. It works out much cheaper than going for a subsidized phone contract.

      1. Barry Rueger

        Re: They call $1920.99 a "fire sale"??

        Yeah, but you know those Americans - if you give them cheap cel phone service next thing you know they'll be demanding universal health care.

        1. Cliff

          Re: They call $1920.99 a "fire sale"??

          Well the 99¢ thing worked, El Reg covered it (although hardly an overwhelmingly positive plug!).

          I don't know how much data you get for $80 but I do hope it's a fuckload/approaching infinite.

          1. Efros

            Re: They call $1920.99 a "fire sale"??

            If you call 2GB infinite, which I'm sure some operators will try and convince you it is, then your hope is fulfilled.

      2. Charlie Clark Silver badge
        Coat

        Re: They call $1920.99 a "fire sale"??

        Pah, I see your € 9,99 a month and raise you my € 5 a month for data and about a € 10 a year for calls.

        After I discovered a positive correlation between the number of friends and phone charges, it was a simple decision to reduce the number of my friends! Mine's the one with "How to lose friends and piss people off".

  5. Alan Denman

    'Sucker marketing' the norm ?

    Seems to me that this servile attitude to US prices 'laughs at the people'.

    It is not 99 cents, so why does everyone in the media turn a marketing headline into a full out and out lie.

    1. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: 'Sucker marketing' the norm ?

      Because laws and regulations against false advertising was deemed "unconstitutional" and threatened "the free market" and stifled personhooded corporations "free speech rights."

      In case some people are just now getting the news, the U.S. is a total fascist nation, slowing becoming a totalitarian fascist nation.

  6. James 51

    Some of the gimmicks in the phone sound interesting like the tilt to scroll (until you need to run to catch the bus anyway). Best reason to buy one of these is still to get the instant prime video but it's a lot cheaper to buy a kindle fire for that.

    1. Thecowking

      As of yesterday, you can get instant prime video on stock android phones. It was added yesterday afternoon, just make sure your amazon app is updated and you can then use it to download the amazon instant prime video app.

      It's not enough to make me keep prime after it runs out later this year, but it's close.

  7. Cheesenough

    UK pricing of fire

    I got some spam from Amazon this morning - "No upfront cost" "with selected tariffs" on O2.

    I can't say I'm tempted.

    Did they buy the moulds from the Blackberry Z10 production line?

    1. James 51

      "Did they buy the moulds from the Blackberry Z10 production line?"

      Given that there's no micro sd card and the battery is non-removeable, no.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "Did they buy the moulds from the Blackberry Z10 production line?"

        Did you watch the video on it? Personally whoever comissioned and sanctioned that background music should be fired. WIth predjuduce. Or be forced to use the Fire phone for the next 3 years.

    2. Sarah Balfour

      Re: UK pricing of fire

      The Amazon Fire - for folk with money to burn.

      The Amazon Fire - there's no escape…

      Not the best, but I'm very tired, only not in a 'I need to crash' way, more of a 'so weak I can barely breathe, never mind stand' way. I'm 95% convinced I've Graves' disease (or hyperthyroidism in some form) but the useless NHS test says my thyroid's in 100% tippety-top condition, working perfectly! That's cos it only measures TSH, and abnormal TSH only accounts for around 10% of malfunctioning thyroids.

      I've had it with the NHS - this country doesn't HAVE a healthcare service. D'ya know what the NHS's only solution to hyperthyroidism is…?! Destroying it. If radioactive iodine don't do it, they simply rip it out yer neck. The NHS is FAR TOO FOND of ripping bits out - it doesn't CURE anything. That's not a CURE, cos you're now dependent on artificial thyroxine forever.

      Okay, I'm done. I HATE the NHS.

      1. Malcom Ryder 1

        Re: UK pricing of fire

        They do the same in the U.S., take it our before you get cancer, got a better idea?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "99 pennies but a niche? Ain't None"?

    Cute headline, but only works if you're a Yank that can't pronounce "niche". :-P

    1. Scrimgeour
      WTF?

      Re: "99 pennies but a niche? Ain't None"?

      Yeah, for anyone *still* mulling that headline, google "Jay Z 99".

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Reminds me of Blackberry (bury?)

    They launched their tablet at Ipad prices and then tied it into BB ecosystem / account, a la Apple.

    Made it so restrictive (despite the good hardware), that pissed of potential punters, except BB diehards who already had their accounts and phones with BB. WTF.

    To think that Amazon never learnt from other's mistake defies belief. Ditto Facebook.

    What was Bezos thinking? That he is mightier than Apple? Can replicate Apple's success? And by making this Phone even more restrictive than Apple's?

    Something stinks about Jeff Bezos these days ! Online retail success gone to his head. Dangerous territory, he is in.

    1. Levente Szileszky

      Re: Reminds me of Blackberry (bury?)

      Nah, this is nothing like that, it is a valid option, they are just awfully clueless at marketing and execution, it seems.

      This phone runs an Android fork and since Amazon is one of the few real app store owners they could easily make it successful - but not at this price point (market is waaay too saturated for this, they have to "buy in" to get meaningful market share) and definitely not by tying it to the most abhorrent, most disgusting, shittiest provider in America (they need to offer it through T-Mobile etc or AT LEAST make it available unlocked with an interest-free monthly payment plan with zero down payment.)

      At ~$17/month w/ an extra year of Amazon Prime extension added to my account I'd get one for my wife to tame her oniomania - but the current offerings (AT&T or $450) are very far from anything I'm willing to even just seriously consider...

  10. PaulM 1

    Keeping up with the Joneses

    Do you ever wonder how much other people's possessions are worth but are frustrated that you do not have the technology to find out? Do not worry, The Amazon Fire Phone includes a feature called firefly. What you do is take a photograph of each your neighbor's possessions. The phone then identifies the possession and automatically adds it to your Amazon cart. It has never been so easy to keep up with the Joneses.

  11. Caaaptaaaain kick arse

    99c

    Overpriced if you ask me ...

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Fire phone

    Most users when asked "Would you like to buy a Fire phone?" responded with "Can I also use it to call the cops on 911 if I need to?"

  13. Gronk

    The ads for the phone in the US were terrible. I can't believe anyone would watch them and say, "I should go buy that phone."

  14. Sloppy Crapmonster
    Thumb Up

    Congratulations on your headline

    That's one of the best headlines I've ever seen out of this fine establishment.

  15. Yugguy

    Superb headline

    Best yet - you should work for The Sun.

  16. Gannettt

    99 cents????

    "In my 9 years on this planet, that's the best deal I've ever seen!"

  17. Arctic fox
    Headmaster

    "Hated"? I do not honestly think that the public invested any strong emotions.............

    ......in Amazon's mobe at all. The impression I get from threads in non-tech magasines attached to consumer articles about the product is that hoi poloi greeted Bezos' efffort with complete disinterest - a response that IMHO is far more deadly for their image/strategy.

    1. Sarah Balfour

      Re: "Hated"? I do not honestly think that the public invested any strong emotions...

      "Disinterest"…? Is impossible to be disinterested when there's only one party. Methinks you mean 'UNinterested' - 'DISinterested' means 'impartiality'.

      Oh and we don't spell 'magazine' with an 's' here.

  18. DrXym

    Should have sold it SIM free

    Flog it for less than a similar spec Android phone and it'd probably clear out. Especially if it turned out it could be flashed to proper Android.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like