Kindle Fire Phone - Hands On Review

[Canuck_in_Japan]

That was one single person.
You also get a year of free prime with the phone so Amazon is essentially paying you $100 to take their phone. What a complete failure.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

That was one single person.
You also get a year of free prime with the phone so Amazon is essentially paying you $100 to take their phone. What a complete failure.

Prime membership doesn't make Amazon money because of the fees, it make money because of the increased revenue generated by people who go ahead and buy everything from Amazon.

And it does not cost Amaon any additional charge to hand out free membership -- at worst, it is a lost opportunity for them.

Meanwhile, here's a phone which encourages you in a multitude of ways to shop at Amazon...

[tubemonkey]

If only they'd further cut the unlocked prices

[tubemonkey]

Just saw this on Nate's blog

Fire Phone Sales are so Bad, AT&T is Now Bundling a Fire HDX Tablet for $49

AT&T may have just confirmed what that market survey report suggested last week: practically no one has bought the Fire Phone. The telecom has just announced a new bundle offer for the Fire Phone. Buy one and they will throw in a Fire HDX tablet for $49.

That tablet retails for $179 on Amazon.com, which means that AT&T and/or Amazon have decided to eat $130 of the retail price in order to move more Fire Phones. And that is on top of the current low low price for the Fire Phone, which is available with a two year contract for under a dollar.

The deal will go live tomorrow, and it expires on 20 November.

Poor Amazon

Time to lower the unlocked price again -- $249~$300 for 32GB and $299~$349 for 64GB.

[poohbear_nc]

What? Am I the only person that bought one?
I like it - and once they update the OS to manage the battery drain from WiFi it will be even better.

Hmmm .... I got a full refund for the phone ... wonder if I can get a $49 tablet for being an early sucker adopter ...

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

What? Am I the only person that bought one?
I like it - and once they update the OS to manage the battery drain from WiFi it will be even better.

Hmmm .... I got a full refund for the phone ... wonder if I can get a $49 tablet for being an early sucker adopter ...

You are - they just might put a statue of you next to the prototype Fire Phone in their museum

That was cool that you got the refund. Call 'em and see if you can get the $49 tablet. You have nothing to lose.

I'll give them $249 for an unlocked version; and I want the $49 tablet to boot

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I'll give them $249 for an unlocked version; and I want the $49 tablet to boot

Unlocked, do you still have to sign up for a contract? Or can you use it as a wifi tablet? Just curious, not interested either way.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Unlocked, do you still have to sign up for a contract? Or can you use it as a wifi tablet? Just curious, not interested either way.

If they sold it unlocked, it would be like buying a 4.7" version of a Kindle Fire. No contracts. Just keep the cellphone turned off and use it like a wifi tablet.

I have an unlocked Nexus 4 and I use it as a 4.7" Android tablet. It's like having a mini Nexus 7.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

If they sold it unlocked, it would be like buying a 4.7" version of a Kindle Fire. No contracts. Just keep the cellphone turned off and use it like a wifi tablet.

I have an unlocked Nexus 4 and I use it as a 4.7" Android tablet. It's like having a mini Nexus 7.

I'd still like to know if anyone has purchased a Fire Phone (without a service plan) and been able to go with a BYOD provider. Seems that should be possible. But given the lackluster sales, chances of such folks posting here are low.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

If they sold it unlocked, it would be like buying a 4.7" version of a Kindle Fire. No contracts. Just keep the cellphone turned off and use it like a wifi tablet.

I have an unlocked Nexus 4 and I use it as a 4.7" Android tablet. It's like having a mini Nexus 7.

In that case, even your quoted price of $249 seems very, very high, when you can get the Fire 6 for $99-$119. But I guess it all depends on one's device needs.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by booklover6

In that case, even your quoted price of $249 seems very, very high, when you can get the Fire 6 for $99-$119. But I guess it all depends on one's device needs.

It's not really high, because it costs Amazon around $205 just to build one.

Amazon may have sold its first tablet at a slight loss to gain traction in the market, but the online retail giant appears to be going a different route with its first smartphone, the Amazon Fire Phone.

In fact, Amazon looks to be making a tidy profit on its first generation of Fire Phones, right in line with phone makers selling handsets at similar prices, according to IHS Technology.

The research firm did a teardown of the Amazon Fire Phone, which retails at the unsubsidized price of $650, estimating a bill of materials (BOM) of $201 for the handset. Tack on an extra $4 for manufacturing and Amazon is still pocketing a tidy $445 per phone sold, according to IHS.

[kennyc]

"Why Amazon Insists on Losing So Much Money on Its Phone and Streaming Video"

http://www.wired.com/2014/10/amazon-...video-service/

http://recode.net/2014/10/23/amazon-...e-phone-sales/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/...0IC2EV20141023

Good Times Ahead!

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

It's not really high, because it costs Amazon around $205 just to build one.

I understand that. However I am comparing the size/price (as a mini tablet) to the size/price of the Fire 6. I'm saying I am not sure why someone would want to pay that ($249) for the phone, to use as a tablet, when the Fire 6 exists, and is significantly cheaper. What advantages would there be, especially when it doesn't even run Google Play?

On the other hand, if AT&T would offer it as a no contract Go Phone, I would be interested. That's the only cell service we use.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I understand that. However I am comparing the size/price (as a mini tablet) to the size/price of the Fire 6. I'm saying I am not sure why someone would want to pay that ($249) for the phone, to use as a tablet, when the Fire 6 exists, and is significantly cheaper. What advantages would there be, especially when it doesn't even run Google Play?

On the other hand, if AT&T would offer it as a no contract Go Phone, I would be interested. That's the only cell service we use.

I'd get the Fire Phone because it has features the Fire HD 6 doesn't:

• fits in a shirt pocket
• more storage -- 32GB / 64GB vs 8GB / 16GB
• more RAM -- 2GB vs 1GB
• better processor
• better cameras plus a flash
• GPS
• compass

AT&T exclusivity was probably the one thing that killed sales the most. What were they thinking? No one is going to switch carriers just because of this phone. It's not in the same league as the high end offerings from Apple, HTC, LG, and Samsung. Yet, Amazon priced it like it was. The reality is that this phone should've been priced the same as the phones it actually competes with spec wise - Nexus 5 and Moto X.

[zebradude]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

Lucky you. I purchased my Samsung Galaxy s5 in April and now must wait two years for the Fire phone due to my ATT contract. However, mine does have a 5.1 inch screen which is about the maximum to carry in my pants pocket. It also has Ultra Power Saving Mode for down time which gets me about 10 days between battery charges.

I'm hoping Amazon will add a Firefly app for android soon.

You probably want to buy the Fire Phone sooner than later...I don't think it will out for much longer...