Amazon Unlocks Fire Phone & Slashes Price

[Barbara1955]

I was thinking of a case like this... What you think?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A3NU7LBCAFHF2Y

[Barbara1955]

Amazon just posted this! Usually ships within 1 to 3 weeks.. ALSO Said Limited Time Only I don't mind the wait just hoping I get one.

[booklover6]

I read an article by one of the tech sites that said the deal ends today or tomorrow, but, that could be totally wrong.

You could order one now, they don't charge you until it ships, so you should be safe.

[Indio777]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I read an article by one of the tech sites that said the deal ends today or tomorrow, but, that could be totally wrong.

You could order one now, they don't charge you until it ships, so you should be safe.

I just ordered one even though I am going on vacation later on this week for 2 weeks. Figured offer wouldn't last until I got back. Will worry about a case later.

Evidently a lot of people have jumped on this offer. If I had ordered the phone yesterday I could have gotten it by tomorrow (Tuesday). But that's okay. Would have probably been a distraction on my vacation, lol. Plus this gives people more time to figure out apps from Google problem (seemingly partially solved) and other things.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Indio777

Evidently a lot of people have jumped on this offer. If I had ordered the phone yesterday I could have gotten it by tomorrow (Tuesday).

Wow, did they go from warehouses full that they couldn't get rid of, to get on the phone with China, we need another boatload!?

What does this mean long term, are they going to continue to sell these, now that they are seeing activity for this item?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by booklover6

What does this mean long term, are they going to continue to sell these, now that they are seeing activity for this item?

When released, Amazon screwed up the Fire Phone by pricing it outrageously high and then compounded that error by restricting carriers to AT&T.

There was never anything wrong with the phone. It was implementation that killed it.


PS: these statements are not directed at booklover6
.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by booklover6

What does this mean long term, are they going to continue to sell these, now that they are seeing activity for this item?

I doubt they'll keep on selling the same exact model but they pretty much said they weren't giving up on phones just yet. We'll likely see a new model in the spring. Might even be a Phablet.

What this sale does for them is prove people *will* buy an Amazon phone if the price is right and it lets them seed the market with their brand. It may be that the next Fire phone is less gee-whiz and more "basics at a bargain", say, $299 unlocked with 3 months free prime or some variation in between the launch deal and this one.

One thing seeding the market with this sale does for them: data!
They'll find out how many folks are coming in via ATT vs other carriers, how many have contracts and how many come in via prepaid...

...and how many use them as wifi-only tablets.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

...and how many use them as wifi-only tablets.

Hey, that's me

[WT Sharpe]

I am so tempted. The downsides are the carousel and being tied into the Amazon app store. Oh, and no Virgin or Verizon.

[SCION]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I am so tempted. The downsides are the carousel and being tied into the Amazon app store. Oh, and no Virgin or Verizon.

Yeah, that carousel can be a downer. Uugghh! I wish there was a "Settings" for it where you can choose what type of file to show or not show. I can't take the app icons. Would love to exclude those things.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I am so tempted. The downsides are the carousel and being tied into the Amazon app store. Oh, and no Virgin or Verizon.

The appstore thing can be side-stepped easily.
Ever hear of this site?
http://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/

I heard you can use it to download paid google play apps.
I don't buy stuff at Play but I heard some good things. I do know it works with the free apps.

[Barbara1955]

I cant take the chance they wont bill me as soon as I order. I just wont get one if it not still available on Wed. Sucks cause this will be the 3 item I tried for & for one dumb reason after another I will miss.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

It's the same case I have on my HD 6; but I'm having problems with that case. I've had it less than a day and the charging port cover won't close now. The rubbery outer case is stiff and the covers for the charging and headphone ports are hard to open. Since the charging port cover was pulled back for several hours while charging, it wants to "remember" being pulled back and refuses to close flush.

I've contacted Poetic and am waiting for their response. In the meantime, I'm not about to buy the mini version of this case if this remains an issue.

Otherwise, it's a great case. Personally, I think they should've left the port covers off. The case isn't waterproof, so they have no functional purpose. I'd cut 'em off, but that would create a weak point for possible tears; plus it would mar the appearance.

Update:

Poetic responded, and quite fast for a weekend (~24 hours). They apologized and issued a refund, even though I requested a replacement. Because of the expense involved in returning the case, they told me to keep the defective one.

This is my first experience dealing with Poetic CS. I'm very pleased with the speed of their response and the outcome of this issue. Would I purchase from them again? Yes. Would I recommend them to friends? Yes. Excellent CS like this is the key to maintaining a loyal customer base. Thank you, Poetic.

[Barbara1955]

Seems to me this was another Cyber Monday Pre-Sale NOT News of Slash in Pricing & Keeping the Phone Unlocked. Seems like a rotten trick on Amazons part.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Katie1

Seems to me this was another Cyber Monday Pre-Sale NOT News of Slash in Pricing & Keeping the Phone Unlocked. Seems like a rotten trick on Amazons part.

I don't think that's the way it started, because the "limited-time offer" banner wasn't being displayed when this went live. Instead, I bet Amazon was flooded with orders to the point that it would require them to start production again. All they were looking to do was to get rid of excess inventory and didn't expect this kind of response. So, they needed to put a halt to it.

The people running their phone division just don't have a clue. This thing is selling like hotcakes because of the price and the ability to use it on any GSM network. High prices and AT&T lock-in is what got them in this mess to begin with. Sure hope they've learned their lesson.

BTW, the 32GB version costs Amazon more than $199 to produce. I've seen figures ranging from $205~$210 just to manufacture it. They can't sustain this price point for future production runs. This Fire sale did it what it was supposed to do - eliminate inventory that wasn't moving.