Amazon has dramatically cut the price of its Fire Phone in the United States, on the same day it announced the handset will arrive in the UK on September 30.
The retailer launched the device with for $200 (around £120) when signing up a 2-year contract on the stateside AT&T network.
Now Amazon is practically giving the 32GB device away, requiring buyers to pay just 99 cents (around 60 pence) to get their hands on the device under contract.
The 64GB version of the phone is down from $300 (about £180) on contract to just $100 (around £60), while the SIM-free version is down from $649 (around £400), to $449 (around £278).
Amazon had been widely criticised for slapping such a high price tag on the Fire Phone, given the specs were relatively modest.
Many observers, including Trusted Reviews, felt Amazon had launched a unique device with some intriguing and innovative features, but had priced itself out of a competitive market.
The company felt it was onto a winner with its Dynamic Perspective user interface, which used motion sensing cameras on the face of the device to enable users to control the phone.
The inclusion of a free year of Amazon Prime was also a touted as good value for shoppers, but the public seemed to disagree.
The price slash may be an acknowledgement of that mistake, given reports claiming the Fire Phone had attracted “no more than 35,000 sales” in the first 30 days on sale.
The price cut comes at an interesting time for Brits given the company’s vows to launch in the UK before the end of this month.
O2 will exclusively stock the device and will be free on a £33 per month contract, but there’s no word on the SIM-free pricing yet.
American consumers are used to paying a significant premium on their handsets, while Brits tend to baulk at paying more than around £30 to get their hands on a device when signing up for a contract.
Read more: Amazon Fire Phone review: Software and Performance
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
