One of the things that shocked a lot of people with Amazon"s release of the Fire Phone was the price. Marked at $199 back in June, the cost was comparable to high end devices and many wondered why Amazon wasn"t undercutting the competition in order to sell more units. As of August, speculation that Amazon sold a mere 35,000 units hit the Internet, making the device a major flop.
Today, it looks like Amazon is reversing course on the high price of the phone. The device is now being sold for only 99 cents with a two year contract on AT&T. While this is the price that the phone should"ve been at launch in order to draw in customers, the move may show that Amazon is serious about trying to compete in the mobile market. Then again, it could also signify that the company is getting out of the market and are simply giving the devices away. It"s important to note that the phone still includes a free year of Amazon Prime.
There"s no word on whether customers who have already purchased the Fire Phone at the original $199 retail price will be receiving any type of compensation. We suspect that only the most loyal of Amazon customers purchased the phone, so it"d be nice if the company rewarded that loyalty.
Source: Amazon