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(Image source: CNET)
BY ELIZABETH HAGEDORN
Amazon may soon offer its long-awaited smartphone for the very low price of free.
Former Wall Street Journal reporters Jessica Lessin and Amir Efrati first reported the
move — suggesting the online retailer plans to offer the complimentary phones directly
on Amazon.com, no wireless contract necessary. (Via JessicaLessin.com)
As The Verge points out, this strategy isn't all that new for the tech giant. Amazon's
Kindle Fire tablets already are sold at low prices as a way of getting users to buy more
from the company's app store.
But are the rumors too good to be true? As many have pointed out, "free" may be a somewhat
deceptive term, as the tech giant will need to make up its costs somehow.
One way could be requiring new smartphone customers to purchase a membership to Amazon
Prime — its $79 a year free-delivery and content services program.
It's a similar ploy Facebook used to sell its $99 HTC phone, which came preloaded with
applications from the site.
After only a month, Facebook slashed the price to just 99 cents. But even that did little
to help slumping sales. (Via AT&T)
A writer at Slate says Amazon can learn from Facebook's flop: "Unless Amazon really is
going to just start shipping scot-free phones until it runs out of them, the lesson is that
the hardware itself is going to have to hold some appeal for customers in order to catch
on."
But if the rumors hold true, Amazon's new device could come with some pretty impressive
hardware. Among those rumors, glasses-free 3D retina display with full eye tracking technology.
(Via Bloomberg)
The launch of a free phone could have competitors Google, Microsoft and Apple on edge, as all
three are trying to trying to stake a claim in the emerging market for cheap phones. Apple
is expected to debut its first low-cost iPhone next week.