Amazon Prime Members Offered Discounted Phones in Exchange for Pushed Offers
Amazon, which failed with the Fire Phone to find a market for its company-branded smartphone, is taking a different route to market through its Prime program. The company said Wednesday Prime members can buy unlocked Android smartphones at discounted prices…
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in exchange for being pitched personalized offers on the phone’s lock screen. Amazon began taking pre-orders Wednesday for the 5-inch BLU R1 HD ($99; $49 to Prime members) with a quad-core processor and the 5.5-inch Moto G ($199; $149 to Prime members) with an octa-core processor, 2 GB RAM and 4G LTE -- with no contract commitment. Amazon is supporting the discount pricing through personalized offers and advertisements, including deals and product recommendations for products sold through its e-commerce site. When a user sees an offer she likes, she can tap to learn more or unlock the phone to dismiss the ad, Amazon said. The concept has been successful with tablets and e-readers, said Laura Orvidas, vice president-consumer electronics, saying most Fire and Kindle users have chosen the ad-supported lower priced version over the no-ad option when buying devices.