Skip to main content

Fire Phone Sales are so Bad, AT&T is Now Bundling a Fire HDX Tablet for $49

fire phoneAT&T may have just confirmed what that market survey report suggested last week: practically no one has bought the Fire Phone. The telecom has just announced a new bundle offer for the Fire Phone. Buy one and they will throw in a Fire HDX tablet for $49.

That tablet retails for $179 on Amazon.com, which means that AT&T and/or Amazon have decided to eat $130 of the retail price in order to move more Fire Phones. And that is on top of the current low low price for the Fire Phone, which is available with a two year contract for under a dollar.

The deal will go live tomorrow, and it expires on 20 November.

While the Fire HDX tablet was released last year, it’s still in some ways a current tablet which makes this offer very tempting. This tablet has only a single camera but it does have a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU with an excess of RAM, adequate storage, and great sound. It’s also going to be getting an update to run the latest FireOS Sangria, removing any temptation to upgrade.

I must admit that I am sorely tempted to by this bundle, so I’m sure that AT&T will sell loads. This could well push Fire Phone ownership into the high 5 digits, but to be honest I think this bundle would have been more effective had it been announced before the new iPhones and not a month after the launch of Apple’s flagship smartphone.

Assuming you’re not already tied down with a contract, would you buy one

Similar Articles


Comments


Rob Siders October 23, 2014 um 3:34 pm

The HDX has a camera… mine does. It’s not very good and it’s on the front, but it has one.

This could well push Fire Phone ownership into the high 5 digits …

Now that’s funny right there! 😀


Juli Monroe October 23, 2014 um 4:20 pm

Even if I weren’t tied down with a contract, I wouldn’t buy one. After my experience with my old Nook Color, I swore I wouldn’t buy a device that was limited to a crippled app store. The Amazon app store counts to me.

Nate Hoffelder October 23, 2014 um 4:49 pm

I’m not sure it’s fair to call the Amazon Appstore crippled. Second-rate, sure, but it’s not nearly as pathetically useless as the Nook App Store was. Amazon has the basics covered, and since we can sideload apps it is possible to fill in most of the holes.

I’m probably going to get one. I really only need the Fire Phone to fill the basic needs of a smartphone, which it can do. And since I’m not going to be allowed back to CES without a smartphone (it’s apparently the law) I might as well take advantage of this offer.

Juli Monroe October 23, 2014 um 5:13 pm

True, nothing compared to the Nook app store, but it is missing some of my must-have apps (or was, I haven’t checked recently) like the Starbucks app. Even when they have apps which are available on Google Play, they are often an upgrade or two behind, which annoys me. Plus, no Google apps. I love the Gmail app, and I’m quite fond of Google Calendar. It’s not a bad phone. Just doesn’t meet my needs. I’m loving my HTC One M8.

Really, no CES without a smartphone? Then you definitely should get one.

Nate Hoffelder October 23, 2014 um 5:26 pm

When I confessed last year that I didn’t have a smartphone to a table of mobile gadget bloggers, one said with a shocked voice: "And they let you in?"

Google apps are important yes. I’m so used to having a feature phone and doing that stuff on my computer that I hadn’t considered that I might want to do Google stuff on my new smartphone.

Juli Monroe October 23, 2014 um 6:19 pm

Yeah, not having the Google apps seriously sucks.

Timothy Wilhoit October 23, 2014 um 6:29 pm

I just loaded Google Calendar on my HDX from 1Mobile and it opens fine. I assume it’s the same version as GP but I don’t use the app so I can’t confirm that.

Timothy Wilhoit October 23, 2014 um 6:34 pm

The instant you click "add account" it crashes/burns. Never mind. 😉

Nate Hoffelder October 23, 2014 um 6:50 pm

Yep. That’s what happens with most Google services on Fire tablets.

Sturmund Drang October 23, 2014 um 8:04 pm

Can you easily describe why Google Apss won’t run on fire devices? Are they software incompatible, or is it an intentional competing marketplace freeze out? (I don’t have a cell phone, much less a smart phone so I’m … clueless)

Nate Hoffelder October 23, 2014 um 8:57 pm

I can’t speak for the HDX, but I have tried to get Google apps running on other Fire tablets. My guess is that the apps are dependent on back end functions supplied by the OS – things that Amazon either doesn’t or can’t provide.


fjtorres October 23, 2014 um 10:48 pm

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/gadgets/amazon-fire-phone-proves-be-expensive-flop-n232696

Amazon took a hefty writedown on the Phone.
They’re sitting on $80M worth.
It’ll take a while to move’em.

Nate Hoffelder October 23, 2014 um 11:15 pm

Yep. hence this deal.


tubemonkey October 24, 2014 um 1:53 am

How much is AT&T on the hook for these phones?

I’d get one of these phones if they dropped the unlocked price by $200 ~ $250.


The Fire Phone Has Fizzled – The Digital Reader October 24, 2014 um 8:08 am

[…] know that I snarked about this topic yesterday when AT&T announced they were bundling a $49 Fire HDX tablet with new Fire Phone sales, but […]


The How and Why of Browser-Based Ebook Publishing | Digital Book World October 24, 2014 um 8:17 am

[…] Buy a Fire Phone, Get a Cheap Tablet (The Digital Reader) If September’s $0.99 Fire Phone deal boded poorly for the device’s success, this latest offer isn’t any more encouraging. Amazon is now bunding the Fire Phone with a $49 Fire HDX tablet, which usually retails on its own for $179. […]


AT&T bundles $1 Amazon Fire phone with $49 Fire HDX tablet – IT News UG June 30, 2019 um 8:52 am

[…] a Fire phone, which costs just $0.99 on a two-year contract. The deal will last until November 20, according to The Digital Reader […]


Write a Comment