NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
Amazon now offering discounted Android phones with their own ads and apps
Do you like Amazon? Do you want a cheap phone?
If the answer to those two questions is in the affirmative, Amazon.com, Inc. has a deal for you with the e-commerce giant now offering Prime members discounted Android phones with one small catch: the lock screen will include Amazon advertising on it in the same way the Amazon Fire tablet does, and the phone itself will include Amazon apps.
The new offering sees Amazon return to the phone business in a way after its failure with the Fire Phone, and to begin with offers a choice of two smartphones: the Blu R1 HD, and the new Motorola Moto G smartphone.
Pricing is discounted with the Blu phone being offered for $49.99, while the Motorola Moto G costing $149.99; both phones are unlocked and come with no service contract.
While both phones will have Amazon apps pre-installed, the good news is that if you’re not keen on using them they can be hidden, and unlike the Fire Phone, both phones, in this case, run a stock version of Google, Inc.’s Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system versus the heavily modified FireOS.
Notably, while Amazon apps are offered, both phones also include standard Google apps including Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, and more importantly Google Play, which is not offered on Amazon Fire tablets.
“The breakthrough pricing on unlocked smartphones is supported by personalized offers and ads, including deals and product recommendations, displayed on the phone’s lockscreen,” Amazon said in a statement. “When a customer sees an offer, they can tap to learn more about it or simply unlock their phone to dismiss.”
Selling
For Amazon, the discounted phones harks back to what the company has always wanted to do, and that is selling services and the phones serve that purpose well.
The discounts themselves are reasonable as well: the Blu phone is being offered at a 50 percent discount while the Motorola phone comes in at $50 off its standard recommend retail price, not too shabby by any stretch.
Amazon Prime members looking for a cheap Android phone can’t really go wrong with the offer, and a few Amazon ads on the lock screen is a small price to pay.
If you’re a Prime member and are interested in the deal, you can purchase the phones here.
Image credit: Amazon
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