Is this the end for Amazon’s Fire Phone?
Two weeks after the company reportedly axed “dozens” of engineers at its Lab126 hardware division, the Fire Phone product page lists all Fire Phone models as “currently unavailable.”
“We don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock,” the website said of the 32GB and 64GB AT&T versions. The same note can be seen on the listing for the 32GB unlocked version.
Amazon did not immediately respond to PCMag’s request for comment, but a spokesperson confirmed to GeekWire that its global Fire Phone inventory sold out at the end of August.
After years of rumors, Amazon finally unveiled its answer to the smartphone last year. But tying it to AT&T, saddling it with a hefty price tag ($199 for 32GB and $299 for 64GB on contract), and limiting it to the Amazon Appstore did not help the device compete against sleeker options from Apple and Samsung.
Even a steep price cut last fall did little to move product; by year’s end, Amazon lost $170 million in the previous quarter, and was left with an $83 million surplus in unsold phones.
Still, Amazon said a Fire Phone 2 was in the works, but that appears to be on hold.
As GeekWire pointed out, there are other outlets for those desperate to buy an Amazon Fire Phone. An eBay search results in 300-plus listings, ranging from $29.50 to $679.99.
Seller “qualitycellz” is offering a 32GB model with a year of Prime and a warranty for $139; the 64GB version comes with the same perks for $159.
For more, see PCMag’s review of the Amazon Fire Phone and the slideshow above.
Amidst trouble with the Fire Phone, Amazon has reportedly ditched other projects at Lab126, according to The Wall Street Journal, including a Nitro smart stylus, Shimmer image projector, and Project Cairo 14-inch tablet. Lab126, however, is said to still be working on a PC for the kitchen, codenamed Kabinet, which works as a digital home hub and lets users order things from Amazon via voice commands.
[ Source :- Pcmag ]
