Amazon released the Fire Phone several months back, after the success of their eReaders came tablets and now the eCommerce giant is entering the smartphone battle with the Fire Phone. The device became the “Best selling item” on Amazon’s Electronic & Gadgets list shortly after launch, it now doesn’t even appear in the Top 50.
Amazon entered the smartphone market very late, while according to the team the device has been in development for over 5 years it is obvious the device doesn’t have the “Wow factor” we were expecting it to have, this and several other factors is what ultimately let to its death just weeks after the release of the device.
Why the Amazon Fire Phone is a Failure
- Its Ridiculous price: The first thing you think about when purchasing something from the Amazon brand is that it is usually cheap right? Its eReaders are cheap and Tablets are also inexpensive but the Amazon fire Phone is not, starting at $650 without contract and a ridiculous $199 for a two year contract. For $650 you could almost buy a Samsung Galaxy S5 or iPhone 5S lets not forget the Nexus 5 is just $399
- The Dynamic Perspective: A feature worth 4 front facing cameras. The cameras aren’t well hidden and look hideous on the device, it is also a feature most likely turned off by most users because of its battery consumption and making it hard for the user to read on the device. Learn more about how 3D works on the Fire Phone
- The Design: In todays smartphone market, if you don’t have a device that stands out from the crowd as far as design goes, don’t even bother. The Amazon Fire Phone is an incredibly bulky and heavy device, it is actually the thickest device in its price range.
- The lack of apps and FireOS: Amazon has its own app store and the Amazon Fire Phone just like the Kindle Fire tablet make use of it. All though it features some apps it is still nothing compared to the Play Store or iOS. FireOS also makes it unable to access Google Apps on the device.
- The true reason the smartphone was made: The real reason is for you to purchase more on Amazon. The device is like walking around with a bar code scanner in a store which allows you to easily purchase items on the fly. One of the main apps included with the phone is designed to take advantage of local businesses by using their store space but ordering through Amazon Prime.
Making the device an AT&T Exclusive was a huge mistake
It seems like AT&T is good at getting exclusive smartphone deals as it previously got the Facebook phone on its network and now the Fire Phone is also exclusive to AT&T, what else do they both have in common? The fact that they are both failures. The Facebook phone had even more going for it then the fire phone and lets not forget the Facebook phone only costs 99 cents while it still managed to fail.
