Amazon fire Phone

Amazon fire Phone

The Amazon fire phone went on sale, down from $449 to $189. But does this make it a good deal? Overall reviews of the fire phone have been mixed, and the longevity of the product might raise a few concerns. So, why did I buy the Amazon fire phone?

Amazon fire Phone Reviews

• C|Net review (3 stars)
• TechRadar Review (2.5 stars)
• Engadget Review (4 stars)
• PC Mag Review (3.5stars)

Multi-phone Family - Technology Provisioning

Any family with four cellphones will probably have a mix of old and new devices. Tot4 (the boy) has a very old phone, handed down when Tot2 (aka Mom) upgraded at Christmas. 

Sure enough, Tot3 dropped her phone (a Nokia Lumia 521) and cracked the screen. Those familiar with the Nokia will understand that replacing the screen on a $60 phone does not make sense. So a new phone order is placed, and a new phone will arrive in a couple of days.

In the meantime, my Nokia - circa Dec 2011, deserves an upgrade…

I happen to love the Kindle Fire - easy to use, uncomplicated, and tied to lots of content via my Amazon Prime membership. My Amazon Prime membership (now $99 a year) is due in April.

Buying a Dying Platform - 8 Reasons

I don’t expect the Amazon fire Phone will exist in the future unless some new feature set is added -- something tied to some new Amazon offer. And, by "the future" I mean within the next year. But here are the reasons I am not concerned:

1. $99 of the purchase price will apply when my Amazon Prime renewal is due. Since we order stuff all of the time we more than make up the $99 by avoiding shipping charges. 
2. At $189 minus $99, the actual cost of the phone is $90 + a bit for sales tax, for an unlocked, feature-rich phone
3. Anything is an upgrade from a Nokia running Windows 
4. Login with Amazon account and fire phone = Kindle fire (yeah!)
5. Transfer my T-Mobile chip, and voila… upgraded 
6. The average lifespan of a cellphone in my family is under two years
7. 1 Year warranty included -- so I might score an upgrade if this phone dies before the warranty expires.
8. Tot4 will be thrilled to have a "real phone"

Bottom Line

Rolling the dice on dated technology doesn't have to be a huge gamble. Amazon fire phone is not new, not trendy, not perfect, but the value proposition at $189 is fantastic.

~Xolo

P.S. I have an Amazon Associate account and may make a few bucks if you follow my links and buy this stuff.