Amazon Finally Calls Time On The Fire Phone

Amazon has apparently pulled the plug on its troubled Fire smartphone, with the device no longer available to buy via the ecommerce giant’s website.

The device is currently unavailable on Amazon’s UK site, as the retailer appears to call it quits in the battle to get its smartphone into the crowded market.

“We don’t plan to replenish stock at this time,” Amazon spokeswoman Kinley Pearsall told Bloomberg. “We will continue to support our Fire phone customers.”

R.I.P.

The news is sad, but hardly surprising, given the hardships faced by the Fire phone in its short life.

First released in July 2014, the device promised much, including powerful specifications and a 3D interaction function, as well as dedicated Amazon apps and linkage.

However it was hindered by a crowded marketplace and high price point – originally going on sale in the UK in September 2014 for £399 SIM-free – and the fact it was only available from O2. This was quickly slashed by the company in the face of low sales, falling to just 99 cents in the US.

Reports last month suggested that Amazon was scaling back its device ambitions with major job cuts at Lab126, its hardware division which was responsible for the Fire phone.

The unit may still work towards producing future mobile devices, as the sources said that Lab126’s phone unit was apparently merged with the tablet and e-reader team following the struggles of the Fire phone.

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