Report Overview

Putting out Fires: Amazon’s phone

Amazon has announced a new smartphone, the Fire Phone – a premium-priced device with some unique features and solid hardware; only available in the US at first, its high price and small number of apps limit its appeal.

Although initial sales are likely to be low and mainly confined to Amazon Prime members, in the short term the purpose of Fire Phone is simple: to drive increased mobile sales of everything Amazon sells.

In the longer term, Amazon needs to avoid being locked out of digital media purchasing on smartphones, increasingly the primary connected device – this is a first, although insufficient, step in that direction.