Amazon’s much-hyped Fire Phone did not turn out to be as successful as expected selling just 35,000 handsets in the US since its debut.
The online retailer launched the 4.7-inch Fire Phone in the US in June with gesture control, 3D imaging features and face-tracking cameras. Both the consumers’ and critics’ response to the device has been lukewarm with an average rating of 2.3 out of five on US Amazon’s customer review page.
The Fire Phone’s failure is evident from the fact there is still $83 million of unsold devices left over with Amazon translating into a loss of around $170 million (£106 million) during the third quarter of 2014.
In an interview with the Guardian, Jorrit Van de Meulen, Amazon’s VP of devices, said: “In an honest assessment of the Fire phone, we’ve learned a lot on this one.”
“We’re undeterred, but we’re not immune to the criticism either.”
Meulen likened the Fire Phone to the first generation Kindle which initially had a rocky start but gradually went on to dominate the ebook market.
“If you look at version one of the Kindle e-reader it was pretty bad, like the reviews we received on it. But we said we’re going to keep going, keep investing and do this eventually, receiving many lumps along the way,” Meulen said.
Hinting at the possibility of Fire Phone’s next iteration, Meulen said, “We certainly read everything that’s written from customers to journalists and take note, so might the second step be slightly different than our first step, sure. I suspect that it will be.”
The Fire Phone costs £399 in the UK without a mobile phone contract and is available for free on a contract costing £28 a month for two years.
