Amazon Continues Aggressive Pricing on Low-end Fire Tablet Line

A week after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos touted a Q1 doubling of Fire tablet sales in the company’s earnings release (see 1604290042), Amazon slashed another $10 off the price of the starter model. The leader 8 GB Fire was priced at a 20 percent discount Monday at $39, and the Fire HD 6 was cut 30 percent to $69. ABI Research cited Amazon in March (see 1603140055) for bringing a "significant change" in the tablet market’s competitive landscape with the launch of the $49 Fire, which came in far below the average vendor selling price of $323. Amazon ranked third behind Apple and Samsung in Q4 in tablet shipments, said ABI.