Amazon Prime Members Offered Discounted Phones in Exchange for Pushed Offers

Amazon, which failed with the Fire Phone to find a market for its company-branded smartphone, is taking a different route to market through its Prime program. The company said Wednesday Prime members can buy unlocked Android smartphones at discounted prices in exchange for being pitched personalized offers on the phone’s lock screen. Amazon began taking pre-orders Wednesday for the 5-inch BLU R1 HD ($99; $49 to Prime members) with a quad-core processor and the 5.5-inch Moto G ($199; $149 to Prime members) with an octa-core processor, 2 GB RAM and 4G LTE -- with no contract commitment. Amazon is supporting the discount pricing through personalized offers and advertisements, including deals and product recommendations for products sold through its e-commerce site. When a user sees an offer she likes, she can tap to learn more or unlock the phone to dismiss the ad, Amazon said. The concept has been successful with tablets and e-readers, said Laura Orvidas, vice president-consumer electronics, saying most Fire and Kindle users have chosen the ad-supported lower priced version over the no-ad option when buying devices.