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Amazon slashes mobe prices to get more eyes on lockscreen ads

Small crumb: You can pick your own network operator

Amazon has slashed the cost of its mobile handsets in return for customers eyeballing more personalised spam – its latest attempt to foist more e-commerce tat on consumers.

The deal is open to Amazon Prime members who will have to sign up to "personalized offers and ads displayed on the phone's lockscreen."

Customers will be able to choose their own mobile carrier for the unlocked handsets. But in return, they will have to view offers and products recommended by Amazon and third-party advertisers.

Amazon’s apps also come pre-installed on the devices.

Amazon already displays ads to customers on its Fire tablets and Kindle e-readers but is now extending that tactic to third-party devices.

Last year the e-commerce biz was forced to ditch its own efforts to muscle into the smartphone market, having binned its own Amazon Fire smartphones due to poor sales.

The $50 (£37) discounts will be available on Android devices such as the BLU R1 HD and the Motorola Moto G, which normally have a retail price of $99.99 (£75) and $199.99 (£150).

Laura Orvidas, veep at Amazon.com's consumer electronics unit, said: "Customers love the freedom of unlocked phones—it's the fastest growing category within cell phones on Amazon.com—so we set out to find a way to make them even more affordable for our Prime members."

She added: "We currently offer low prices supported by lockscreen offers and ads on our Fire tablets and Kindle e-readers, and they've been a hit—in fact, the vast majority of customers choose the lower-priced option. Now we're lowering prices in a similar way on new, unlocked smartphones, working with two of our best-selling brands, BLU and Motorola." ®

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