Fire sale: Amazon cuts price of smartphone

The new Amazon Fire smartphone is demonstrated in Seattle, June 18, 2014. Amazon on Monday, Sept. 8, 2014, is slashing the price of its Fire smartphone, a day before Apple is expected to unveil its latest version of the iPhone. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

More Stories

The Social Security Administration's main campus is seen in Woodlawn, Md., Jan. 11, 2013. (AP P ...

Here’s when Social Security cost-of-living increase announcement will take place

(Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bizutesfaye

Fall chill: Las Vegas braces for a cool, dry Wednesday

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds a signed document during a summit to support ...

Netanyahu’s attendance was blocked by Turkish leader

Freed Palestinian prisoners carry rifles as they arrive in the Gaza Strip following their relea ...

Hamas forces give show of force; clashes in Gaza Strip with alleged gangsters

ASSOCIATED PRESS

September 8, 2014 - 1:48 pm

NEW YORK — Amazon slashed the price of its Fire smartphone Monday, a day before Apple is expected to unveil its latest version of the iPhone.

The online retailer said the Fire with 32 gigabytes of memory will now cost 99 cents when customers sign a two-year contract with AT&T. That’s down from $199.

The phone with 64 gigabytes of memory will now cost $99 with a two-year contract, down from $299.

Amazon said the phones will still come with unlimited cloud storage for photos and a free 12 months of Amazon Prime, the company’s free shipping and video-streaming plan, which normally costs $99 a year.

The Seattle-based company began selling the phone in June through a preorder. Besides a possible new iPhone, the Fire is expected to face increasing competition this fall. Samsung unveiled two new phones last week that are set to go on sale in October.

Shares of Amazon.com Inc. fell $4.04, or 1.2 percent, to close at $342.34 Monday.