There’s a new development in the world of phone-buying and this time around it’s not T-Mobile that is changing things up, but rather Amazon. This new promotion is available to Prime members only, and borrows from the Kindle e-reader Special Offers philosophy. You get the phone at a discounted price and for that you get Special Offers on your Lock Screen, below your Notifications and have Amazon apps pre-installed on your device. This is still a no-contract unlocked phone, with the only exception being the Amazon subsidy restrictions.
The first phone to participate in this promotion is the brand new Blu R1 HD. It is available as either a 1GB RAM with 8GB on-board storage for $50 subsidized (or $100 unsubsidized), or 2GB RAM with 16GB on-board storage for $60 subsidized (or $110 unsusbisized). The decision between the two is crystal clear. For an extra $10, you have to to get the 2GB RAM and 16GB on-board storage. You will have fewer performance and multi-tasking restrictions with twice the RAM and internal storage!
On top of that, this comes with Marshmallow out of the box, which means it’s ahead of 90% of Android phones in the market (sad, I know). It has a 5-inch Gorilla Glass 3 720p screen, with dual SIM slot, microSD slot with up to 64GB cards supported. As with many budget phones, it uses a Mediatek processor, the 6735 1.3GHz quad-core.
This is a GSM 4G LTE phone, so you can use it with your favorite GSM carrier (AT&T, T-Mobile, and their various MVNOs and friends). Bands are listed in the product description over there. This does NOT support T-Mobile’s VoLTE (Voice Over LTE).
If you are not a paying Prime member
If you are not a paying Prime member, eg you are on a Prime Free Trial, you can buy the phone, and after you convert to a paying Prime member, you will receive an Amazon Gift Card Balance in the amount of the difference between the regular prices and the subsidized. A pop-up at the top of the page over there explains it. Screenshot with the relevant parts highlighted right below:
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