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I'm cautious on their $50/yr LTE. It's definitely being subsidized somehow (as I seriously doubt AT&T is passing up $130/yr profit per customer, and not much ro

I'm cautious on their $50/yr LTE. It's definitely being subsidized somehow (as I seriously doubt AT&T is passing up $130/yr profit per customer, and not much room for profit margins for Amazon in that $500), the question is how? Using Silk to proxy all data? "Special Offers"? EDIT: "Special Offers" confirmed, on all Kindles it seems. I won't be buying such a thing. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008GFRDL0/ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008GFRDL0/

ktsmith 14y ago
I would guess that Amazon profit shares with AT&T for sales done/delivered over LTE.
keltex 14y ago
It's very low usage: For 150MB of data access a month from AT&T, and 20 GB of cloud storage from Amazon, it costs $50 a year.
- ConstantineXVI 14y ago
  It's 250MB[0], and that same allotment on the iPad through AT&T is $15/mo[1], or $180/yr. Someone's making up the difference, or someone at AT&T is getting a rather concerned phone call from Tim Cook about now. EDIT: For what it's worth, VZ's lowest iPad package is $20/mo for 1GB. If their costs were totally linear re: traffic (doubt it), the same package as above could be $5/mo ($60/yr) before any subsidy, and $10 is much easier for Amazon to make up than $130. It's entirely possible Amazon could have twisted AT&T down to this level, but not without AT&T getting heat from Apple in the process. EDIT2: ...or the non-optional lockscreen ads may be helping Amazon's costs a bit. [0] http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/09/kindle-fires-4g-package-offers-250mb-of-data-a-month-for-50-a-year/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/09/kindle-fires-4g-packa... [1] http://store.apple.com/us/buy/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad/new_ipad http://store.apple.com/us/buy/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad/new...
- jerrya 14y ago
  I'll have to look into it, because with my habits (97% of the time in a wifi zone except for the car), this would be perfect for google maps and google voice when I am in a car or out of a wifi zone. I've actually been very happy with various Android VOIP solutions. This could let me cut out having a cell much of the time (and have to carry around a larger tablet)
MartinCron 14y ago
"Special Offers" confirmed, on all Kindles it seems. I won't be buying such a thing I'm with you there. I would gladly pay the small premium for an ad-free experience. I understand why they would want to simplify their product lineup, but this is very annoying

ktsmith 14y ago

I would guess that Amazon profit shares with AT&T for sales done/delivered over LTE.

keltex 14y ago

It's very low usage: For 150MB of data access a month from AT&T, and 20 GB of cloud storage from Amazon, it costs $50 a year.

ConstantineXVI 14y ago
It's 250MB[0], and that same allotment on the iPad through AT&T is $15/mo[1], or $180/yr. Someone's making up the difference, or someone at AT&T is getting a rather concerned phone call from Tim Cook about now. EDIT: For what it's worth, VZ's lowest iPad package is $20/mo for 1GB. If their costs were totally linear re: traffic (doubt it), the same package as above could be $5/mo ($60/yr) before any subsidy, and $10 is much easier for Amazon to make up than $130. It's entirely possible Amazon could have twisted AT&T down to this level, but not without AT&T getting heat from Apple in the process. EDIT2: ...or the non-optional lockscreen ads may be helping Amazon's costs a bit. [0] http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/09/kindle-fires-4g-package-offers-250mb-of-data-a-month-for-50-a-year/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/09/kindle-fires-4g-packa... [1] http://store.apple.com/us/buy/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad/new_ipad http://store.apple.com/us/buy/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad/new...
jerrya 14y ago
I'll have to look into it, because with my habits (97% of the time in a wifi zone except for the car), this would be perfect for google maps and google voice when I am in a car or out of a wifi zone. I've actually been very happy with various Android VOIP solutions. This could let me cut out having a cell much of the time (and have to carry around a larger tablet)

MartinCron 14y ago

"Special Offers" confirmed, on all Kindles it seems. I won't be buying such a thing I'm with you there. I would gladly pay the small premium for an ad-free experience. I understand why they would want to simplify their product lineup, but this is very annoying