Amazon Penny Pincher Sale On Smartphones: One Cent For Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phones

Thinking about switching service providers this winter? Buying your kid his or her first smartphone ever (hint, hint, Mom and Dad)? Amazon.com is having a big sale on smartphones, one that makes most current models available for just a penny.

Amazon has launched a Penny Pincher sale, which offers up several top Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone smartphones for one U.S. cent with a new two-year contract on Sprint, Verizon or AT&T.

The sale does have its limitations, though. Amazon isn't offering top-of-the-line Android-powered Galaxy Nexus, or the Apple iPhone, and the deep discount only applies to activations of new lines, not contract renewals. If you're sticking with your current provider, this sale is not for you; for customers signing up with one of the big three carriers for the first time, however, the one-week sale on smartphones is a great opportunity to get an excellent deal on a new handset.

(If you really want an iPhone for cheap, 2009's iPhone 3GS is available for 99 cents at AT&T and for free on Verizon and Sprint with a two-year contract.)

Among the devices offered for one cent are Android smartphones like the Motorola DROID Razr and Samsung Galaxy S II; BlackBerry smartphones like the Torch 4G and the Bold 9930; and Windows Phones like the Samsung Focus S and the HTC Arrive.

The sale is featured at Amazon Wireless, where visitors can find an array of 97 smartphones.

Amazon has these cell phone blowouts fairly regularly. Its most recent smartphone penny sale was in mid-October. If now is not the right time to buy a new smartphone, you can reasonably wait for the next one (or for Black Friday, when many smartphones traditionally get steep price cuts). If you are planning on activating a new line anyway, this Amazon sale is as good as a deal can get, with free shipping included.

The Amazon Penny Pincher event ends at midnight Pacific time on November 28 (Cyber Monday). Head over to the Amazon Wireless page for a look at all of the smartphones on offer.

Comments

[66readerwriter]

01:36 PM on 11/25/2011

The makers of smart phones found new ways to sell them. In my life, an old fashioned cell phone is really sufficient. But I noticed a sale at JC Penny for online shoppers. I wanted to take advantage of that instead of joining the bedlam at my local mall. To my dismay, I discovered the sale was open only to those who had a smart phone. You must scan the special bar code with your app in order buy the discounted items. It's just a gimmick to make people think life will pass them by if they don't have a smart phone. I'm holding as long as I can.

[Eric Shin]

01:15 PM on 11/25/2011

I hate those annual contracts and in this case dos annual. They are impossible to get out of, sort of like trying to escape North Korea.

[66readerwriter]

01:38 PM on 11/25/2011

Whoever thought toys would come with contracts that force you to play? It kind of takes the joy out of having the things.

[Stand Up for your Belief]

10:02 AM on 11/25/2011

No thanks. I love my Net10 services. Hated Verizon and will never go back!

[teltech543]

09:45 AM on 11/25/2011

The only problem is you still get stuck with an outrageous monthly bill and the lousiest customer service. Tracfone is the only way to go. Plus a Magicjack at home for 20.00 a year. It was the greatest day of the year three years ago when my contract expired and I threw away those phones.

[davide463]

07:45 AM on 11/25/2011

They give them away and screw you on usage and contract fees. It's like printers..... Selling for very little and screwed on ink.

[kidsgardener]

07:26 AM on 11/25/2011

another online store is offering a kit to grow a TickleMe Plant . TIckleMe Plants close their leaves and lower branches when tickled.Its for anyone who loves plants

[KraigG]

04:44 AM on 11/25/2011

I got my iphone 3GS online through ATT for a penny.

[artgrrl74]

04:32 AM on 11/25/2011

a 2 yr contract? no thanks, the service fees aren't worth it.

[mactownfun]

02:01 AM on 11/25/2011

I think they've still got some of those How-to-Manuals for Pedophiles they tried to sell a few months ago on sale for a penny too, for those of you still low enough to shop there.

[Funky Discharge]

09:59 AM on 11/22/2011

I wonder if they are offering a TracFone smart phone cheap - I'd like to get one for my brother (a current TracFone user) to try to bring him closer to the 21st century, tech-wise. It's frustrating that I cannot even send him a photo on his current phone - and he doesn't have the $$ for a standard contract.

[Kritikos]

06:02 PM on 11/21/2011

Fine print, service fees, personal info., etc..........; watch your step here.

[Stewpendous]

10:47 AM on 11/22/2011

I bought my phone through Amazon Wireless and it is the same as getting it anywhere else.... (i.E. Best Buy, Radio Shack, Etc.)

[tintintin]

05:45 PM on 11/21/2011

BEWARE!!! Try to get this deal, and Amazon will ask you for the following personal information -

1. Social Security Number
2. Date of birth
3. Driver License with expiration date

This information is not needed to process the transaction. It is the price you will pay for the discount. To put it in another way, Amazon is buying your personal information for cheap. If you still want to get the "deal", go ahead. I did not.

[Gideon Hod]

08:22 PM on 11/21/2011

Whenever you try to sign up for service with a carrier they need this information to verify your identity and prove your creditworthiness for the cellular contract. Since Amazon is acting as the wireless reseller they need it to get approval from the carrier to get you on that wireless contract.

[Stewpendous]

10:50 AM on 11/22/2011

BEWARE!!! Try to get a phone ANYWHERE and they will ask for the same information!!!

[jcbigg]

05:39 PM on 11/21/2011

Hey, save the penny and get the same phones free at www.mymajicdc.com

[PhillyKing]

04:33 PM on 11/21/2011

notice T-mo is not on the list... It is my belief that Tmo is doing anything it can to keep losing customers so that the merger with ATT get's approval... just my conspiracy theory...

[morphine507]

03:44 PM on 11/21/2011

because they were probably made for less than that in sweatshops. HUZZAH!