LG K30 Now On Amazon Prime Exclusives
Most US consumers still get their phones from carriers because of subsidies. It makes the purchase feel less expensive than it really is, even if the total is almost always a lot more than retail. OEMs and retailers have tried to come up with ways to wean buyers away from that tradition. Amazon's answer is the somewhat controversial Prime Exclusives phones, which now welcome the already budget-friendly LG K30 among its ranks.
Exclusive to Prime subscribers, obviously, Amazon's phone-selling strategy is to shave a few dozen dollars off the regular price tag. Since nothing really comes for free, the price that buyers pay are in the form of ads, both on the lock screen and on the home screen.
That changed a bit earlier this year when Amazon stopped showing lockscreen ads on is Prime Exclusives phones. It may or may not have something to do with Google's crackdown on apps that put ads on lockscreens without actually being lockscreen apps. That said, Amazon isn't exactly behold to Google's Play Services so it wouldn't have been affected. Needless to say, Amazon decided to "improve" users' experience by nagging them less.
It might not be a high price to pay for a cheaper phone. Not that the LG K30 is that expensive to begin with. Launched earlier this month on T-Mobile, the K30 is your quintessential entry-level smartphone powered by a Snapdragon 425 and a measly 2 GB of RAM. The 5.3-inch display comes with a 720p resolution and lots of bezels and the 16 GB of internal storage will really encourage you to stick in a microSD card. The 8 megapixel rear camera and 5 megapixel rear camera won't satisfy any bokeh or even selfie cravings.
What you will really be after here is the price tag. On Amazon, the LG K30 retails for $179.99, which is already lower than what T-Mobile sells it for on its network. Amazon Prime Exclusives takes that down further to $139.99. That, of course, comes with all the Amazon preloaded apps and offers you will need to enjoy the rest of your Amazon Prime membership benefits.