It seems they really tried to get into the market as a no-nonsense top player, with a phone that they perceived could go head-on with the flagships of Apple, Samsung and Google.

It would have made more sense (at least as a way of putting the foot into the door) to release a cheap, decently specced phone, which would have leveraged on Amazon services to subsidise the price, with strong client apps for kindle, video streaming, and the main Amazon shop.

Hasn't Amazon built their empire with the high volume/thin margins mantra ?

Really weird, and out of "character" for Amazon.