UPDATE: Amazon Offers One-Day Sale Of AT&T Phones For Penny

Amazon Inc.'s (AMZN) offering a one-day sale Tuesday ahead of the holiday season in which AT&T Inc. (T) handsets cost only a penny each.

The sale includes noteworthy models from Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE), but excludes Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone.

Existing customers aren't eligible for the deal as Amazon's offer requires a new two-year contract with AT&T. The offer includes free two-day shipping and the online retailer will waive the activation fee.

The sale could be a boon to AT&T, giving the telco a boost in contract subscribers as the third quarter winds down. AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said on Thursday that third-quarter subscriber trends were above the second quarter.

But AT&T said it didn't have a hand in the deal.

"This is strictly an Amazon promo," said spokesman Michael Coe. "Their decision."

Amazon said its offer excludes contract extensions or upgrades and isn't valid with netbooks or prepaid phones. The site said 84 handsets are available for the promotion.

An Amazon spokesperson confirmed details of the sale.

Amazon offered a similar promotion in April 2008 in which most AT&T handset prices were slashed to a penny for a day. The online retailer regularly offers unusual deals to spur traffic.

Consumers can find some of the biggest cost-savings in the BlackBerry Bold and the refurbished HTC Fuze, which were both originally listed at $499.99, without a contract. Other noteworthy handsets offered for a penny include the BlackBerry Curve and Samsung Eternity.

Amazon shares were recently up 3.8% at $93.97.

-By Steven Russolillo, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2180; [e-mail]

(Roger Cheng contributed to this article.)