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Amazon To Offer Ad-Supported Kindle

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the make-me-an-offer-i-can-refuse dept.

awyeah writes "Amazon will soon be offering a discounted, ad-supported Wi-Fi Kindle called 'Kindle with Special Offers.' The price will be $114, a $25 discount from the $139 wifi-only device. Note that the advertisements will not appear during reading, only on the screen saver and home page. Will that be enough of a discount to get readers to purchase an ad-supported device?"

4 of 210 comments (clear)

  1. not enough of a discount by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    An ad supported kindle should be free, or at least under $40. I would gladly pay the extra $25 to not see ads. In fact, I have.

    1. Re:not enough of a discount by tophermeyer · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Prescription, do you own/have you used a Kindle?

      The way these ads are delivered is just about the least intrusive advertising vector I can think of. The ads will be displayed on the hibernation screen that appears when the Kindle is off. On current Kindles what is displayed is a rotating selection of portraits of authors or literary illustrations. Replacing those images with ads will literally cost the user absolutely nothing in terms of cost, time, or attention.

      Quite the opposite, because Amazon's recommendation system is so robust, as a current Kindle owner I would be interested in getting this on my current Kindle. Amazon does a great job of offering recommendations for e-book purchases based on what I've read in the past. We're supposed to be living in the future, it would be nice if my e-book reader is smart enough to make intelligent recommendations on what I might like to read next.

  2. An important detail by Drakkenmensch · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Will the device refuse to run if it's not able to connect to the ad server?

  3. Oh, the horror... by Diddlbiker · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...of having an ad on the cover of a device when it is turned off. Thank god your tablet, smartphone or laptop does not have a big logo on the cover, advertising its manufacturer.

    I wouldn't mind getting a $25 discount for that. The two problems that I have with it are:
    * Are the ads related to what I bought on Amazon? If I buy, say, a dozen dildos, do I have advertisments for sex toys on the cover of my kindle for the next two weeks (or until I buy something else)
    * Is Amazon going to pull a bezos on me? After two months reverting and saying "you know what, we are going to insert advertisements inside your e-book on second thought. You know, a bit like "an e-book on the kindle is just like a real book. Except that we can yank it from your shelf if we decide that's a good idea".