Amazon To Offer Ad-Supported Kindle 210
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?"
not enough of a discount (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.
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yeah $25 off is clearly not enough, it needs to be no more than half the price to make it worth actually considering the ad supported version
I disagree. There are plenty people who buy a kindle that would happily accept a small discount in exchange for some shitty screen-savers. Personally I would get one just for the challenge of killing the ads and turning it into a regular kindle.
Re:not enough of a discount (Score:4, 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.
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Really? If it's only the screensaver that has the ads, then how do people 'click to buy' what's in the ads? User input is disabled in the screensaver.
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The ads are actually pretty unobtrusive. You can see them at the link above, about half way down the page.
They do have the ads on the hibernation screen (which are most likely 'un-clickable'), as well as ads on your homepage (which are probably clickable). I agree that $25 does seem a bit slim for the discount, but still worth it, after all how long will it be until a few clever people will probably figure out how to re-write the memory so that you have the full version.
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I agree that $25 does seem a bit slim for the discount, but still worth it, after all how long will it be until a few clever people will probably figure out how to re-write the memory so that you have the full version.
I guess Ayn Rand won after all. I wonder when, exactly, it became socially acceptable for people to just turn their ethics off on a whim? You're getting a discount for purchasing a Kindle by agreeing to view these ads - if you don't want the ads, pay the extra 25 bucks. It's simple.
It's not like you can't get a Kindle without the ads.
Re:not enough of a discount (Score:4, Insightful)
Just because advertising is currently unobtrusive doesn't mean that it always will be. When some manager realizes that his bonus is being threatened, it's amazing how obtrusive they are willing to get.
Of course, you could say that if it changes you would switch, and after a couple of years you might be looking for a new e-book reader anyway. Still, if Amazon is successful with an ad-supported Kindle you know that other manufacturers will follow suit and there will be few alternatives.
Remember when cable TV had no ads? I do.
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Just because advertising is currently unobtrusive doesn't mean that it always will be. When some manager realizes that his bonus is being threatened, it's amazing how obtrusive they are willing to get.
When that happens (and it is a possibility after all), it will most likely be another product with a different discount. But as it is, as a current Kindle user, I'd take the $25 discount on the deal that exists now, and simply ignore the ads on the hibernation mode screen saver. Or more likely, I won't ignore the ads. Demonize marketing as much as you want (and a lot of it is warranted), but if we are objective, we have to admit Amazon has always done very good targeted advertisement. When I sign in my acc
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What you say is true, but it doesn't matter.
It's not a matter of how much it costs the user, it's how much revenue it generates for Amazon. I would guess that they're going to make an additional $200 per user per ad-driven Kindle, so giving me a $25 discount is NOT enough!
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Why should I care about Amazon's revenue? When I buy a product, I make a decision based upon its value to me. As described, the ads would detract very little from my enjoyment of the product. Indeed, if they advertise products that I'm actually interested in, they may even add value from my standpoint. Besides, I'm already bored with the standard "sleep" displays. Some variety would be welcome, even if it's ads.
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I'm using Facebook as a metric, since their advertising bidding process is readily accessible. Now for this type of advertising I would assume more of a Cost Per Metric than a Cost Per Click bid. On Facebook, their Cost Per Metric bids for around $0.44-0.77 USD per 1000 Impressions. Its a bit harder to measure impressions with a Kindle, because it is not always connected to the network, and its an item that you are goin
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What you say is true, but it doesn't matter.
It's not a matter of how much it costs the user, it's how much revenue it generates for Amazon. I would guess that they're going to make an additional $200 per user per ad-driven Kindle, so giving me a $25 discount is NOT enough!
They don't buy one, and simply pay the extra for the no-advertisements variety. I for one don't give a shit if Amazon makes $1 or $200 per user-ad. I still get my $25 discount, and, considering Amazon's history, I will also get non-obtrusive advertisements on things I'm interested in. My satisfaction is not tied to their profit margin, nor I will wish them not to increase their profit simply because I'm not getting a share of that pie (something I'm not entitled to since I'm neither involved nor invest in t
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isn't there a rumor flying around about free kindles for prime members?
here is an example: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20040764-1.html [cnet.com]
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> Its more like Kindle with coupons!
KroupOn!
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It will never happen because the devices can be freed from Amazon and you just got the device for free or cost and Amazon got nothing.
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If the ads are not absurdly obnoxious then how many would really do it? Do you realise that there are people who watch broadcast TV with advertisments when they have the DVD of the same film sitting right next to the TV?
Can you buy a legal DVD of a film that doesn't have 15 minutes of commercials at the start? The "illegal" copies are much better than the original.
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Can you buy a legal DVD of a film that doesn't have 15 minutes of commercials at the start? The "illegal" copies are much better than the original.
Legal DVDs I've watched (bought in GB/IE/FR/DE/BE/LU) don't seem to have this any more.
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Yep, I've noticed a drop in the trend, though they're not completely gone. That said, almost all of them that still do it don't mess with the fastforward button anymore, so you can skip them.
It always puzzled me why they'd put ads that were really only viable for 6 months on a medium that will last decades. I put in an old VHS a few weeks back (can't even remember which film it was now) and it was advertising the "Upcoming Film" "Earth Girls Are Easy" staring Gina Davis and Jeff Goldblum . . . (for those
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What kind of idiocy creates a situation where I'm watching ads for a 23 year old movie?
It's not idiocy at all. Most sales fall in a certain period and it costs only infinitesimally more per tape to include those ads. If there is idiocy it lies in buying the product which advertises to you in a way you find offensive. Any more I prefer to rip anything before watching it and XBMC and vlc both typically allow me to skip FBI warnings and such (vlc more than XBMC, actually.)
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Yep, I've noticed a drop in the trend, though they're not completely gone. That said, almost all of them that still do it don't mess with the fastforward button anymore, so you can skip them.
It always puzzled me why they'd put ads that were really only viable for 6 months on a medium that will last decades. I put in an old VHS a few weeks back (can't even remember which film it was now) and it was advertising the "Upcoming Film" "Earth Girls Are Easy" staring Gina Davis and Jeff Goldblum . . . (for those that don't know, that film came out in 1988, and it sucked). What kind of idiocy creates a situation where I'm watching ads for a 23 year old movie?
Rub a pair of neurons (just saying') and think of the probable chance you'll see an advertisement of an old movie that you haven't seen and that might peek your curiosity. Then, voila, you go rent it. Voila again, profit for the media company.
Mildly annoying (to the point of being just an afterthought for any normal person)? Yep. Capable of producing profit for the media company? Yep.
It is not idiocy at all. Whoever came up with this (no matter how much the fanboys would want to demonize him), that pers
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If the ads are not absurdly obnoxious then how many would really do it?
It took me some time to figure out what you meant. Try complete sentences. Anyway, offering a substantially discounted Kindle would only create a market for unlocked Kindles with alternative software. Amazon most especially does not want to do this.
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they should have worked with periodicals to create a subsidy for a steeper discount.
A discount? I'd be happy (a happy subscriber) if "The Economist" cost less on Kindle than in print.
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This sort of overcharging to cover the reality that they have way more employees than really needed is the same problem the post office is facing. Weve had more rate increases in the last 10 years than the 200 years preceding. The reason is fewer items are being mailed but the cost of all the infrastructure and employees isnt changing.
I take issue with your last sentence. I think the US Post Office is handling MORE mail than it ever has. Unfortunately for us, most of it is junk ads the USPS is being paid to deliver to every mailbox.
We're only a few years away from that all ending, though. I know I've only got a handful of bills (doctor's office, health insurance) that aren't yet available online, and all of my family and friends (even the elderly) switched to email long ago. When the last holdouts switch over, I'm just going to stop visi
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Agreed, the $25 discount for a lifetime of adverts doesn't seem to be a particularly good deal. In addition, if you have the disposable income to drop $114 on a reading device, there is a good chance you can afford the extra to get one without ads.
Personally I think the discount should have been $40. Only because then it would then make that version of the Kindle cost $99 which, I b
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And why exactly 'should' it? What if Amazon have estimated the average ad revenue per device to be $25, should they drop the price by an additional $114 dollars because they enjoy losing money. Would it be better if they offered a free version that constantly spews audio ads, and shows text ads inserted in books (to earn that $139 discount) instead of this version with 'unobtrusive' ads? Personally, the discount probably isn't enough to make me take it. Perhaps enough pe
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$25 is actually insulting. In fact, I think I'm going to punch Jeff Bezos right in his smug face when I see him again.
And if this turns out to be a precursor to models that *require* ad viewing (the way movies and DVD's have gone now), I'm going to kick him in the balls too.
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Considering that the Kindle is basically a portable shopping cart for nothing but Amazon reading material, it should be under $40 already.
Wishful thinking. Why should they do that? Amazon is free to maximize profits. Perhaps in the future, when the market is sufficiently vast (and with enough indication that the Kindle is the primary shopping experience), then Amazon might be able to do that and recoup the cost of product development. The market is still not there (I think) to justify the subsidizing of a product being sold at such low cost.
It is still possible within 2 years (an eternity in tech), but not right at this moment. Not yet.
Buyers Remorse (Score:5, Insightful)
"...Will that be enough of a discount to get readers to purchase an ad-supported device?"
Probably, but chances are most users, no matter how unobtrusive the ads may be, will likely regret not forking over the "extra" $25 to try and have at least ONE electronic experience that is ad-free, as one can hardly get away from advertising these days, no matter where you are.
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Ads. Coming soon to your dreams!
Didn't you have ads in the 21st century?"
Well sure, but not in our dreams. Only on TV and radio, and in magazines, and movies, and at ball games... and on buses and milk cartons and t-shirts, and bananas and written on the sky. But not in dreams, no siree.
Damn near prescient [imdb.com] I would say!
Limited Time (Score:3)
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For $25 do I only get ads for a week or two? Or for the rest of the devices lifetime? It's not worth the discount if the latter.
Do you mean "the former" or are you being sarcastic?
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No, he means the latter. I'd take the $25 discount if it was only 2 weeks of ads.
Seriously though, if the ads aren't there while reading the book, I don't see the big deal even if it's for the lifetime of the device. The only time I look at my Kindle is when I'm actually reading a book. Now, I don't want ads myself, but I know some people who would take that kind of discount. Some people even seem to like ads..
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...Seriously though, if the ads aren't there while reading the book, I don't see the big deal even if it's for the lifetime of the device.
So, I would assume that when you DVR your favorite TV show, you do NOT fast-forward past the commercials? I mean, technically they aren't there when you're watching your TV show...
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For $25 do I only get ads for a week or two? Or for the rest of the devices lifetime? It's not worth the discount if the latter.
Do you mean "the former" or are you being sarcastic?
Did you have a brain fart?
Whoops yes!
only $25 off on a long-lived device? (Score:3)
Nope. Not nearly enough.
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Is this your entry in "how many incorrect statements can be made in one post"?
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There is a "screensaver", though of course it doesn't really act as a screensaver, it's more of a notification that the device is now on standby.
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I do actually have one - it was an unwanted gift from my mother in law. She's very nice. The only use I've had for it is using it to demo the accessibility features for a radio show I do for vision impaired people. I rather like the author portraits it displays in standby mode and would be sad to lose those to ads, esp. if only for a $25 discount.
Inevitable End Result (Score:3)
I think the inevitable end result of ad-supported e-Books is subtle (or not so subtle) product placements inserted into books. I can't wait until "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" becomes a product placement for Timex, and Tom Sawyer takes a refreshing sip of Coca-cola as he rafts down the Mississippi.
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I think the inevitable end result of ad-supported e-Books is subtle (or not so subtle) product placements inserted into books. I can't wait until "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" becomes a product placement for Timex, and Tom Sawyer takes a refreshing sip of Coca-cola as he rafts down the Mississippi.
Well it is already being done. The site wowio [wowio.com] offers some of its books for free with ads placed in the books. They also have comic books with the same formula. I'm sure it will expand a bit and it often can work well if it is the first in a series. Baen [baen.com] has done similar, though no ads in theirs. In that case the Author chose for particular books to be free and Baen was fine with it. I'm sure that publishers will come up with other interesting ideas to get more people reading.
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Tom Sawyer takes a refreshing sip of Coca-cola as he rafts down the Mississippi.
You may want to check up on your Twain, amigo. Huck Finn rafted down the Mississippi.
-damn, I'm a literature nazi
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Tom Sawyer also rafted down the Mississippi. See Chapter 13 of the Adventures of Tom Sawyer (or flip to page 116 of the Google Books link here: http://books.google.com/books?id=yBYmAAAAMAAJ&dq=Tom%20sawyer&pg=PA117#v=onepage&q=raft&f=false [google.com]).
He rafted down the river with Joe Harper and Huck Finn. I never said he rafted by himself.
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Easier to leave the text unedited, and just place banners and fullpage ads.
The text might be scanned though, and topic-relevant ads might be placed.
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An important detail (Score:4, Interesting)
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It would probably display cached ads (Score:2)
Will the device refuse to run if it's not able to connect to the ad server?
Between connections to the Internet, the device would probably display cached ads, and then it would update them when the user buys a new book.
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Will the device refuse to run if it's not able to connect to the ad server?
Blocking an ad server over your own wifi would be trivial.
Blocking an ad server over someone elses wifi, tough, but theoretically possible if you trespass inside someone elses wifi-router.
Blocking the 3G data connection to the ad server... probably not easy at all.
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Blocking an ad server over your own wifi would be trivial.
Not if the ad server is the Kindle sync server.
$25 for reduced battery life?!? (Score:3)
Sign me up!
-Rick
Re:$25 for reduced battery life?!? (Score:5, Informative)
Other than pinging the radio once in a while (which it could do while charging, if you wanted to be nice about it), putting ads on the e-ink screens do not draw extra power. The Kindle already flashes the screen once to show a "screen saver" image.
Coffee Table Real Estate (Score:5, Insightful)
At a hardware level, the e-ink screen is begging for this kind of treatment. When powered off, it's basically a coffee-table billboard waiting to happen, married to all the radios and spyware you need to profile the house its sitting in and deliver the ads.
I'm totally grossed out by this. For now it's opt in, but it won't be in the future. Expect this to show up on all kinds of crap as e-ink screen prices drop. Lunch boxes, refrigerators, etc.
Just another reason the $75 Kobo is the best e-reader on the market (I've owned a Nook, Kindle and Kobo).
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i had an REB 1100 which included a resistive touch screen indiglo backlit LCD and integrated modem to dial in and buy books.
it still had the best UI i have seen for an e reader
the the page foreward and back buttons were large flipper-ish buttons on the side that could be hit with a palm squeeze, and one of the functions was a direction button where any of the 4 sides could be designated as the top, since it was not physically symmetrical this wa
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Kindle offers orientation changing (though not automatically like the iPad and not with a single button press). The page buttons aren't as nice as what you're describing, though.
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Kindle offers orientation changing (though not automatically like the iPad and not with a single button press). The page buttons aren't as nice as what you're describing, though.
The last two generations of Kindle had automatic orientation changing, though of the five people I know with Kindles, none have left the feature enabled because it's annoying when reading while lying on one's side.
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The most popular e-readers in Europe:
http://www.pocketbook-usa.com/products/ [pocketbook-usa.com]
A little pricier, but a good selection of products.
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ebay. People are clearing out Borders locations and/or cashing in soon-to-be-void gift cards, then flipping the Kobo for a loss.
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http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-NEW-KOBO-eReader-Black-Wifi-100-Free-Books-/330541520167?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf5cf5527 [ebay.com]
I predict (Score:2)
Amazon will eventually drop the price to $99 or less, and at that price point buyers will be willing to accept a cheaper, ad-subsidized device.
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That's redundant. If $99 is a price point [wikipedia.org], then by definition it'll be accepted by buyers. I think you mean "price," not price point.
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That is the best they could do? (Score:2)
Who in their right mind would subject themselves to advertising for the life of a product to save a measly $25. One would think that after the success of the Kindle and its proprietary nature they would be able to approach advertisers and offer a rather large captive audience that is fully trackable and work out a deal to basically give kindles away....that would have impressive and could have worked to make kindles as ubiquitous as television.
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It's not that dissimilar from the ads you see in the back pages of the trashy sci-fi paperbacks. The ads are there, most people ignore them (most don't even realize they're there) but occasionally someone spots a title they might be interested in.
The Kindle ad isn't like a TV ad that you have to sit through to continue watching your show. The ad is displayed on the screen when you're not using it and disappears as soon as you turn the device on. As a current Kindle user I would be interested in getting
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Except they aren't just on screen saver, they are also on the menu's and they aren't ads for other books, in fact their first client is Buick.
Might Be Better Than It Sounds (Score:2)
The Kindle is based on e-ink, which consumes a negligible amount of electricity when displaying a page. The ads will only be displayed on the lock screen page, and the bottom of the home page. There will not be any ads on the bottom of the books themselves. This might work if Amazon regularly includes really great offers to owners of the ad-Kindle such as half-priced Amazon gift cards and books, as the article suggests.
Personally, I'd rather pay the extra $25 to get an ad-free version. However, if this work
Nope (Score:2)
Oh, the horror... (Score:5, Interesting)
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".
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Mod parent up.
I sincerely hope that all of the people who recoil in horror at the idea of ad-bearing products don't own clothes, shoes, cars, or any other products that bear their manufacturer's logo prominently.
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If I buy, say, a dozen dildos
Sounds like you throw one hell of a party.
Discount is on the wrong version (Score:2)
This discount is on the version that you have to hook to your computer in order to update. A single $25 discount seems inappropriate for this devices.
I would rather see a discount on the free-3G/wifi version of the unit. In this product, you get free 3G for life. An ad-supported model makes more sense because you continue to receive a service in exchange for continuing to receive ads. It would also allow them to update those ads more often.
The best solution would be to discount the reader a bit *and* di
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Are you quite sure you can't download updates over the 802.11?
Also, wrong. The idea is to get people the cheapest e-reader possible to encourage uptake.
I wonder... (Score:2)
What would be interesting is determining how much advertisments cost to put on a kindle - how much Amazon takes from each 'click' (do people still pay for impressions?) and work out just how many times a user needs to react to an ad for Amazon to get its money worth.
It will be very popular (Score:2)
how poor must you be? (Score:2)
Screensaver Replacement (Score:2)
No. (Score:2)
Sorry, ad supported for $25.00? get bent.
Free for add supported? then they will generate interest. Whoever though that a pittance discount = the value of the invasive advertising is nuts.
Still people will complain (Score:4, Insightful)
When the original Kindle came out, people complained it was horribly expensive. Whenever Amazon released a new model and/or chopped the MSRP, people complained it was horribly expensive. When it went under $200 people bitched that there was no reason for it to sell for more than $150. When the Wifi model came out for $139 people complained that there was no reason for it to cost more than $100. Now the Wifi can be purchased for $114 and people are going to come up with any excuse to complain about the price, ads or both.
I am 100% convinced that even if Amazon gives it away just for the cost of shipping (free if you are on Prime), people will still bitch and moan about the stupid ads.
I have owned two Kindles (awesome, cludgy), two Kindle 2s (awesome, period) and currently two Kindle 3 Wifi (awesome, keyboard sucks). All of our previous Kindle devices were sold to friends for a reasonable price, and all of them are (that I know) still up and running today, and each and everyone loves them.
Both my wife and myself adore this device, for people like us that read a book or more per week these devices are extremely practical. The Wifi model uses so little power that it freaks me out whenever I realize that I actually need to charge it.
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I agree. I bought one a few years ago, the old 2nd gen with 3g. I've always been an avid reader but my girlfriend not so much. I got her the new wifi version when it first came out and she's done nothing but read on it since. We don't even watch movies anymore, a lot of nights we "go to bed early" just so we can read. It's truly a great device in every way. I just can't grasp all the whining about it. I think it simply has to be people who've never used or owned one.
$25? I want free like CueCat! (Score:2)
the better question (Score:2)
"...Will that be enough of a discount to get readers to purchase an ad-supported device?"
The better question is:
How long before the ad-free version stops being offered?
Sadly (Score:2)
"Will that be enough of a discount to get readers to purchase an ad-supported device"
Yes. Because I'm sure that Amazon has done the market research. They didn't just make up a magical amount. I'm sure they did a cost / revenue analysis and also researched what discount would encourage customers to buy the device.
I hate advertisements, but I thought it interesting to see Amazon take a different approach. They are allowing customers to give feedback on the ads. I am curious if it is easy to upgrade the S
Margins, not units sold (Score:2)
How many more kindles will this pricing option sell?
Are there really that many people out there that would walk away from a $139 kindle, but are willing to buy a $114 kindle with ads?
The discount would have to be much steeper in order to result in a measurable increase in sales.
I suspect that this is really about improving margins, not selling units. People who were already going to buy a kindle will opt for the cheaper one. The ad revenue it brings in will more than offset the purchase discount.
Reasons not to get a kindle (Score:2)
1) Kindle will not work with epub, or many other formats. Libraries typically use epub format.
2) B&N nook color will be a complete android platform soon. Read any format. Or just use your phone and/or computer to read any ebook format.
3) Ten days without a recharge is, typically, not needed.
4) No color.
5) The "LED eye strain" claims are a hoax. I read an LED all day without eye strain. I'm 52 and I have never had great vision.
6) Kindle does not work well in dim light.
7) Kindle is a unitasker. Why carry
Get it under $100 and we'll talk (Score:2)
Only Ads on the homepage? I can deal with that. Doesn't sound like much of an annoyance. Give me ads while I am reading and a huge discount on ebooks, and then we will really talk. I buy the majority of my books used, and rarely pay more than a couple of bucks for a book. When I see the kindle prices of $10 a book, I laugh.
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As for an actual Kindle, I know you can at least email "Word and picture file
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Re:Not even close (Score:4, Informative)
(you can't read an eBook from any vendor other than Amazon on a Kindle),
And where exactly did you come up with this? The main problem is that it can't read ePubs, but you can load anything in a format it supports (txt, mobi, html, pdf if you are masochistic, etc....) via USB, and with some (txt, mobi I think are the only two), you can even download them using the experimental web browser from any store or website.
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(you can't read an eBook from any vendor other than Amazon on a Kindle),
And where exactly did you come up with this? The main problem is that it can't read ePubs, but you can load anything in a format it supports (txt, mobi, html, pdf if you are masochistic, etc....) via USB, and with some (txt, mobi I think are the only two), you can even download them using the experimental web browser from any store or website.
Calibre converts every format, including pdf and ePub, to mobi. It's a must-have (and free) program for any Kindle owner.
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If you're looking at a PDF that's at all image-intensive I really can't recommend the Kindle for it, despite otherwise thinking it's a great device.
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If you'd RTFA, it's not supposed to interrupt your reading. It'll show ads when the screensaver kicks in, and on the home screen.
I'd still not buy one of these - $25 isn't enough of a discount, even with the other stuff, and I've got a 3G K3 already - but it's not quite so bad as you'd like to pretend it is.
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I can just see students opening their textbook and hearing/seeing "Remember, this Earth Sciences textbook is brought to you by Monsanto Growth for a Better World! or a five and ten second pre-rolls for every test question.
Why on earth would they make the device intentionally annoying? They would much rather sell you books by staying out of your way and throwing in an ad every time you turn it off - so that when you pick it up again, you see several books that Amazon thinks you might like.