Ad-supported Kindle to ship May 3rd: saves $25

[Terminator02]

Here's a scenario: what if we told you that your next Kindle could be had for $25 less than retail? What if we told you it came from the rear of a nondescript white van? Or what if we told you that you'd first need to sign up for 842 email marketing scams? Thankfully, none of those scenarios are ones we're looking to tell you about. Instead, we're here to introduce you to the world's first ad-supported Kindle, going on sale within Target and Best Buy locations for $114. That represents a gentle $25 savings compared to the price of today's cheapest Kindle, but those 2500 pennies don't come free -- you'll be asked to endure "advertisements on the bottom of the device's home page and on its screen savers." Furthermore, it sets a new precedent in the gadget arena that could very well carry over to ad-discounted tablets, netbooks, PMPs, and who knows what else. At this point, Buick, Olay and Visa will be advertising, and we get the impression that said list will bloom in due time. It's hard to say just how intrusive they'll be, but Kindle director Jay Marine seems to think that "customers are going to love it."

We aren't so sure. While it's crystal clear that the general populace adores coupon cutting, it seems problematic to us to ship a pair of identical products that cost within $25 of one another and expect Joe Sixpack to grok the difference. In fact, we're guessing that this will inevitably lead to consumer complaints from those who can't figure out why their "on sale Kindle" isn't nearly as enjoyable to read as "Bob's Kindle... that he found during a sale." At any rate, a demo of the new device displayed a screen saver deal "where customers would pay $10 for a $20 gift card to Amazon," and while no ads will appear in e-books, there's still "a clear advertisement" along the bottom of the home screen. All that said, here's the key feature that Amazon's seemingly overlooking: an option in the software to pay back the $25 a customer skimped on to do away with the ads on their ad-supported e-reader. Solves the buyer's remorse problem, at least.[/p]

Source (Engadget)

Damn she's hot, the kindle that is...

Nothing like looking at a nice beach.

 

[Shabutie78]

25 DOLLARS OH MY GOD MY MIND IS BLOWN

 

[Cloak519]

25 DOLLARS OH MY GOD MY MIND IS BLOWN

This. It almost isn't worth it.

 

[Terminator02]

it was already only $130 or so, $25 is like 20% off

 

[RupeeClock]

Gizmondo tried this as well, they cut the price by £100 and would view adverts.
That thing was a total failure though for other reasons.

 

[twiztidsinz]

25 DOLLARS OH MY GOD MY MIND IS BLOWN

This. It almost isn't worth it.

Almost not worth it?
It's COMPLETELY not worth it.

 

[Forstride]

Oh man, now I HAVE to buy one! [/sarcasm]

$25 cheaper for annoying ads? Not worth it.

If you're going to waste money on a e-reader that you're [hopefully] going to use a lot, you should get one that doesn't annoy you when being used.

 

[shadowmanwkp]

The new ad-supported kindle, now even more annoying to read than ever! Are your eyes strained because you read too intensively? No worries, you will get an epileptic attack anyways due to our awesome new blinking ads! You can even relax your eyes to our mandatory 20 second startup commercials and our sponsored roll-overs that will kick in during the story's climax! And that for a whopping $25,- discount, imagine how many times you can charge your new kindle for! Buy your rip-off kindle now, based on the hardware of yesterday, which will cost you even more money today!

 

[shakirmoledina]

well if u can hack it in one way or another, u could remove the ads and still get it for 25 dollars less

 

[Paarish]

I'd rather pay the $25 tbh

 

[shadowmanwkp]

The progress of hacking that thing for the first time will cost you more than $25 and if there are e-readers that can do the same thing for that little bit of extra cash, then people won't bother. "Hey who's gonna fund me to hack that ad infested e-reader?" Nobody, that's for sure. Too much hassle, not enough interest. This is really one of those get quick rich schemes. Tempt people with discounts, cash in on the sales and also cash in on the advertisements. I give that thing 10 seconds to live.

 

[SPH73]

I'd rather just pay the extra $25

 

[FireEmblemGuy]

The ads become even more annoying once you realize that for the $25 you're saving, those ads are draining your battery life, wasting screen estate, and sucking at your bandwidth. Far from worth the money.

 

[SPH73]

The ads become even more annoying once you realize that for the $25 you're saving, those ads are draining your battery life, wasting screen estate, and sucking at your bandwidth. Far from worth the money.

^This times a million.

applause.gif

 

[Law]

I'd rather pay the extra $25 to get the no-ads version.

Maybe if they sold it at $25 it'd feel like a decent deal.

 

[stinkoman]

25 DOLLARS OH MY GOD MY MIND IS BLOWN

This. It almost isn't worth it.

Definitely not worth it. Ads would bug the fuck out of me if I was trying to read.

 

[BORTZ]

No way! i dont want something as nice and professional looking as the Kindle (or MY Kindle if i bought one) being cluttered with ads and looking like crap. Plus everyone knows your a cheap ass if you buy one lol

 

[_Chaz_]

So, it's the Gizmondo of e-book readers?

 

[jesterscourt]

If the cost was halved, I could understand it. This isn't enough savings for anyone with a brain to justify this purchase over the regular one.

 

[notmeanymore]

No way I'd ever get a kindle. We bought my mom a Nook Color and damn. That thing is a beast. I wanna get one and root it. But an android phone is more important to me atm.