Amazon Announces Ad-Supported Kindle For $114 (That’s $25 Off)

http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/11/amazon-announces-ad-supported-kindle-for-114-thats-25-off/

by ez77 • 15 years ago

8 14 15 years ago

techcrunch.com

foobarbazetc2• 15 years ago

Why would anyone want this?

MatthewPhillips3• 15 years ago

$25 savings.

bruceboughton• 15 years ago

So $25 is the value you place on your attention over the lifetime of owning a Kindle?

That's kind of low, isn't it?

vmind• 15 years ago

I think as it is only shown when selecting a book or on the screensaver, and not during main usage, quite a lot of people.

blub• 15 years ago

I really dislike how ads have managed to insinuate themselves everywhere. I wouldn't use this even if it were free.

foobarbazetc2• 15 years ago

Yeah, but at least if it were free, Amazon have an excuse for showing you ads.

They're putting a $25 value on your eyeballs, for the lifetime of the product. That's an insult disguised as a discount.

pstack2• 15 years ago

Because, it'll eventually have enough sponsorship that it can be free and once it's free, public schools can utilize it and even get discounted text books for the students.

This chapter of General Earth Sciences is brought to you by Monsanto -- Growth for a Better World!

al_james• 15 years ago

I don't think its enough of a discount to be honest. I would not even consider it for $25. $50 maybe. I would have thought amazon could get $50 / user for these ads over the lifetime of the device.

rradu2• 15 years ago

$25 just isn't enough of a discount for something that was already pretty well-priced.

I don't mind ad-supported sites / apps especially if it means I don't have to pay for them, but to put ads on an entire device that I own -- that's a no no for me.

MatthewPhillips3• 15 years ago

$25 sounds generous to me. Google's revenue per user is $24 a year, and that's extremely high for an ad-only site. Facebook by comparison generates $4 per year per user. $25 is a lot considering usage is likely to drop after a year and might be replaced after 2.

rradu2• 15 years ago

It might make sense for Amazon, but as a consumer I don't find it a compelling discount.

MichaelStubbs• 15 years ago

So for $25 less, they get to display advertisements for (presumably) the lifetime of the device? No thank you, that's a terrible deal!

Though the hacker in me wonders how long it would take someone to remove/disable the ads. Modified firmware, maybe?

pstack2• 15 years ago

Dealing with ads seems like a small price to pay for someone who could truly benefit from the device and not otherwise own one, but if you can afford $114 for an e-reader, you can probably afford $139. If it was free (and once they get enough sponsors, perhaps it will be), it could potentially benefit a great number of people and at that price, it's hard to argue with it (even if you and I would not personally want to trade $139 in return for advertising).

Amazon Announces Ad-Supported Kindle For $114 (That’s $25 Off)

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