Want a Kindle for a lower price?
Starting in May, you can have one. But there’s a catch.
You can save $25 for a WiFi Kindle. But you’ll have ads as part of the experience.
Amazon announced the new Kindle with Special Offers this week and begins taking pre-orders today. The big difference between this device and the more expensive version is that ads replace illustrations of classic authors like Virginia Woolf and Jules Verne that appear on current Kindle screensavers.
Amazon’s Kindle vice president, Russ Grandinetti, says the lower-price sponsored ad strategy will “serve us well and make us an attractive option to the widest possible group of people.”
Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey says the special offers that come with the new Kindle have the potential to turn Amazon into a mini-Groupon. He says Amazon is building a digital relationship that is not just about the single product or service originally purchased.
Buick, Olay (Procter & Gamble), Visa, and Chase are sponsoring the first series of screensavers. Initial special offers include a $20 Amazon.com gift card for $10, an Amazon MP3 Store album for $1, a $100 Amazon.com gift card when you get an Amazon Rewards Visa card, and a $99 Roku Streaming Player for half off.
Ads appear in the screensaver or on the bottom of the Kindle home screen. Consumers who express interest in various ads (by using Kindles controls to click on them) will receive emails with detailed instructions.
Buick’s Craig Bierley says “Consumer perception of our brand is still an old and dated perception and we need to force a reappraisal. Partnering with other progressive brands helps us to do that.”
Amazon’s Grandinetti wouldn’t disclose specifics on how the ad partnerships will work. “Obviously we want to make it something that advertisers feel great about that the people who make offers feel great about.”
But Kindle customers who don’t embrace the idea can still purchase an ad-free Wi-Fi only Kindle for $139 or a model with 3G wireless for $189. Forrester’s McQuivey doubts there will be many customers put off by the new model.“Who is going to object to buying a cheaper Kindle just because the screensaver has a Buick ad,” he asks?
I have a Kindle 3G now… wonder if I can opt in to the ads, the screensavers have started to really bore me…
As much as I bitch about commercials, I understand that shite has to be paid for.
People don’t work for free and it costs to make stuff.
I’m happy that the Kindle will have a lower priced model because the technology will be available to more people.
I won’t be buying one because I have the nook and I’m happy with it.
If I was planning to buy a Kindle or any other e-reader, It’d be worth it for me to pay a little bit extra just to not have ads.
Technology. Ain’t it grand?
: )
I can’t stand advertising. It’s frelling everywhere these days. I’m the sort of person who will pay to upgrade to a non-ad supported version of an iPhone/iPad app. I run ad blocker on Firefox. I fast forward through ads on my DVR. And I listen to XM Radio in the car so I don’t have to put up with all the ads on the local FM stations.
As long as there’s an option to get the non-ad supported version of the Kindle I’m fine with this model existing. But I won’t be buying it. And if the only way to get a Kindle or other future device is with ads then I will have to seriously consider how much benefit I will get from the item and whether the ads are worth it.
Did I mention I hate ads?