Amazon.com has come up with a new idea to entice more Americans to buy Kindles. Starting May 3rd buyers can save $25 by agreeing to have ads on the screen saver and on the home page. They will not interfere with reading books. The picture on the left shows what one of the ads would look like. It also illustrates that the user will be told of special offers to save money on products.
I think Amazon has come up with a winning idea. If I ever have to replace my Kindle I’d be willing to try it. What do you think?
Buy a book with ads in it? No chance.
Evan
That was my initial reaction too. But, in fact, the books don’t have ads. The ads are just on the screen saver and at the bottom of the home page. We only go to the home page when we want to download a new book or change the one we’re reading. That’s why I think the idea might catch on.
Jean, I am allergic to ads at the best of times. One of the reasons I do not watch commercial TV. If it cost me $25 to avoid them, even if only on homepage, I’d rather pay full whack.
On the general question of the Kindle: I love ‘real’ books as a an object of aesthetical pleasure, just as I love the feel of paper, the turning of a page, and seeing my books on the bookshelf; often when passing that shelf suddenly inspired to pull out an old friend (or foe). So I am not in the market for a Kindle at the moment. However, I can see their use if, say, you travel for long stretches at a time, or find yourself in prison!
U
I’m not keen on the ‘ad’ idea either but it seems to be just one more thing that is evolving before our very eyes…and as long as one ignores them, you are ok
the trouble with these intrusions that it might only be a static ad at some point then suddenly they pop up on pages or they start being interactive – i.e. jiggling up and down or making an noise that distracts one…
At one point a chat page that I visit about once a week had popup ad along the bottom and Rosie the Riverter would suddenly start waving at you – very off putting!
Ursula,
I like both real books and e-books. The advantage of the e-books for me is I can read in large print, much easier on my poor eyes.
I don’t watch TV because of the ads…too many interruptions. The few programs I watch I tape first so I can fast forward, but watching them on Netflix is even better. No ads at all.
Cathy.
The internet has made me more tolerant of ads. I tune them out, except in the rare cases when they’re for something I’m interested in. Then I do notice. It’s interesting to see how my mind works that way.
No way that I will accept this even at a lower discount. I think that it is an invasion on my privacy to have ads on my books. Even electronic ones!