Amazon Kindle, sans advertisements.

Amazon has dubbed it the Amazon Kindle With Special Offers, but you and I both know what they mean by “Special Offers.”  That a euphemism (admittedly a great euphemism) for ads.  In exchange for putting banner ads on the Kindle’s home screen and on the screensaver, Amazon will be knocking $25 off the price of the newest edition of the Kindle.  The Amazon Kindle With Special Offers will be released on May 3, and will be available online as well as at Target and Best Buy.

This is one of those rare win-win moments.  Amazon wins multiple times over–not only do they sell more Kindles, they also get to test out a new revenue stream via Kindle ads and get more e-readers into the hands of the general public without losing their shirts or their profit margins.  The consumer wins because they save $25 off the price of a Kindle in exchange for some unobtrusive banner ads.  The general corporate world wins because that’s a whole new way to put ads in front of people’s faces.  Publishers win because that expands the ebook market even more.

Does this make me more likely to buy a Kindle?  Yeah, I think so.  I mean, it’s cheaper, which means I can buy more ebooks at launch, and isn’t the whole point of the Kindle to read?

Tags: consumer electronics, technology, Amazon, Kindle, Amazon Kindle, Amazon Kindle With Special Offers, 4 Amazon Kindle With Special Offers, 4 Kindle, cheaper Kindle supported by advertising, banner ads to support new Kindle, ebook reader, Kindle to feature ads on the home screen and screensaver, ad-supported Kindle, Kindle With Special Offers

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