Amazon rumored to be introducing an ad-supported 7-inch Kindle Fire

[Master Devwi]

Amazon is rumored to be introducing two 7-inch models of the Kindle Fire next week, according to CNET. The first will be the next iteration of the company’s wildly popular Kindle Fire, while the Wall Street Journal believes that the second model is actually an ad-supported variant.

This claim isn’t too far-fetched, since Amazon already sells ad-supported versions of its other Kindles. But unlike those devices, which can afford to have an ad displayed when the screen is “off” due to e-ink technology, the Kindle Fire would show an ad for a few seconds every time the screen is turned on. This sounds like it could become annoying, but some people might be willing to deal with it in exchange for a lower price tag. Interestingly, the ad-supported Kindle Fire would only have support for WiFi, a limitation shared with the current model.

Would you buy an ad-supported version of the Kindle Fire?

[Wall Street Journal | CNET via Engadget]

[CrowdAds]

[epithetless]

Originally Posted by Master Devwi

Would you buy an ad-supported version of the Kindle Fire?

Never. Would you?

[Syndrome]

I purchased an ad version of the normal kindle. Though sadly I don't use it as much anymore as I did when I first got it. After using some apps on my new android phone anything with ads pretty much fucks me off.

[Mikerman]

And so, what do the ads support--$25 off the purchase price?

It might be different if the ads were in exchange for a cellular connection/data.

[The DarkSide]

Ads supported device = pass!!!

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by Master Devwi

Would you buy an ad-supported version of the Kindle Fire?

Absolutely not. But I wouldn't buy any tablet without external storage capability, either.....so no Kindle Fire or Nexus 7 either.

[The DarkSide]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

Absolutely not. But I wouldn't buy any tablet without external storage capability, either.....so no Kindle Fire or Nexus 7 either.

Same with me,...especially with that low a capacity in both. Media consumption devices my azz.

[kp-j3]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

Ads supported device = pass!!!

Unfortunately enough consumers are adopting that model that they're making it a viable option.

I already feel inundated by advertising, and I surely don't want to see things go the way of cable, where you pay serious dollars and still have to suffer through a bludgeoning of ads.

Anyone remember when stadiums actually had names like Mile High, Joe Robbie, Shea, Comiskey, RFK, etc?

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by kp-j3

... Anyone remember when stadiums actually had names like Mile High, Joe Robbie, Shea, Comiskey, RFK, etc?

Yes and I use to see the Dolphins every time I got free tickets at Joe Robbie Stadium, which went thru many name changes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Rob...#Naming_rights

BTW I wouldn't take an ad-supported device for free unless I could run some sort of ad block

[mamamia88]

Originally Posted by epithetless

Never. Would you?

yes because i know that within a week some genius will find out how to remove the ads and put a howto on youtube

[epithetless]

Originally Posted by mamamia88

yes because i know that within a week some genius will find out how to remove the ads and put a howto on youtube

In that case, I hope you get one and wish you the best.

Even if an ad-removing hack surfaces (and if I was willing to play the cat-and-mouse game of defeating future patches), I sure as hell wouldn't want my purchasing dollars sanctioning the ad-supported model of device sales.

[mamamia88]

Originally Posted by epithetless

In that case, I hope you get one and wish you the best.

Even if an ad-removing hack surfaces (and if I was willing to play the cat-and-mouse game of defeating future patches), I sure as hell wouldn't want my purchasing dollars sanctioning the ad-supported model of device sales.

cool but if i get one it will be rooted as soon as possible and i will never upgrade via official methods.

[epithetless]

Originally Posted by mamamia88

cool but if i get one it will be rooted as soon as possible and i will never upgrade via official methods.

To each their own. You'd still be sending the message that ad-supported hardware is a good sales model. But since that (and laggy last-gen specs) don't seem to bother you, have at it!

[mamamia88]

I never used the old one so can't comment. I'm talking about whatever the new version is. and i honestly think ad supported hardware is a good idea if it saves me a few bucks and stays out of the way. heck i bought my brother an ad supported kindle and the ads are only on screensaver. honestly not a big deal since he turns the device completely off when not using it. and honestly why isn't it a good sales model? the consumer get's the same device for cheaper and can either ignore/disable the ads.

[kp-j3]

Originally Posted by mamamia88

and honestly why isn't it a good sales model? the consumer get's the same device for cheaper and can either ignore/disable the ads.

The problem is when enough people adopt the model, the standard will become ads for everyone, and the reason for the discount disappears.

[Mikerman]

I'm at that point that if something affects my quality of life, I want to save more than a few bucks.

[mamamia88]

Originally Posted by kp-j3

The problem is when enough people adopt the model, the standard will become ads for everyone, and the reason for the discount disappears.

I'm gonna call bullshit. If they sell more at a cheaper price point with ads then overall profits will increase. Doesn't mean they won't keep around the more expensive model where profit margins are higher. It's basically free money for them if they sell you the premium model without ads. It's like best buy selling you an extended warranty. for the most part it's just free extra money so there is no reason not to offer it. also it would piss off too many people if just the ad version was available. unless they made it so cheap that nobody could complain.

[Mikerman]

Of course, the new Amazon tablets now have been announced (2 days ago--Thursday), and look quite nice! They are priced well and have good specs, apart from a missing microSD port (so anti-consumer, that, from all the manfs. who do that!). As I understand it, they all now have an Amazon recommendations screen as the screensaver screen--actually, not terribly intrusive.

Good competition for Apple, especially at a much lower price, a tie to the Amazon e-sphere, and an optional, inexpensive ($50/year) cell data plan (limited data, but great as a backup when you're not near an available WiFi network). If Apple isn't sweating yet, it should start--profusely; and then do something pro-consumer about it.

[Marvin the Martian]

The default search engine in the new Fires is Bing....smiley-thumbsdown.gif

[Kizune]

Originally Posted by mamamia88

yes because i know that within a week some genius will find out how to remove the ads and put a howto on youtube

I don't think it's possible to find a way to disable the ads within a week.
Amazon confirmed there's no way to remove the ads which means in other words the bootloader will be locked.
Also, if you'll be able to install a custom ROM someday, you'll lose all content advantages over the Nexus 7 (especially Prime videos) which is the Kindle's main selling point after all.

BTW, the Fire's UI is horrible and laggy:

You Tube

You Tube

As media consumption device, the Fire HD is a win - but as Android tablet, it's a fail.