The Kindle Basic SO image comes from dvice.com, but that site got the story from Nate Hoffelder's The Digital Reader, where he explored a tip from Mobileread Forum's jswinden.
Having a preference, myself, for a personal reading environment without ads, I've recommended these only for those who really want those Special Offers and, as it turns out, many do. A visit to the forums will show how many either really like the feature or wish they had bought one, for special Amazon sales such as $200 off laptops or $500 off HDTVs or even a $10 gift certificate for $20 worth of Kindle books, and some have asked Amazon to let them have the option to have the special offers (which means ads also) if they want.
However, a few have decided they'd rather have the Kindle without Special Offers, and Amazon does offer a 30-day full refund policy on their Kindles, which means some have returned a Special Offers model to order a regular Kindle while others have returned a regular one to get a Special Offers model. Now there is another way, at least with the model Nate bought.
Nate found himself annoyed by the ads that he's been seeing with his new $79 Kindle Basic but also discovered that Amazon has added a solution for those who've decided they would prefer the Kindle Basic offers-free. Under the Manage Your Kindle page, he saw that you can UNsubscribe from the Special Offers on the Kindle Basic by paying the difference in cost between the Kindle Basic SO and the Kindle Basic without SO.
Amazon explains on that page: "Amazon is able to offer the Kindle at a subsidized price by delivering Special Offers and Sponsored Screenavers. By unsubscribing you will be charged $30 (plus applicable tax)."
Nate says this works only for K4 although it could be that this is the model he bought so that's the only one it would show in his case, but I don't know.
Nate dislikes ads so much that he's given up TV, cable, and he watches TV content online, where ads can be blocked.
melissa, for her part, commenting to his story, says,
"There are no ads while you are reading. Only the screen savers and a small banner at the bottom of the home screen. The special offers however have been the real bonus. We have probably paid for the Kindle with the savings from the offers. The offers seemed to have slowed down, so maybe that was just a start up idea."
Nate confirms that the ads aren't shown while reading.
I suspect that this option will show up in future software updates, maybe in both directions.
Kindle Touch 3G Kindle Touch WiFi Kindle Basic (UK: KBasic) Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G) K3 Special Offers K3-3G Special Offers DX
Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources. Top 100 free bestsellers. Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.
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