Amazon charging customers 15.00 to turn off ads in Kindle.

[dixiegrrrrl]

Wow..what a deal.

In a review of the Amazon Fire Kindle, the one that sells for 199.00:

"Ads "assault" users every time they start the device or resume using it, Mossberg also noted.
Amazon said this weekend that customers can turn ads off for $15."

and
it ships without a charger
and
"After prolonged use, some apps and content took longer to launch and web pages loaded more slowly through the new Wi-Fi technology, compared to the iPad."

More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/12/us-amazon-fire-reviews-idUSBRE88B14420120912

[onehandle]

1. You get what you pay for. When the iPad Mini arrives next month. Kindle Fires will be forgotten. nt

[truebrit71]

2. Mine won't....

I absolutely LOVE my Kindle Fire...

[Skidmore]

3. I love mine too.

[distantearlywarning]

46. Me too.

I thought for a long time about getting an IPad, but eventually went with a Kindle Fire due to price differences. 8 months later, it remains the best shopping decision I made this year. It does everything I wanted a tablet to do, plus functions as a back-lit E-reader (very important for this insomniac). I love my Kindle so much - it and my keys are the only things I NEVER leave home without in the mornings. It's the most functional electronic gadget I've ever owned, by a mile.

There is only one thing that I would change about it if I could, and that is the fact that it comes with Wi-Fi instead of 3G or 4G. But I understand that it is now possible to buy a somewhat more expensive Kindle Fire with $50 per year 4G. So I guess my only regret is that I didn't wait a little longer to get the cool 4G one.

[enlightenment]

9. Not mine.

Works great.

Feel free to believe otherwise - I'll keep using my Fire.

[savalez]

13. With Apple you overpay for what you get.

And then version 2 comes out six months later and the same people buy it again. Then comes version 3. And so on...

[onehandle]

18. One year is Apple's revision schedule for iOS. You're thinking of Android.

That as of this week is up to thousands of differentially functioning devices, on hundreds of slightly different OS versions, amongst dozens of companies with drastically varying options and goals.

Meanwhile Apple is focused on one OS that runs the exact same OS for their two devices.

[savalez]

22. Okay, so every year you are mandated to re-buy your Apple product.

I stand corrected.

The ghost of Jobs is pleased with you oh faithful servant.

Next time Apple farts make sure you put it in LBN!

[onehandle]

23. iOS updates are free and installed over the air.

I could do this all day.

[frylock]

26. i had to pay $9000 and drive 2300 miles to upgrade my android OS..

man, for free AND over the air?! wowee!!1

[Atman]

44. Way to miss the point.

The poster was falsely stating that you "have to" re-purchase your device every year (after first falsely stating it was every six months). I've had my iPhone 4 for two years now, have upgraded IOS once already (for free), and now there is a notification on my phone that IOS 6 is ready to install (for free), just press the button and enter my password.

Ooooooh...damn Apple FORCING people to re-purchase their phones and iPads every six months/year. Don't tell my wife...she'll think her old iPad 2 (also updated for free) must be surrendered and re-purchased along with her phone!

[dixiegrrrrl]

24. that was the whole sales idea behind cars, for years.

A better model was on the drawing boards before the end of Dec.

[tblue37]

34. I have a Nook tablet, which I love. nt

[onehandle]

38. You love it?

I love people and family members and artists.

Inanimate objects, not so much.

[tblue37]

47. That's a silly statement. Do you have a special place where you keep all the nits

that you pick?

[aquart]

51. How limiting.

[qanda]

4. I just got the Nexus 7 and it is amazing

I'm sure the Kindle is nice and the ipad mini will become the standard but at this price, you really cannot beat it.

[renie408]

6. I want to get my husband something like this for Christmas

and was debating between the Nexus 7 and another Kindle Fire. He is always playing games on mine and it drives me crazy. So, you really like the Nexus 7? He won't need it for reading as much as I do, mostly for games, etc.

[aquart]

52. Limitations? Any drawbacks you've noticed?

[qanda]

58. Not for what I want to do

Of course, it's wifi only but I have an internet card so connecting to the internet outside of the house is not an issue with me. I wish it had removable storage but since I use a lot of cloud services between Google Music, Dropbox, Spotify, Netflix, Amazon mp3, and Google Drive, I don't think I'll need more than 16gb. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[renie408]

5. Is that new Fires? Mine doesn't have ads.

I know lots of websites that charge to remove the ads from your viewing experience. How do you think they keep the cost down? I can't afford an iPad. Even the cheapest one. But I love my Fire.

[loli phabay]

12. i was thinking the same i havent seen any ads unless its subliminal stuff

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. One could buy a good book for $15.00.

[me b zola]

19. I know, huh

I love a real book, complete with pages and everything.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

21. Actually, my Nook has spoiled me..much to my surprise.

I hate to admit it book the damned thing works great and it is nice to have a selection of books at my fingertips.

[peabody]

37. I really like my Nook too.

Very nice device.

[dixiegrrrrl]

25. As one gets older, and the eyes get strained,

Nook has great advantages for reading in bed. The font size can be adjusted. And many of the heavy books I like to read are sometimes awkward to use at night, since I read lying on my side.
Only downside is, when you fall asleep reading, dropping a book won't hurt it.
Letting a Nook slide to the floor...different story.

Best of all, no ads in the Nook.....yet.

[aquart]

49. First thing I do is buy a case because I drop things.

My Nook Color has hit the floor at least once a day and it is fine. Shockingly so, I think. My biggest objections are to Adobe Digital Editions which gives me endless grief with library books. The Kindle wifi delivery is a lot easier.

That said, I will shop for an undedicated tablet my next time out. I want full Android access, not partial.

[riderinthestorm]

41. Actually I never pay more than .49 for my books (used at Goodwill)!

Although Amazon has a HUGE number of FREE books and even greater quantity of .99 books....

[HappyMe]

45. Yup.

At the used book store I could 15 hardcover books or 30 paperbacks for $15 (clearance table).

[Xyzse]

8. Kinda like the Nook more

Though I won't get any of those tablets for years to come.

[aquart]

50. Keep an eye out at eBay. Nice deals on used or reconditioned. I never buy new.

Barnes and Noble sells its reconditioned Nooks there.

[LeftyMom]

10. Who on earth doesn't have a micro USB charger or ten floating around?

Pretty much every small electronic device going that isn't made by Apple uses them.

Oh, I think I answered my own question.

[lpbk2713]

14. Looks like good entreprenurial advice for kids.

"Give me $15 and I won't soap your windows or egg your cars."


Both are saying --- pay me to no longer annoy you. I see no difference.

[WinkyDink]

15. Free enterprise. I don't get ads with my books. :-)

[msongs]

16. your PAY $199 and there are ADS??? who would be dumb enough to fall for that? nt

[onehandle]

20. It's a 'feature.' Amazon and Google's sites are full of ads and so are their devices.

To make their customers feel right at home.

[d_r]

28. they used to have kindles with or without

ads. I got my kindle without, it cost a little more. the idea was the ads lower the price. now they just defaulted the other way. I don't think any google devices have ads. at least they aren't tethered to apple. I type this on el cheapo $150 10" android ics tab. love the fredom of it, but you have to have a little know how so its a trade off. I would much rather have this open source tab. than an ipad but different strokes are all good.

[d_r]

31. who would buy a $600 facebook screen?

its all in what you want and are willing to pay for.

[MineralMan]

17. No charger, eh? Well, I guess I'd have to use one of the 20

USB chargers I have around here, then. What a burn!

[riderinthestorm]

27. That's wierd. I got mine in March and there's no ads. And it came with a charger nt

[d_r]

30. they have a new one

yours is 159 w ads now.

[riderinthestorm]

42. Actually, I got a refurbished one for $159!

But still, no ads. Love it.

[d_r]

43. :-) nt

[renie408]

29. Don't you have to pay to not have ads ON HERE?

Isn't that one of the 'star membership' benefits?

Why is that such a bad thing?

[temporary311]

32. You dont have to.

Adblock Plus is the bees knees. Probably can't get something like that installed onto kindle though.

[dixiegrrrrl]

36. DU is not a reading device.

It is an ad/member supported service.
and even non-paying members can avoid ads via a variety of ad blockers, same as people avoid ads all over the Internet.

Kindle ( and other electronic stuff) are devices.
Like a cd player, or radio, or my Mag Lite flashlite.
One buys them for a specific purpose, to use as a "tool" for the purpose they were designed for.

It would be like having to listen to ad jingles every time I stepped into my shoes or turned on my flashlight, or started my car, or ran the electric can opener.

Come to think of it, it is probably just a matter of time before there are ad jingles when you start the car, or when you turn on your cell phone.

I dislike all "gotcha" tricks played by the corpocracy.

[Posteritatis]

53. If you had to pay up front to use the site at all it would be. (nt)

[mythology]

33. I don't have a Kindle Fire, but I'm willing to bet nobody has been assaulted by the ads

They give people an option, that's not actually a bad thing. If you don't want the ads, $15 isn't exactly a fortune. And if you don't happen to have it right away, you can select that option the next month.

Besides, it's not like there are no ads on iOS devices. But hey Apple finally stopped using an Identifier for selling targeted ads that could be linked back to the actual user. So that's a plus.

[PufPuf23]

35. I like books. Amazon is predatory on local business. nt

[onehandle]

39. Amazon is the new Walmart. nt

[CthulhusEvilCousin]

40. I think

Amazon is a great company. I don't have a Kindle Fire (too expensive, I might buy the oldest one they got though for 69.99), but I do have Kindle on my laptop and on my cellphone. Lots of books are free to download, some of them made free strategically to suck you into a series. Other books are very reasonably priced. I can see how the Ad thing can be an attempt to suck money out of folks, but fact is Pandora Radio is the same way. When I've needed help from Amazon's customer service, they've always been there for me. Just a couple of weeks ago they refunded me, no questions asked, on two mp3 album DOWNLOADS that I was unable to gift to someone else, and it even listed the MP3s as being "accepted" by the other individual. So the evidence was against me, but they didn't give me any hassle. If I have to watch some ads to get good service and cheap products, I have no problem with it. I also wouldn't be surprised if Amazon has to pay a lot of cash to artists moreso than other companies. I also use Pandora, and they hit me with an ad the other day asking me to contact my senator over a law that forces internet radio to pay 5x more in royalties to big music companies over Sirius Radio or other such things.

[jwhitesj]

48. I got an Amazon Fire last christmas and it's my favorite gadget.

n/t

[bhikkhu]

54. Ads or no ads is figured into the purchase price

My kindle touch was a little cheaper than the no-ads version, and it displays book ads on the "sleep" screen...makes no difference to me, and I love my kindle.

In any case, its no bother whatsoever compare to the flashy RW ads that often pop up on the DU homepage! I wish there was a way to get rid of those, but I think regular internet users get used to ignoring ads.

[dixiegrrrrl]

57. ohh..click on the Repub ads....DU gets money from the clicks.

[tabbycat31]

55. I am about to get a kindle fire

As for the charger-- my understanding is that it takes a standard USB charger (which most cell phones without an 'i' before their name use therefore I already have one I can use).

I'll probably end up paying the $15. However, the Kindle Fire is lower priced than most tablets their size so it's something to take with a grain of salt.

[WeekendWarrior]

56. What BS is this?

I bought a Kindle Fire. No ads. Came with a charger.

Mossberg is an Apple fan boy. Always has been.