A cheaper Kindle

"We're working hard to make sure that anyone who wants a Kindle can afford one," Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a prepared statement, reports CNN Money. The result of those efforts is a new ad-laden Kindle that will sell for $114, which is $25 less than its current ad-free counterpart. The ads will appear on the screensaver and at the bottom of the home screen. An interesting twist is that Amazon plans to mix together advertisements from launch sponsors including Buick, Olay and Visa with daily-deal style discount coupons (like their own $10 for $20 deal featured on Living Social in the past). Is the $25 difference really enough to offset the "annoyance factor" of the ads? I think it might be. There's a chance, judging by the success rate of the Living Social offer, that people will welcome them. According to The NY Times ads have been in physical books for a while, and in one 1972 study, while readers claimed to dislike the idea of advertising in books, after actual exposure their negative feelings declined while brand awareness climbed. At any rate, I'm glad Amazon stayed away from in-text ads, as those would be more disruptive and intrusive-- but if we look at how written content has been supported online, it may not far behind. Perhaps a $89 Kindle is on the way.....