Amazon allows Kindle owners to pay extra to remove advertisements

By Mike Flacy Published October 6, 2011

Kindle_Features — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Those of you who are tired of staring at advertisements when playing around with the ad-supported Kindle now have an option to remove the advertisements for an additional fee paid directly to Amazon. The difference in price between the ad-supported model and regular model is $30, the exact fee needed to ditch the advertisements. The lowest cost ad-supported model sells for $79 while the model without ads can be purchased for $109. However, the difference on the Kindle Touch models is slightly more at $40. An ad-supported Kindle Touch sells for $99 while the regular model sells for $139. An ad-supported Kindle Touch 3G sells for $149 while the regular model is priced at $189.

To remove the advertisements and pay the upgrade fee, users can go to the “Manage Your Devices” page and unsubscribe from “Special Offers.” Fair warning: once the Kindle has been rid of the advertisements, it’s impossible to revert to the previous ad-supported model and get a refund on the upgrade fee. Amazon Special Offers come in the form of full-page screensavers and small ads on the homescreen. This upgrade program allows users to purchase the ad-supported models from Amazon and measure their level of annoyance with the advertisements. This also allows users that receive an ad-supported Kindle as a gift to upgrade and ditch the advertisements.

Only the tablet-style Kindle Fire is currently without an ad-supported model. It’s likely that Amazon will roll out an ad-supported version of the tablet after the initial launch, likely taking advantage of the expanded media capabilities of the device. The Kindle Fire is launching next month on November 15 and can be preordered for a cost of $199. Amazon is positioning the Kindle Fire as a media consumption device, designed to sell access to movies, music, books, magazines and games through Amazon’s marketplace.

Correction: Special Offers do not appear on the screen while reading e-books on the Kindle. They do appear while reading through content on the Home Page.

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