Amazon launches ad-supported Kindle with Special Offers

Online retail giant Amazon.com introduced Kindle with Special Offers, a new version of its popular e-reader device incorporating homescreen deals and sponsored screensavers.

Priced at $114, $25 off the conventional Kindle unit, Kindle with Special Offers begins shipping May 3 with screensavers sponsored by launch partners Buick, Procter & Gamble and Visa--Amazon notes the display advertisements are specially designed to leverage the Kindle's no-glare electronic-ink display.

Deals include a $20 Amazon Gift Card priced at $10, full-length Amazon MP3 Store albums priced at $1 and 50 percent off the Roku Streaming Player, which normally costs $99. A complete list of active offers will be available from the device menu.

Alongside Kindle with Special Offers, Amazon.com unveiled AdMash, a free Kindle app and website where customers can select the promotions that will become sponsored screensavers. AdMash will present users with pairs of sponsored screensaver candidates and ask them to select which one they favor--only selections with the most preferred votes will qualify to become sponsored screensavers. In addition, consumers can access the Manage Your Kindle page to offer suggestions on the style and types of sponsored screensavers they wish to see.

The Kindle is the bestselling product in Amazon.com history. The Kindle Store now offers over 900,000 titles as well as millions of free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 titles. Earlier this year, Amazon reported it now sells 115 Kindle titles for every 100 paperbacks sold--in addition, e-book sales now outnumber hardcover sales by a three-to-one margin.

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