Is Amazon's Latest Kindle The Future Of Reading?

Amazon's new “Kindle with Special Offers” is the latest version of the hugely successful Kindle e-book reader - and it allows customers to get a $ 25 discount off the price of the standard Wi-Fi only Kindle. The latest Kindle, which will start shipping on May 3, does more than let you get a Kindle for just $ 114 - it underlines some of the reasons why the Kindle is such a big hit for Amazon and prompts some questions about the method of pricing e-book readers whilst simultaneously hinting at other products which Amazon may see fit to release in future.

The Kindle with Special Offers replaces the pictures of famous authors on the screen saver pages with adverts and special offers (hence the name). Ads will also be displayed at the bottom of the home page menu screen. The actual reading experience is, according to Amazon, not affected, Amazon will earn money thanks to ad revenue and extra sales, which means that consumers can get their hardware at a reduced price. It’s a win-win all round.

Some purists will be unhappy about the thought of adverts on the Kindle, but some people dislike the very idea of e-book readers pretty much on a point of principle. It's a matter of personal preference in the end. In any event, anyone who is uncomfortable with adverts on the Kindle can pay a little extra and get the standard, ad-free, model.

Amazon are said to have a number of companies with Kindle ad campaigns ready to launch. Chase, Procter and Gamble, Visa and General Motors are a selection of the companies who want to see adverts for their products on the Kindle. However, it seems reasonable to suppose that a large percentage of the ads will be for special offers which will be available direct from the Amazon website.

In some respects, you have to wonder why Amazon hasn't done this sooner. It’s the perfect platform for advertising virtually any product available from Amazon's online store.

Aside from the fact that anyone who owns a Kindle is going to be in the target demographic for Kindle books, and probably any personal electronic device as well, Amazon are highly skilled at crafting personalised offers to customers based upon both their buying and browsing history. Targeted adverts, and the ability to make a purchase at the press of a button, make advertising on the Kindle a very lucrative proposition for Amazon.

It’s yet another advantage which Amazon enjoys in the ebook reader market which is not available to many of their competitors. However, it's debatable as to whether or not a discount of just $ 25 is an accurate reflection of the true worth of Kindle advertising to Amazon. Some industry watchers are already speculating that we could very well see a free Kindle reader in the near future. If the “Kindle with Special Offers” proves to be a success, then a free Kindle, possibly with some strings attached - such as a minimum number of Kindle book purchases per annum - may not only be a possibility, but might be here faster than you think.

And, as exciting as the opportunity to get a free Kindle reader may be, the success of Amazon’s sponsorship efforts has even more wide reaching implications. The prospect that Amazon will release their own tablet computer has moved beyond the realms of speculation and rumor to an event that seems to carry an air of inevitability about it. ZDNet's James Kendrick is quoted as saying that “Amazon would be remiss in not producing its own tablet.".

By closely coupling a new Amazon tablet computer with the Amazon web-store, Amazon would be able to set the selling price at a considerably lower level than their competition. It's a scenario which has a lot of potential for Amazon.

Click here for more info on Amazon's latest Kindle reader.