Tablets

New report says Kindle Fire ads won’t be removable

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In a report that directly conflicts earlier news that users could opt out of display ads on the new line of Kindle Fire tablets, CNET has received word from an Amazon spokesperson clarifying that this will not be the case. After it was initially reported that the upgraded version of the Kindle Fire as well as the Kindle Fire HD would display “special offers” throughout the operating system, a system introduced by Amazon with previous Kindle models as a means of subsidizing costs to offer the e-reader at a lower price point, word came by way of Amazon’s support team that buyers would be given the option to unsubscribe from the ads, perhaps by paying a fee.

For now the waters remain murky on the subject, but it would be a bad move for Amazon to offer no way for buyers to remove the ads from the device. It seems simple enough for Amazon to enable users to opt-out and agree to pay a bit more for the tablet up front (or even after the fact). Many would-be buyers might be turned off by the idea of ads creeping into the user experience. Further clarification is likely coming down the pike. For now get used to the idea of “special offers,” because they don’t seem to be going anywhere quick.

[via CNET]

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23 Comments

  1. I would guess the rep to be correct as that answer makes the most sense for the price and the source of the device.

  2. Something tells me XDA thinks otherwise ;)

  3. They won’t survive long after a rooting method is discovered anyway. Mind you, the first thing I would do with a Kindle Fire device would be to root it and install CyanogenMod.

    1. Well, I would want to do that anyway even with stock android.

  4. I agree with the other commenters. After a rooting method and CM gets installed, hopefully there won’t be much to worry about (unless they push them to the notification bar somehow).

    Either way, I’m not surprised the Amazon spokesmen doesn’t want to touch on the subject too much just quite yet. This could throw the story viral and make people find out about rooting and customizing the Fire even quicker.

    1. While I don’t plan on buying these tablets, I am very interested to see them broken and remade again in the hands of enthusiasts. Go dev community!

  5. Soon be custom roms to get rid of the ads

  6. No opt-out == no sale.

  7. I’m not too worried because when this thing gets rooted it will be running jellybean

  8. You all forget tho that many regular users don’t like to or know how to root nor want to void their warranty I been rooting since my first G1 but there’s a lot of people out there that don’t understand the concept of rooting nor want to dabble with it

  9. Hahaha Scratch kindle from my list

  10. “because they don’t seem to be going anywhere quick.”
    Same thing you’ll be saying about the tablet if they go this route.

  11. There’s an ad blocker app in the amazon app store.

  12. Simple fix: ROOT and ROM.

    1. Okay, that’s not “simple.” -_-

      1. :)

  13. Between this and having Bing as their default search, it’s one misstep after another.

  14. Oh they are removable. Haha. Can’t believe they did that

  15. Good luck with that.

  16. When I visit the Amazon website, I get “recommendations”, which are ads, and they don’t bother me in the least. If I bought a Kindle Fire, it would be mainly to consume Amazon content, so the ads might even be useful occassionally. As long as they didn’t interrupt me while I was, say, reading a book or watching a movie, and they weren’t noisy or flashy or anything like that, I don’t think I’d mind.

  17. Jay Q is absolutely correct, although, I’d say MOST users don’t know how or care to root their device. I’m one of them. I keep up with this stuff and up until recently, had to have the best device my provider offered. But, I never cared to root it. Another thing you gotta keep in mind is that the users who are into rooting are probably looking for something a little more powerful than the Kindle.

  18. The Nexus 7 is way better than the Fire.

  19. Wouldn’t that burn up the tiny little data plan offered with the LTE version?

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