Amazon today announced that its famous e-reader, the Kindle is going to be $50 cheaper and will have ads to make up for the difference. The new ad-supported Kindle would cost $139 only which is pretty cheap. You will now be able to get a free 3G mobile networking Kindle for a WiFi only price as long as the ads don’t bother you.
Amazon has been finding ways to drop the price of its popular Kindle devices since its introduction in 2007. Last year, Amazon slashed the price of its 3G-equipped Kindle 2 from $259 to $189. Last month, it began offering a third-generation Kindle 3G with Special Offers, which saves users $25 in exchange for being shown ads on the device’s screen saver and along the bottom of the home screen. The announcement today shaves another $25 off the original $189 price thanks to AT&T’s sponsorship.
“Kindle 3G is by far the fastest-growing connected device on the AT&T network,” AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega said in a statement. “We consistently hear from customers how much they enjoy the freedom of not being tied to a Wi-Fi hotspot and instead being able to download and read new books anytime, anywhere on AT&T’s fast, reliable network.”
Carriers have often subsidized devices like smartphones and netbooks to increase its subscriber base. What’s unusual here is that the Kindle 3G comes with free 3G mobile service for the life of the device. AT&T is also offering about $25 per device upfront to gain more users without increasing its average revenue per user.