DrJBHL DrJBHL

Amazon has confirmed $15 Ad Opt-Out

Amazon has confirmed $15 Ad Opt-Out

 

Things are getting more and more obnoxious.

You buy a Kindle Fire HD ($199 7” version, $299 8.9” version), you also get advertising on the lock screen and at the bottom of the home screen for books, movies TV shows and (of course) Amazon products.

If you opt to pay $15 more, these ads will be disabled.

Sort of like someone blasting music (at a legal hour) but if you pay him, he’ll turn the volume down. Another form of a protection racket.

Amazon says few people choose to opt out. I bet they’ll find in a few months that these ads have been tracking them as well. Why not? Their ebooks already do that.

Call me an old fashioned dinosaur (at your own risk), but when will folks “Just say no”?

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2409476,00.asp

80,527 views 33 replies
Reply #26 Top

Quoting Jafo, reply 24

Quoting Leo in WI, reply 21Wonder why they went the other route this time,

Bottom line?

Bottom line...

They can promote the LOWER price....
End of Jafo's quote

Yeah, that was my point, when I bought the Kindle Touch 3G last year, they clearly marketed both prices, was wondering why they went this weird route this time to end at the same result, but look somewhat bad doing it.

Reply #27 Top

Quoting DrJBHL, reply 25

"The advertising opt-out helps the Kindle Fire better compete with the Google Nexus 7, another highly-recommended $199, 7-inch tablet, which lacks advertising. The two tablets are still very different, though, with the Kindle Fire much more focused on letting owners consume Amazon's library of content (although it also has Amazon's app store) and the Nexus 7 more tuned towards Google's mobile services and running all the apps available from Google Play."

Looks like the Kindle is pumping its profit margin vs. Nexus 7 with that advertising... 
End of DrJBHL's quote

Funny thing about that Nexus 7, it's great for what it does but what it doesn't do is blindingly obvious.  The marketplace still needs to mature a LOT for tablet devices and general content (as far as books and music and whatnot.)

With Amazons marketplace (even, yes, installed on the Nexus 7) you can get practically everything.

Honestly, to me this just makes Google look like they aren't even trying.  It's fantastic hardware and OS and...seriously?  What the hell.

Anyway, I sold my Nexus 7 to a friend.  I'll look into it again when things have matured.

Reply #28 Top

Quoting Heavenfall, reply 20
That's what I mean about presenting it wrong. Instead of doing it like this with an opt-out, they should have done something like this:

"Product costs 315, or buy the subsidized* version for 299."
End of Heavenfall's quote

That is exactly what they do.  Both prices are clearly shown when you buy the Kindle and the less expensive version clearly states that there will be ads.  They strongly encourage you to buy the less expensive version with the ads which Amazon claims are fairly unobtrusive.  That IS true in a sense as the ads never appear in your reading materials or on the menu but I found them very annoying.  Others may not mind them as much as I did. 

Had the ads been limited to Kindle related products, it would have been fine but the ads are based on every single search you do on Amazon so be careful what you search for.  I got ads for routers, video cards, hair products and all sorts of things.  The ads were pointless as I had already purchased those items elsewhere.  Rather than pursuade me to buy those products, they made me NOT want to buy them.  I felt as though Amazon was invading my life and the ads kept coming.  They may only appear on the wallpapers but I found them very obtrusive so I coughed up the extra $50.00 to make them stop.  Still $50.00 is a lot of money to "unsubscribe" from unwanted ads. 

Amazon wants to become our sole source for online shopping so they are planning to build additional distribution centers in various states to get their inventory into our hands quickly.  Their goal is to provide same day delivery.  I wonder if the same day delivery option will have two prices - one with ads and one without?  Your package will remain firmly locked until you watch the embedded video!  Any attempt to force the package open, could result in permanent damage to your Amazon purchase which will void the manufacturer's warranty.  In addition, Amazon will not accept returns for products damaged as a result of package tampering.  :grin:   JK, of course. 

 

Reply #29 Top

Oh my, a company expecting you to pay for a product. Whatever next ;p

Reply #30 Top

Charging NOT to have ads?

Amazon can go suck diarrhea through a dirty old tramp's sweaty sock before I'd subscribe to that kind of racketeering.  I hate ads at the best of times [don't get me started on the worst], so being they track everything you once a customer, it's pretty obvious I'll not be doing business with Amazon at any time during this lifetime or the next

As for a Kindle, eReader, whatever, they can shove it.  If I want to read a book I'll go to the public library... and if they haven't got it, I'll wait until they do.  That's right, I'm as tight as a fish's arse... and that's watertight.  I buy only what I want or need... when I want or need it, not when some pumped up salaried ponce in retail or advertising says so.

Yup, the big companies know how to drive people away... well anyone with half a brain, that is.... meaning people with a mind of their own who can't be swayed by advertising and retail pressure to buy shit they don't need.  It never ceases to amaze me... the ads say come in and buy this and this and this and save... next day there's a freaking queue outside the door just itching to spend its money.  And there was me thinking that to save money you didn't spend it. Silly f**king me!  Anyhow, I digress... wanted to talk about the big stores driving people away.

So, I was recently told about a couple of major department stores here in Australia that now have facial recognition technology and can gain access to your 'smart' phone to target you with ads and products via text messages, email and in person when in-store. Well they just lost an entire family as customers, not that I often went to either company's stores too often.  Now that they've got that kind of crap going on I most certainly won't be returning to a store near me at any time in this lifetime... or the next.

I might not have a smart phone they can get me on [got one of those simple effers that makes/receives calls/text], but that facial recognition crap definitely goes way beyond it for me. Nope, it's not on! Took four coppers an Olympic shot putter and an ex-professional wrestler to hold me down for a mug shot once, so no freaking store is getting pics of me for free... and certainly not for the purpose of targeting me with damned unwelcome ads I neither want or need. 

Bastards!!!  And when those store that don't have facial recognition, get it, that's when I wear the mask.  Yup, I think I still got that Ronald Reagan mask here someplace.  If not, I know where I can pick up a cheap one of Bill Clinton... just hope nobody expects me to hand me old feller out when I see an intern.

:-" ;P :w00t: }:)

Anyhow, Doc, thanks for the open door [mentioning advertising] so's I could vent a bit.  Orright, vent a lot, but hey, it's quiet around here without mrs s and I needed some occupational therapy to stop the insanity setting in. Okay, so I'm somewhat late [yeah, I know what you're all thinking] but Shaunna gets home on Sunday and I'll be just fine after that... well maybe.

*_*

Reply #31 Top

Quoting starkers, reply 30
Shaunna gets home on Sunday and I'll be just fine after that
End of starkers's quote

Part before the conjunction? YIPPEEE!!!! Genuinely happy for you, mate.

Part after the conjunction? Bloody unlikely. She'll take one look at the house and then it's "adios starkers". Banished to the garage for eternity. ;)

 

Genuinely happy she's coming home. :)

Reply #32 Top

I would never have any use for a tablet anyway, I'll stick with my little netbook. :)

 

Reply #33 Top

Quoting DrJBHL, reply 31
Part after the conjunction? Bloody unlikely. She'll take one look at the house and then it's "adios starkers". Banished to the garage for eternity.
End of DrJBHL's quote

Nah,, mate, I've kept the place clean and tidy in her absence.  That's how I was brought up... not to be a slovenly slob.

Quoting DrJBHL, reply 31
Genuinely happy she's coming home.
End of DrJBHL's quote

Me too, mate, me too.  It has been too quiet around here without her.  Besides, I'm sick of talking to myself.  They reckon that's the first sign of madness... which means I'm without hope. 

Not only am I answering myself, I'm arguing the point as well. ;) o_O :P