Portraits of famous authors have been the standard Kindle screen saver since the product launched in 2007, but today Amazon announced a version that will put advertisements in this valuable piece of screen real estate.
Although the hardware is identical to the standard $139 Kindle, the new Kindle with "Special Offers" will feature advertisements and deals as its screen saver and on the bottom of its home screen. But for that added distraction, the company will take $25 off the price—dropping it to $114.
The screen saver and home screen bar are the only places customers will see ads and offers, according to Russ Grandinetti, vice president of Kindle content. "We are not interested in doing anything that interrupts the reading experience," he said.
Current Kindle users will not be able to upgrade or participate the offers program, although Kindle representatives did not rule this out in the future. "I wouldn't want to speculate on future implementations," said Grandinetti.
Amazon has announced a number of advertising partners, including Buick, Visa, and Proctor & Gamble's Olay. It will also offer deals, such as six Audible audio books for $6 and a $1 album from the Amazon MP3 store. Clicking on a deal via the five-way controller will, in many cases, trigger an email with an offer, but some deals can be redeemed right from the Kindle.
"The Audible offer can be fulfilled right from the device," Grandinetti said.
Screen saver ads could change and update over time, though the frequency of those changes will, Grandinetti added, depend on customer feedback. The program is launching with relatively few advertising partners because, up until now, the Special Offer program was a confidential project within Amazon.
Since Special Offers isn't available with any other Kindle model, those initial ads may be seen by relatively few consumers. Amazon execs, however aren't concerned. Grandinetti said Amazon obviously does its best to predict scale and is "confident advertisers will be able to reach a large group of people this way." Amazon also introduced a Kindle app called AdMash that will allow customers to vote on the most attractive and engaging screen savers and advertisements. The most popular ads will be more likely to appear on the screen saver.
Grandinetti says the lower price point is meant to increase sales for what is already the best-selling product in Amazon's history. "Our goal is to make the device as available as possible," Grandinetti says. "I think $25 is a lot of money these days."
The Kindle with Special Offers is available for pre-order now and will ship on May 3.