Free Kindles this November? - Page 2

jhempel24 · 02-28-2011, 10:34 AM

So if you cancel your prime membership, then do you have to give your Kindle back??

jbcohen · 02-28-2011, 11:08 AM

Recently shifted to reading on my office's blackberry and thus can do a stunt that most of us with electronic readers can't do. I can read Kindle and Nook books on the same device.

bgalbrecht · 02-28-2011, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petermillard

Yes, interesting comment as well regarding the cost of printing a newspaper - I'm pretty sure I've read it before, but bears repeating:

I've seen this before and I don't believe that it takes in account that the typical newspaper electronic edition for Kindle or ePub readers is advertisement free. Most newspapers are heavily subsidized by their advertisers, so switching to the current electronic edition would lose all of that revenue. To make up for it, the electronic subscription would have to be much more expensive that today's paper edition.

To be more on topic, I don't see Amazon doing this unless they offer this just to customers who do not have a Kindle, have Amazon Prime, and in the last year bought enough books with Kindle editions that the cost of free shipping would have been more than the cost of a Kindle.

bgalbrecht · 02-28-2011, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbcohen

Recently shifted to reading on my office's blackberry and thus can do a stunt that most of us with electronic readers can't do. I can read Kindle and Nook books on the same device.

My company won't let me download any blackberry apps at all.

At the moment, the iPad and iPhone can also do this, as well as any Android phone or tablet that's not locked down. I suspect that a rooted NookColor can do it also.

jbcohen · 02-28-2011, 02:55 PM

My office does that on ocasion bgalbrech each time I get the office that issues the berries to configure the berry on the server they do something different sometimes the lock it down but most of the times they don't do that. If you can get them to reconfigure your berry you might be able to get the software download to the berry. Although if you have an iphone and/or an andriod smart phone this may be a tad redundant and there fore not necessary.

Sydney's Mom · 02-28-2011, 03:40 PM

I love Amazon Prime. I don't worry about ordering a $5 potato peeler. And when I ship stuff out into the wilderness, it's free! I bought a grill, where shipping was calculated at $50, and got it shipped, in 2 days (actually, usually takes 1 day to my home outside Chicago, and 3-4 days to get to the mountains in Idaho). That is the difference between free super saver shipping and Prime. Prime goes out immediately. Really helps when you are really waiting for something (new kindle). I think I would probably do it even if we didn't need cheap and quick shipping to Idaho. Instead of getting in the car and driving 10 minutes to Bed, Bath & Beyond to get a potato peeler, I can order one at 10 pm, and it will be there in a couple days, with no tax. I also use one-day shipping on occasion-it is only $3.99 when you are a member of Prime.

Lemurion · 02-28-2011, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbcohen

Recently shifted to reading on my office's blackberry and thus can do a stunt that most of us with electronic readers can't do. I can read Kindle and Nook books on the same device.

Different devices work for different people, and the fact you can read both Kindle and Nook books on your Blackberry has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that some people would prefer to read on a Kindle rather than a Blackberry and for those people the idea of getting a free Kindle with an Amazon Prime account sounds great.

SteveEisenberg · 03-01-2011, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giggleton

Just remember, nothing is free.

Well, it is true that someone has to pay. But it doesn't have to be me. I don't pay for the software and server mobileread.com is on.

Public library? Well, I pay through taxes for the ones in my township. But I also get to use those in other Pennsylvania towns for free. (It used to be that state taxes subsidized inter-library cooperation, but this is almost eliminated.)

Free after rebate used to be a lot more common in the US than it is now, but it still happens.

My guess is that they will give you a black and white Kindle at a price, but included may be a content gift certificate equal to the cost of the Kindle. If all you read on the Kindle is public domain books, your "nothing is free" principal will apply. But if you normally pay for a fair amount of your reading material, a Kindle will be, for practical purposes, free.

Now, it the Kindle started coming with a gift card equal to the purchase price, and the gift card could be used for any Amazon purchase, I would regard that as a strictly free Kindle, since Amazon sells a wide variety of merchandise at WalMart-competitive prices. However, I'm sure we won't see that kind of strictly free Kindle this year, except maybe if you pay for Amazon Prime.

When the march to free really will happen is hard to say without knowing how quickly the device price Amazon pays to FoxConn is going down.

You might ask: The march to free never happened with Palm PDA's, so why should Kindle be different? I think the difference is that Amazon is primarily a seller of content rather than of hardware. They need tens of millions of Kindles out there to sell more content.

Hyde · 03-04-2011, 11:45 AM

I love my prime account also, I've had it for 4 years and I get my moneys worth. I order everything I can from Amazon. First off I don't have to deal with anyone, lines, or traffic. Christmas time is no problem; you name it Amazon usually has it. Two days and my box is at my door. I order Mini-moos for my mom, I recently ordered a tv, last year I order a tent. The delivery man thinks we're crazy. Although since I am getting the books for the kindle I am getting slightly less packages with smiley faces, which makes me kind of sad.

Barty · 03-04-2011, 12:29 PM

No one is in better position than Amazon to offer a subsidy / promotion to give out free or low priced readers.

The problem is kindles are selling too well already. they're probably selling as fast as they can be made.

YOU PEOPLE NEED TO STOP BUYING KINDLES!

Giggleton · 03-04-2011, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barty

No one is in better position than Amazon to offer a subsidy / promotion to give out free or low priced readers.

The problem is kindles are selling too well already. they're probably selling as fast as they can be made.

YOU PEOPLE NEED TO STOP BUYING KINDLES!

Andrew H. · 03-05-2011, 01:39 PM

I think the person who proposed this idea may be laboring under the misapprehension that most of what Amazon sells is books. This hasn't been true for a long time, though, and so giving people free kindles won't stop them from ordering flatscreen TVs and computers and DVDs and games and CDs and kitchen appliances, etc. from Amazon. So I don't think that there's much cost savings to be found there.

Plus, as others have said, it's not like the Kindle isn't selling like crazy. To people with Amazon prime accounts, even.

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02-28-2011, 10:34 AM	#16
jhempel24 Wizard Posts: 2,157 Karma: 7068605 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, B&N Nook Colro	So if you cancel your prime membership, then do you have to give your Kindle back??

02-28-2011, 11:08 AM	#17
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,032 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Where am I? Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition and a Samsung S24 Ultra	Recently shifted to reading on my office's blackberry and thus can do a stunt that most of us with electronic readers can't do. I can read Kindle and Nook books on the same device.

02-28-2011, 02:55 PM	#20
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,032 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Where am I? Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition and a Samsung S24 Ultra	My office does that on ocasion bgalbrech each time I get the office that issues the berries to configure the berry on the server they do something different sometimes the lock it down but most of the times they don't do that. If you can get them to reconfigure your berry you might be able to get the software download to the berry. Although if you have an iphone and/or an andriod smart phone this may be a tad redundant and there fore not necessary.

02-28-2011, 03:40 PM	#21
Sydney's Mom Wizard Posts: 2,899 Karma: 6995721 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Idaho, on the side of a mountain Device: Kindle Oasis, Fire 3d Gen and 5th Gen and Samsung Tab S	I love Amazon Prime. I don't worry about ordering a $5 potato peeler. And when I ship stuff out into the wilderness, it's free! I bought a grill, where shipping was calculated at $50, and got it shipped, in 2 days (actually, usually takes 1 day to my home outside Chicago, and 3-4 days to get to the mountains in Idaho). That is the difference between free super saver shipping and Prime. Prime goes out immediately. Really helps when you are really waiting for something (new kindle). I think I would probably do it even if we didn't need cheap and quick shipping to Idaho. Instead of getting in the car and driving 10 minutes to Bed, Bath & Beyond to get a potato peeler, I can order one at 10 pm, and it will be there in a couple days, with no tax. I also use one-day shipping on occasion-it is only $3.99 when you are a member of Prime.

03-04-2011, 11:45 AM	#24
Hyde Mistress of Distruction Posts: 22 Karma: 2806 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Buffalo, NY Device: Kindle 3	I love my prime account also, I've had it for 4 years and I get my moneys worth. I order everything I can from Amazon. First off I don't have to deal with anyone, lines, or traffic. Christmas time is no problem; you name it Amazon usually has it. Two days and my box is at my door. I order Mini-moos for my mom, I recently ordered a tv, last year I order a tent. The delivery man thinks we're crazy. Although since I am getting the books for the kindle I am getting slightly less packages with smiley faces, which makes me kind of sad.

03-04-2011, 12:29 PM	#25
Barty doofus Posts: 2,549 Karma: 13089041 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	No one is in better position than Amazon to offer a subsidy / promotion to give out free or low priced readers. The problem is kindles are selling too well already. they're probably selling as fast as they can be made. YOU PEOPLE NEED TO STOP BUYING KINDLES!

03-05-2011, 01:39 PM	#27
Andrew H. Grand Master of Flowers Posts: 2,201 Karma: 8389072 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Naptown Device: Kindle PW, Kindle 3 (aka Keyboard), iPhone, iPad 3 (not for reading)	I think the person who proposed this idea may be laboring under the misapprehension that most of what Amazon sells is books. This hasn't been true for a long time, though, and so giving people free kindles won't stop them from ordering flatscreen TVs and computers and DVDs and games and CDs and kitchen appliances, etc. from Amazon. So I don't think that there's much cost savings to be found there. Plus, as others have said, it's not like the Kindle isn't selling like crazy. To people with Amazon prime accounts, even.

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