Hasta La Gadget!

After confirmations to the contrary yesterday, Amazon has now come out and said that users will be able to opt-out of ads on the new Kindle Fire models for a one-time fee of $15. More »

If you’ve been put off by the (arguably obtrusive) Special Offers on the Kindle Fire HD, Amazon has just announced that they will allow users to pay $15 to opt-out of the ads for the life of the device.

An Amazon spokesperson wrote:

The $15 is a one-time payment for owners of the Kindle Fire HD. This will remove ads from the lock screen and from the bottom of the screen in certain instances. Amazon first announced special offers with the e-ink Kindle and owners could opt out for $30 on the original model.

There was a minor consumer and pundit outcry when users learned they couldn’t remove the special offers.

The new Kindle Fire range was barely out of the oven before Amazon drew flak for its plans to include Special Offers on the lock screen for US models. In plainer language, the tablets ship with ads built-in — and unlike e-paper Kindles, there’s no option to pay for an ad-free variant from the start. But don’t cancel your pre-order just yet. Amazon’s support has since confirmed to an Engadget reader that the option to remove the ads will be “announced soon.” Although full details aren’t forthcoming, we wouldn’t be surprised if history repeats and owners have to pay a fee to cover the lost ad subsidies. You can see the relevant snippet of Amazon’s response e-mail, in all its tenuous grasp of English, after the break.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Update: Since we’ve posted, CNET has talked to a spokesperson who claims that there will be “no way” to remove ads. We’re getting to the bottom of this, although it’s clear there’s at least a schism between what PR and support staff understand.

Update 2: We’ve gotten in touch with Amazon ourselves, and they say that there’s been a mix-up in support — there won’t be any opt-out choice. Sorry, folks. If you don’t like ads, you’ll have to hope there’s a change of heart between now and launch.

Continue reading Amazon says: yes, you can opt out of ads on new Kindle Fire models (update 2: not likely)

Filed under: Tablets

Amazon says: yes, you can opt out of ads on new Kindle Fire models (update 2: not likely) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Despite what you may have heard, there’s no looming threat of a zombie apocalypse. Sure, there’s one on The Walking Dead, but you don’t have to worry about coming across the undead in real life. Unless you happen to be in London, of course.

A Walking Dead food truck is actually parked somewhere in the city, and it serves up delectably cringe-worthy delights like the big brain burger, feet and thyroid nuggets, crispy brain dippers, and skewered hearts.

Of course you don’t believe all that now, do you? This is actually chef Mark Jankel’s gory food cart where he’ll be serving up all the aforementioned goodies using “responsibly sourced British ingredients.”

The cart was parked at the Camden Lock Market last August 22nd, but will be moving all across the UK to celebrate the release of The Walking Dead’s Season 2 DVD. If you live in London, check out their official UK page to track the trailer’s progress: facebook.com/TheWalkingDeadUK

[Stylist via Incredible Things]

There are few places left in this world safe from advertising. Your apps have em, your train is plastered with them (inside and out), even your premium video subscription service pelts you with sales pitches. So, why should getting from one place to another be any different? Motorola (and, we suppose by extension, Google) doesn’t see any reason it shouldn’t feed you ads while you’re navigating about, using your phone’s turn-by-turn directions app. Of course, all these ads would be tailored specifically to your tastes and locale. Obviously, there might be something to the idea of popping up small and unobtrusive alerts for nearby businesses — maybe even ones you didn’t known existed. But, when you’re trying to navigate a busy roundabout or a confusing set of on-ramps (we’re looking at you, New Jersey), perhaps it’s best not to crowd your vision with popups for Mabel’s MuumuuMart.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Software, Mobile

Motorola trying to patent smart ads in navigation apps originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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