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Question for Kindle users re: ad included versions

L

lykaon78

Golden Member
My wife wants the Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas. Is it worth the extra $20 bucks to get the non-ad version or are the ads not too annoying or intrusive?

It sounds like they only display as a screen saver and not in reading mode.

Thanks
 
The ads are not really that bad, and sometimes they are useful. I keep my wife's Paperwhite in Airplane Mode unless I actually want to load books for her. That provides better battery life and there are no ads. 🙂
 
The one thing that some users like is on the ad-free version, the Kindle unlocks automatically when you use a magnetic case. In the ad version, you have to swipe to unlock, even with a magnetic case.
 
Can't you buy the ad-supported version and then, if the ads seem too intrusive, pay the extra $20 after the fact to get rid of them?
 
I don't see what the big deal about the ads is, frankly. They're only on the lock screen. Not worth paying to get rid of, but that's just me.
 
I got her a new Kindle last year for Christmas (ugh) and soon thereafter they were offering the ad free version for the same price once sales started dying off... it's only $15 though isn't it?
 
I have an ad-supported Kindle Keyboard 3G - and the ads suck.

Not because the ads themselves suck, but because it drains my battery. With my wireless radios on, it'll drain the battery in a week without my touching the thing.

With the radios off, it lasts for months without use. I never have a problem with picking it up and the thing's out of battery, whereas I do encounter it when I forget to turn off the radios - a far more common situation than I first thought would happen. And it sucks doubly much as I couldn't pay to get rid of the ads after the fact.

Suffice to say, if you buy it as a gift... really, get the ad-free one. It makes for a better gift.

But at least I get 50 MB of free 3G access a month, anywhere in the world.
 
I have the same issue with my Kindle Keyboard 2, and that doesn't have any ads. It isn't the advertisements killing the battery, it's the cell modem.
 
I've had a original kindle and then the first generation Paperwhite both with ads and neither of them have bothered me to the point where I wanted to op out of them. If in doubt get the version with ads and save the money. You can always log in online and pay the 15 or 20 dollars to upgrade your kindle later.
 
kevinsbane said:
I have an ad-supported Kindle Keyboard 3G - and the ads suck.

Not because the ads themselves suck, but because it drains my battery. With my wireless radios on, it'll drain the battery in a week without my touching the thing.

With the radios off, it lasts for months without use. I never have a problem with picking it up and the thing's out of battery, whereas I do encounter it when I forget to turn off the radios - a far more common situation than I first thought would happen. And it sucks doubly much as I couldn't pay to get rid of the ads after the fact.

Suffice to say, if you buy it as a gift... really, get the ad-free one. It makes for a better gift.

But at least I get 50 MB of free 3G access a month, anywhere in the world.
Click to expand...

I never thought about the cell card draining your battery for the 3G models... I've always only had the WIFI. Can you turn the 3G off and on?
 
kevinsbane said:
... With my wireless radios on, it'll drain the battery in a week without my touching the thing. With the radios off, it lasts for months without use....
Click to expand...

That reinforces my post above. The Kindle Paperwhite is my wife's. She is not a computer person, so I keep it in Airplane Mode. That turns off all wireless radio links, Wi-Fi and 3G. It also kills all new ads. I only turn on the links to download new books, and I buy them with my computer using more secure, non-wireless connection. I had three credit card compromises in October-November, and I have traced it to Wi-Fi links from Kindle.
 
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You can't turn off the cell modem alone, it's wireless on, or wireless off. Never considered the cell modem as an issue, as I think I remember hearing other Kindle Keyboard 3G owners without ads not having the same issue. But that was some time ago...
 
corkyg said:
I had three credit card compromises in October-November, and I have traced it to Wi-Fi links from Kindle.
Click to expand...

Not a chance.

Your kindle can only buy books from the Amazon online store. All you need to do is log into Amazon.com with your already existing account and your credit card details will be remembered. The only time you'll even be inputting a CC number using your kindle is if you're adding a new card and there's no reason to be doing that 3 times in one month. Even then, the transaction is SSL encrypted and you've got to be next to someone very sophisticated to get that signal intercepted.
 
DeviousTrap said:
Not a chance.

Your kindle can only buy books from the Amazon online store. All you need to do is log into Amazon.com with your already existing account and your credit card details will be remembered. The only time you'll even be inputting a CC number using your kindle is if you're adding a new card and there's no reason to be doing that 3 times in one month. Even then, the transaction is SSL encrypted and you've got to be next to someone very sophisticated to get that signal intercepted.
Click to expand...

Yeah... I've never had ANY issues with any of my kindle devices and credit card information... I don't see that being a very likely source.
 
The source was public wi-fi used by my Kindle HD+ when online. I was careless and used that link while on a trip. I caught it immediately, and was even notified by email by my credit card people - bogus charges were stopped and a fraud investigation initiated. Anyway, that would all be another thread. As for the wife's Paperwhite, it is as you say - the only link is to Amazon's Kindle store.
 
corkyg said:
The source was public wi-fi used by my Kindle HD+ when online. I was careless and used that link while on a trip. I caught it immediately, and was even notified by email by my credit card people - bogus charges were stopped and a fraud investigation initiated. Anyway, that would all be another thread. As for the wife's Paperwhite, it is as you say - the only link is to Amazon's Kindle store.
Click to expand...

I still doubt it. You *think* there is a link to using your Kindle and someone else using your CC but I'm confident that Amazon encrypts their connection so even if you were on public WiFi, it's secure.
 
I don't find the ads annoying or intrusive on my Paper White or on the Kindle Fire..they even save me money or get me great deals.
 
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