Report: Amazon to Give Free Kindles to ‘Prime’ Customers

Ed Sutherland ()

Report: Amazon to Give Free Kindles to ‘Prime’ Customers

Amazon isn’t standing still in the new rivalry with Apple’s iPad for ebook consumers. Just a week after the Seattle-based maker of the Kindle announced it would buy a multitouch screen manufacturer and design a color e-book reader comes word Amazon will give free Kindles to its best “Amazon Prime” customers.

“A reliable source tells us Amazon wants to give a free Kindle to every Amazon Prime subscriber,” Tech Crunch’s Michael Arrington writes Friday. Amazon Prime is a $79 per year subscription program providing free two-day shipping on items purchased from the online retailer. Subscribers are frequent Amazon customers, including ebooks for the Kindle.

The free offer apparently is the end-result of a January program from Amazon allowing customers who buy a Kindle and are not satisfied to receive a full refund – along with keeping the ebook reader.

The move by Amazon is seen as just the latest to level the playing field with Apple, which analysts and others say could present the Kindle with its greatest challenge. Already Amazon has caved-into publishers demanding Apple-like contracts that would spell the end of the company’s $9.99 ebook pricing.

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[Via 9to5Mac and TechCrunch]

7 comments »

About the author

Ed Sutherland

Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.

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  • Nick

    That’d be really good, especially if they do it in the UK, instead of just the states……

    Sadly, it probably won’t happen..

  • iplante

    sweet!!!! I am a prime customer…although I am getting the iPad so it may be a gift for someone else..

  • http://www.jamiemonster.com Jamiemonster

    I think it makes sense, Amazon Prime customers are obviously frequent users of Amazon so giving them a Kindle would tie them into the Kindle store. Over the course of a year they’ll prolly make the money of the Kindle back in purchases. However I’d say they should make it for customers who’ve had Prime for a couple of years or so since they’re obviously loyal customers.

  • DGF

    Interesting graphic. When did the Kindle start shipping with a color screen?

    DGF

  • DGF

    Awww, man. Should have read closer.

    DGF

  • Bill Serra

    Kindle. Now free for customers. Because Kindle’s value is now worthless anyways.

  • Bd9598

    Well where is my free Kindle?