Amazon announced its latest line of e-readers, notably the Kindle Fire HD (in two sizes) and a new, souped-up non-HD Kindle Fire at a reduced price point from the original.
However, media sources soon confirmed that with the more-affordable Kindle Fire and the new HD tablets came mandatory advertisements, both on the lock screen and home screen. CNET has confirmed, however, that after about a day of widespread negative social media feedback, Amazon has changed its position.
Users will now have the option to opt-out of the advertisements for a one-time fee of $15.
The Kindle Fire HD will come in a 7-inch version (available Sept. 14) and an 8.9-inch version (available Nov. 20), starting at $199 and $299 respectively for the 16GB versions. A 4G mobile Internet-capable version of the 8.9-inch HD version starts at $499.
The enhanced version of the non-HD 7-inch Kindle Fire is $159, and comes to market Sept. 14.
