Amazon says buyers of its new Kindle Fire HD tablet will get the option to turn off the advertisements that appear on its standby screen for US$15.
The online retailer showed off the tablet last week, and said there would be no option to turn off the ads. That was a departure from Amazon's previous policies. It has shipped Kindle e-readers with "Special Offers" ads on the standby screen, but users could pay to have them turned off.
Over the weekend, Amazon said that policy would apply to the Kindle Fire HD.
"We know from our Kindle reader line that customers love our special offers and very few people choose to opt out," says spokeswoman Kinley Pearsall.
The first Kindle Fire HD model will start shipping on Friday.
AP