DELVING into Jane Austen's Persuasion may soon be a verydifferent experience. The Kindle devices that have revolutionisedreading habits around the world are to carry advertising for thefirst time.In a move that has alarmed literary traditionalists,internet retailer Amazon is to launch a new cut-price Kindle e-reader next month which will display adverts for products includingbeauty creams, motor vehicles and credit cards as readers browsetheir favourite novels.The Kindle with Special Offers, which willsell for dollars 25 (GBP15) less than the standard model as anincentive to purchasers, will only be available in the US at first,but technology observers predict it will arrive in the UK nextyear.Advertising sources believe that Kindle could soon develop theconcept to allow the industry to "profile" readers and tailoradvertisements to individual users based on their book choices. Butthe new device has come under fire from literary experts who believethat readers should not face being targeted by companies trying tosell them products.The Kindle has divided the reading public sinceits UK launch around 18 months ago. It is Amazon's most popularproduct and is forecast to bring in more than dollars 5 billion inrevenue this year.Vanessa Robertson, owner of The Edinburgh Bookshopin Bruntsfield, said she was against adverts on Kindles. "I justdon't think it is a good fit. You don't want to read a book and seeadverts flashing up at the same time. I think it would have to bemuch cheaper to make people accept adverts."Marion Sinclair, chiefexecutive of the Scottish Publishing Forum, added: "Most ardentbibliophiles will not be happy with ads on their Kindle. People wantto immerse themselves in their book and have a totally absorbingreading experience - not be constantly reminded that they can save afew pence on their next latte."The adverts will replace the screensaver page, which currently consists of historical pictures ofauthors such as Austen. The device will also display adverts andspecial offers along the bottom of the home page, while readers willbe able to rate their favourite adverts, choosing between, forexample, a picture of a woman's face advertising Olay beauty creamand a photograph of the product in a pot.Richard Marsham, managingpartner of Tangible, parent company of the Leith Agency, whichcreated the iconic Irn-Bru adverts, said: "You could easily build upa profile on someone pretty quickly by looking at the types of booksthey're reading - and target products accordingly. I think it's agreat idea."Firms already signed up to advertise their products onKindles include General Motors' Buick car marque, Procter & Gamble'sOlay cosmetics brand and payments processor JPMorgan Chase, whichwill advertise the Amazon.com Reward Visa Card.Amazon's Kindledirector, Jay Marine, insists the company has designed theadvertising platform so that commercials do not interfere with thecustomer's reading experience. But many users do not believe thatwill be the case."I think I'll be sticking with the Kindle I've got,which I love," said Edinburgh-based writer Sara Sheridan, author ofSecret Of The Sands. "I would find adverts very intrusive. I keep myKindle by my bed so it's right in my personal space and the idea ofthere being adverts there does not appeal to me at all. If they wereads for other books, that would be different. You are used to seeingother new books advertised in the back pages of a novel."MarcLambert, chief executive of the Scottish Book Trust, said he wasconcerned that the new adverts could be the beginning of a slipperyslope."An unwelcome expansion of this particular idea would be in-book advertising, which would be an altogether more intrusiveframework, and would almost certainly impact upon the readingexperience in a negative way, regardless of the cost benefits," hesaid.Amazon has consistently lowered the price of the Kindle sinceit released the first version of the device in the US at dollars 399in 2007. It now sells in the UK for GBP111 for the wi-fi version andGBP152 for the 3G model.Battlelines are drawnForGene Munro, managingdirector of Neo Marketing, GlasgowThe Kindle With Special Offers isnow priced at dollars 114 in the US, so I would imagine that even ifthe cost of parts has gone down from the 2009 estimate of dollars185.49, Amazon would still be making a loss on each unit.But Amazonknow that Kindle users make purchases with much greater frequency,so even if they were giving them away they would still make theirmoney back after two to three years.The majority of people will optfor the cheaper, advertising supported Kindle. For those that feelthat advertising has absolutely no place on their e-reader, it'sonly an extra dollars 25.AgainstTim Cornwell, Arts CorrespondentWhenelectronic books carry adverts they are not books, they are multi-media platforms. Books are surely for immersing yourself in theprinted word, quietly, for reading pleasure.I'm no particularLuddite. My mobile phone and most of the music I listen to runs offmy laptop, and must be frequently "synched".But the minute these e-books carry extra content - and particularly if the door is openedto commercials - they are laden with distractions. A sancrosanctpeace has been invaded, with a salesman popping out of the pages.
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