It's hard to believe since Amazon's Kindle began life at the $399 mark, but the latest Kindle offering will get the popular eReader in your hands for just $114! There is a bit of a catch to this latest offering, but it sounds like a good problem to have.  Amazon has reduced the price of the Kindle to $114 by signing up advertisers to promote their services and products on the Kindle's screen while it's in hibernation or while the screen saver is turned on.

If you've seen the Kindle before, you may have noted that older Kindles used pictures of well-known or much loved authors and speakers on the screen savers. Authors like Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austen, Martin Luther King Jr., and Kurt Vonnegut are just some of the authors that I have personally seen on the Kindle in our home, and it's always fun to walk by where the Kindle sits and see what author has appeared on the screen.

Ad Sponsored Kindle for Sale at (you guessed it) Amazon

Kindle Keyboard, Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display - includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers Sale Price: $69.99

With that in mind, I have never felt like these screensavers have been intrusive, but actually added to the reading experience. The sponsored Kindle's screensavers might not be as interesting or not as interesting in the same way, but still should not be intrusive. Amazon has stated that the first sponsors they have signed are Visa, Buick, Chase Bank, and Olay, and honestly I can't imagine those companies having ads that feel like spam. With the E Ink technology, the ads on the Kindle will probably feel more like the ads you see in the Wall Street Journal.

Amazon will also be displaying their own ads on the home screen and screensaver, which should actually be helpful to frequent Amazon shoppers. To begin with, Amazon will infrequently post ads where the sponsored Kindle owner can purchase $20 Amazon gift cards for just $10, 6 Audible books for $6, and MP3 albums for just a buck. The Audible book deal sounds the most promising of all, since Audible books cost as much, if not more, than a normal hardcover book, so you may see savings of $60-$120 on that coupon alone.

The sponsored Amazon Kindle is also allowing for a new app called AppMash will allows the Kindle owner to help determine what types of ads are acceptable to its customers. Based on the sponsors listed so far, I would probably be more like to choose Visa or Chase Bank as my choices, since I'm not interested in Buicks or Olay moisturizers, but the masses would help determine the sponsors. However, you will have a vote if you own this ad-supported Kindle. I am fairly sure that Amazon will use customer information to determine what types of ads you see, so a person that registered the Kindle under a man's name will probably not see makeup ads as often.

Photos of Ad Sponsored Kindle Screens

The ad sponsored Kindle will not display ads in the reading area. Meaning that while you are in the book itself, you will see no ads. I'm almost positive it crossed someone's mind to put the ads in the reading area, but I'm glad that they chose to not place them there. I'm sure others are echoing this sentiment.

If a Kindle is in your near future, and you don't mind a few ads, and some worthwhile advertising at that, then the ad-sponsored Kindle might be your best bet at the $114 price point. If you want to wait it out even further, my personal opinion is that this particular sponsored Kindle will be lowered to $99 during the Christmas holidays this year. That's just an opinion, and honestly I expected this Kindle to be sold at that price point now. If you'd rather have your Kindle now, $114 is a great deal, especially with the opportunity to save additional money in the Amazon advertising alone!

Two Cheapest Kindles for Sale at Amazon

Kindle Keyboard, Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display - includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers Sale Price: $69.99

Kindle Keyboard 3G, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display Sale Price: $189.00

In the coming days, we may see Barnes & Noble take the price of the Nook down from it's $249 pricing model. If they were ready for the ad sponsored Kindle, you may see the price lowered soon. If they were not, it will take awhile to come up with a sponsored model of their own. Stay tuned!

B. Daniels is the lead review expert with Find Cheap Bargains. B. was more than likely the person responsible for the hands-on review of every product on the site. He also spends time searching for sale bargains when not conducting and writing the reviews.