Amazon gives you a 30% discount on a new one if this change forces you to upgrade
Amazon got its start as an online marketplace for books back in the 90s, so it only makes sense that its first major hardware product, the Kindle, was an e-book reader. The first generation of the Kindle, with its then unique e-ink screen, was released in 2007, with many more editions landing in the years that followed. If you’ve been sticking with your older Kindle all these years and maybe even still use it as your credible e-book reader (well without a 3G connection at least), we have some bad news for you as Amazon plans to kill these devices ability to access its store.
Amazon is sending out an email to users with older Kindles registered in their account (via GoodEreader), warning that some of these models will lose access to Amazon’s e-bookstore from August. This means that 5th generation and earlier Kindles will not be able to browse, borrow or buy books directly.
You will still be able to make purchases on the Amazon website and send them to your Kindle, and similarly, your existing e-book library will still be available on the device, so it is not the case that this hardware will be made completely obsolete. It’s unclear how much this move may be aimed at pushing users to newer devices, or whether it’s a real response to technical limitations – a theory hovering around GoodEreader talks about the lack of modern TLS support on these older ones. Kindles.
If you feel tempted to upgrade to a newer model, Amazon will let you use a promotional code to get a 30% discount on a new Kindle, as well as $ 40 in e-book credit. If the offer is extended to you, be sure to take advantage of it while you can.
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