Amazon is reportedly meeting with advertisers to pitch the idea of welcome screen ads on its popular Kindle Fire tablet. The retail giant is asking $600,000 for prime placement on the slate, according to a report from AdAge. Amazon currently offers its entire range of Kindle eReaders with advertisements that appear on the devices’ screen savers. Customers who opt to purchase a Kindle with ads enjoy discounts of between $30 and $50 off the purchase price of the devices; if Amazon carries the same model over to its Kindle Fire, the end-user cost of the tablet could drop by as much as 25% to $149. Following an explosive launch quarter that saw Amazon’s Kindle Fire take an estimated 14% of the global tablet market after less then two months of availability, the tablet’s market share reportedly tumbled as Apple’s $399 iPad 2 extinguished Kindle Fire demand. With rumors surrounding a $200-$250 “iPad mini” heating up, an ad-supported Kindle Fire with a reduced price tag may help keep Amazon’s 7-inch tablet in the running.

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