I was thinking of Kindle 3 for some time: eBook reader with paper-like light-reflective display available at reasonable price. In Chicago I noticed Kindle 3 version called “Kindle with Special Offers” (KSO) for only $114. It was attractive alternative for regular Kindle 3 available for $139. You can get this $25 discounted device only in USA; the deal here is that KSO displays books ads when switched off. I did not bother these “special offers” at all, but my “dismantle first” instinct pushed me to find out a way to get rid of it.
Kindle with custom screensaver
Reading about jailbreaking took 45 minutes of my spare time while hacking itself only additional 10 minutes. My KSO has 3.2 firmware version so I followed these instructions to apply jailbreak and unlock device and then to install custom screensavers. I made up hand drawing and saved as 800×600 PNG file, uploaded to device and voila!, when I switch off Kindle I see my drawing instead of random book covers I will never read.
