In that case it would be a huge gaffe on Amazon's part. Amazon will have to be responsible for the full OS and it will be a nightmare for them to integrate what

In that case it would be a huge gaffe on Amazon's part. Amazon will have to be responsible for the full OS and it will be a nightmare for them to integrate whatever Google is pushing out every 6 months, including security fixes. But let's put that aside - think about compatibility from user stand point. Google's app store is still the main Android app store and is likely to be so going forward. If Google and its partners start pushing out newer releases that Amazon fails to incorporate in their 2.1 tree - users are going to miss out on apps - when they have a 2011 era dual core hardware that they paid $300 for. Again if this was $100-$179 it would be OK - $300 is what makes this not attractive.