I'm not, in any way, suggesting that the pricing structure isn't 100% transparent. I'm pointing out that there's an upfront component (say $1614 for a m3.2xlarg

I'm not, in any way, suggesting that the pricing structure isn't 100% transparent. I'm pointing out that there's an upfront component (say $1614 for a m3.2xlarge) to the reserved instance pricing - which is likely of interest to startups. Amazon calls this an "upfront payment"...I don't think "upfront cost" is a misrepresentation. This cost tends to be better than buying hardware, but it's much higher than what you pay for dedicated (often $0 upfront...or $25-$200).