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The Kindle is subsidized. You pay $9.99 every time you buy a book for it. If I'm going to spend more than $100 on something like this, I really don't want to h
by erikwiffin 17y ago
The Kindle is subsidized. You pay $9.99 every time you buy a book for it.
If I'm going to spend more than $100 on something like this, I really don't want to have to continue to pay to keep it useful. On the other hand, to subsidize the Kindle to the point where they could afford to sell it for $100, they'd have to sell books for a lot more than $10, and (ignoring libraries and used books) a paper back doesn't often cost too much more than $10.
- ardit33 17y ago"The Kindle is subsidized." -- Not any more than an ipod/touch is. You are actually paying the fair price for device is. An iphone at 99, is a heavily subsidized device. The real cost would be more than $400-$500. You are paying it down the road with the $70-$100/mo plan. Technically, you can buy a kindle, and use it only for pdfs and never buy a book, and that's still ok.
- unalone 17y agoRemember that book costs slide downward over time. I got me the complete Sherlock Holmes for a dollar, and a bit of Austen and Dickens for free. I think Neuromancer was about seven dollars, too. So it's not a flat price eating away at you.
- bkudria 17y agoDon't forget Amazon is also footing the (continual) wireless bill.