They already do give away Kindle readers. You can download Kindle-reader
software for any computer, PC or Mac, for free. The IPad version is also
free. It has been clear for some time that their strategy is to make
money from the books, not the hardware.
If they were to give away the Kindle hardware gadget at this stage, I
imagine the government anti-trust people would look askance. Amazon
would be giving away the gadgets at a substantial loss, and I suppose
regulators would see that as an unfair way to squelch competing e-book
readers. I sure would.
- Jed
