alt Hacker NewsKindle's are cheaper because Amazon sells them at or below cost to lure users into their ecosystem. This helps them control the market from both the seller and consumer sides, in keeping with their overall business model. Add to that the fact that you don't really own the e-books you "buy" through Amazon, just like pretty much every other digital "purchase" these days, and that's enough for me to never buy one.
Of course, the general state of e-book devices is pretty abysmal. There are no good options I'm aware of.
> Add to that the fact that you don't really own the e-books you "buy" through Amazon, just like pretty much every other digital "purchase" these days, and that's enough for me to never buy one.
True. That's why I prefer to buy books on other platforms, sometimes directly on authors website. And nothing stops me from reading them on Kindle. Maybe that's the reason why I don't understand the problem here.