Content price wars only rank highly on my radar when the content is easily playable on the device of my choosing. This essentially means a DRM-free, common file standard. (Having to strip the DRM & convert it myself takes the "ease" out of it for me.)
Since this is rarely the case, that's when many other factors come into it for me. Initial buy-in for a device. Is the new device compatible with my existing files? Does that device meet a sufficient amount of my needs/wants? How's customer service? Etc, Etc.
It's part of why I've always been a little leery of the whole content provider/hardware seller configuration. It seems to be where the industry is going, I know. I just prefer more division.
I was going to cite automobiles/gas as an example, but I think the case of someone like Sony is somewhat more apropos. A Sony CD player doesn't just play Sony music. It plays just about any CD from any label. (Never used a Sony ereader, so I don't know how much they carry that model into that arena.)
Instead they seem to be using the razor blade model. Sell them a razor cheap then charge $$ for the special blades needed to fit it.
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