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Originally Posted by jashsu
If there's any chance that the machine can read non-drm material (and i'd be pretty surprised if there weren't), then there's reason to hope for a $50 device.
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The issue that I see is that there is no way for the device to be $50 and be able to read non-DRM material.
They simply cannot produce a usable device for $50 (today, at least) and break even. They have to sell it at a loss. Which means that they have to make up for that loss somewhere.
The obvious place is in the eBooks. If the device can read other formats, then there is little incentive to buy eBooks specifically for the device. Also, DRMed formats have very low value to the reader (remember, you never BUY an eBook with DRM - you LEASE it), so it would take alot of eBooks - or they will have to overprice the eBooks - to make up for the loss.
Not a good business model.
I agree with the previous poster: the reader should not be sold at a loss. At cost, maybe, but not a loss.
Then sell the eBooks at a reasonable price.