[karunaji]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

In terms of open vs closed, Amazon has a lot more clout when essentially negotiating on behalf of millions of units. I'm fairly confident they're better at negotiating with AT&T than I am.

And yet the rates they appear to pay is very high. It's not that simple because they have to take into account possible roaming abroad. There are too many risky positions that it is naive to think that they will get better rates than I can get only locally.

Plus, working this way means one less bill in my inbox, one less thing that I have to pay for, one less thing to break.

Not for me. I use mobile internet for several devices but with one prepaid SIM card. Prepaid account that I replenish online whenever the balance is emptied.

I understand your point that with Kindle you would get the same connectivity in any part of the world without worries. But the problem is that everyone has to pay for this convenience.

So in short, I see no evidence for your assumption that you would somehow save money or get a "more fair price" by using your own 3G connection.

I have already saved money by buying a cheaper Wi-Fi only model and using 3G whenever I need it. Besides I often use Amazon for personal document delivery to Kindle which would cost me at least 15 cents per 1 MB. As I normally send 2-3 documents daily it would cost me at least additional $10. Instead I can pay $2 for even more convenience and save $8.

Now replace the documents with publications for frequent subscribers and you get the same costs only more hidden. Your only argument is that big corporations will not pass the savings to customers but will keep them (probably to pay bonuses or whatever) which is exactly the result of closed systems.