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Even without stripping there is no vendor lock in to the Kindle. There are plenty of independent bookstores that sell non-DRMed Mobi books for the Kindle. I have seen very few posts were Kindle owners complain that it is hard to find books to buy and read from Amazon or the independents or the free websites.
The notion that the Kindle is restricted is beyond out dated. Ignoring the fact that the Amazon store is the largest ebook store and that you are likely to find the books that you want at a competitive price, not to mention all of the freebies, there are other book sellers that many folks use that sell for the Kindle.
There is this belief that because you can buy best sellers at the Sony, Kobo, and BN store, E-Pub readers have more freedom. The reality is that bestsellers are going to be sold for the same price at Amazon, Sony, IBooks, Kobo, and BN because of Agency Pricing. So there is no advantage to having the freedom to shop at any of the big stores for bestsellers.
Then there is this notion that non-bestsellers are more available for EPub readers because of the number of stores you can buy from. It is rare to find a book available at BN, Sony, Kobo, or IBooks that is not available at Amazon. Just about all of the independent bookstores sell books as Mobi and EPub so there is no difference there.
So this idea that you are locked into Amazon if you buy a Kindle is wrong. The idea that you have more freedom with a EPub reader is true but the number of books available for a Kindle user is the same, if not larger, then the number of books available for an EPub reader due to the size of Amazon's store and the presence of independent bookstores that sell Mobi and EPub formated books.
On top of all of that, non-Agency Priced books tend to be cheaper at Amazon.
If someone prefers EPub for whatever reason, I am fine with that. If you think that the Sony is a better EReader than the Kindle, cool. But the argument that you are locked into Amazon's store is old, out dated, and wrong.
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