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I have a Kindle 3. I have often used the Kindle's browser to download public domain books directly from Project Gutenberg. I bought a Kindle Fire for my wife, and tried the same thing with the Fire's browser, but it didn't work. I understand what they are thinking, but it's short-sighted. Amazon offers free public domain books for the same reason that casinos offer free drinks: they want you to remain in the casino. If you leave the casino to go have a drink elsewhere, there's a good chance you aren't coming back. Similarly, Amazon would rather keep you in the Kindle Store as much as possible, even if you're only downoading a free public domain book. The more time you're in the Kindle Store, the more likely you are to buy a book that costs money.
So, Amazon doesn't offer free books out of the goodness of their hearts, instead they have a self-interest in doing so. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's just that their interests are not necessarily mine. Encouraging people to remain within the Kindle Store is one thing, no one could object to that. But setting up roadblocks to people stepping out of the Kindle Store is another matter, and that some people are going to object to. There are a lot of tablets on the market for people to choose from, and a lot of e-book readers expect to be able to sideload books. Will Amazon gain enough by setting up roadblocks to make up for sales that go to competing products? It's hard to say. I'm more likely to sideload a book onto my e-ink Kindle than my wife is to sideload one on to her Fire, so it's not a big issue. But had I known about these roadblocks in advance, I may very well have purchased a competing tablet. It does make me less inclined to consider an upgrade to one of the Fire HD models.
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