[DiapDealer]

I fail to see why--if there are so many things other than price to compete on--the very first step publishers and Apple took to "spur ebook competition" was to level the price-playing-field. That dog won't hunt. "There's things other than price to compete on" is not a buyer's viewpoint. It's a seller's. And they're the only ones who think it sounds remotely reasonable.

As other's have pointed out: good deals can make crappy interfaces worth the hassle. And if Apple already had the leg-up on everyone else in the customer-experience/loyalty department, then surely they would have been able to compete at any price-point, no? They were better than everyone else at those other competitive things.

It's all fine and dandy to say that there's plenty of things to compete on other than price--and there IS! It's just that all of those things take a back (back, back, back) seat to price. We're talking about the internet, here. It's not like people have to drive across town to save a few bucks. They're "shopping" from their armchairs.

The things other than price are only relevant AFTER everyone's ability compete on prices have been stripped from them. And that only ever favors the big boys. That's not competition. That's restrictor-plate racing.