I think you’re overestimating how much it costs Apple to make an iPad. They have a popular product, so they charge a pretty high premium for it. The iPad Mini is estimated to cost $188 to build and most of the rest of the parts that go into a Kindle would be considerably cheaper. Also remember that the Fire line is being sold very cheaply, because Amazon wants to get you into their ecosystem, not just buying the hardware. A $120 Paperwhite and a $170 “Textbook” Kindle is totally realistic, though it might not be as big a seller, but if they could make deals with textbook publishers, it could work out great for them.
Rumors are that Google is integrating its chat products for IO (Talk, Voice, Gmail chat, etc.) Hopefully this will include a push for more universal access and interoperability.
If only we had areas that are densely populated too that could have the same quality of service as in Europe or Japan…
You know, like NYC or LA. Sure, they’re getting LTE, but internet access is more than 5 years behind many other countries because of local monopolies and lack of regulation.
