Reply #4: I'm not so sure it's "extra" so much as "preserving"

[phantom power]

In no particular order:

1) The cost does include the cost of the mobile internet service. Every time I browse amazon or download a book via the kindle, I'm using mobile internet. That is included in the cost, I don't have to pay for it separately.

2) I understand relatively little about publishing biz, but I believe the publishers are attempting to preserve their profit margins. This is a bone of contention, and some future competition in the ebook market will probably benefit.

3) I'm sure Amazon is in the phase of recouping their development costs.

4) It's still kind of an early adopter thing, so they're going to keep the price as high as they think they can just because.

5) Prices of books you can get via kindle can vary pretty widely. Most new(ish) books seem to go in the 9-10 dollar range (which is substantially cheaper than buying a new hardcover). Anything that has already gone to mass-market paperback seems to cost about the same as a mass-market paperback. Some people are putting very old stuff, including individual short stories up on kindle. Those cost about fifty cents to a buck. I doubt it's a coincidence that it's around what you'd pay for the same thing at a used book store.

So prices are definitely set in context of what they're competing against in the paper book space.