Hardware

1: "[A] 7-inch tablet, Wi-Fi only with all the attributes of a good tablet. Capacitive touchscreen. Snappy processor. Front facing camera. 4GB of internal memory and an expandable memory slot. I later found out that these devices are now all over the supply chain in Shenzhen. At volume, say 20,000 units, you can get them for $35 apiece. [...] Once my heart started beating again, the first thing I thought was, 'I thought the screen alone would cost more than $45.' My next thought was, 'This is really bad news for anyone who makes computing hardware.'"

2: "The Fire is more like an accelerator — it’s a vehicle for turning active Amazon.com customers into even more active Amazon.com customers. Apple’s goal is to sell as many iPads as it can. Amazon’s goal is to sell as many Kindle Fires as it can to a specific audience: active Amazon.com customers. And for that specific audience, it’s a very appealing proposition. The Fire makes it even easier to do things you’re already doing — reading Kindle e-books, watching movies and TV shows through your Prime membership."