[azulum]

a fascinating thing about amazon is that they move inventory so quickly that they collect money from customers before they have to pay their suppliers—they have a cash float† they can actually sell products for a loss and still make money—especially if there is growth. it's like a ponzi scheme that actually works.

that said, maybe it will be amazon's bing, but bing buys microsoft insurance that may be much less costly to them than the risk of a google owned future.

my take with the fire is that amazon wants people to move from physical goods to electronic goods—they know that not everyone who owns a fire will consume their goods, but they also know that the more accessible the means to consume those goods, the more business for their core business—the one that makes them money, even if just for 20 days.

† http://www.usablemarkets.com/2009/06/18/amazons-float/