David Carr has an agenda here, which is the preservation of the old order of media. As a result of this blind-spot, he makes some logical leaps and mistakes.
Most egregious amongst them is suggesting that Amazon's strategy is akin to Apple's, which is profiting off of devices.
Except, Amazon sells the Kindle at a loss; it treats it as a loss-leader.[1] They reportedly take a $10 loss on every Kindle Fire, and a $5 loss on every $79 Kindle.