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Comment by cortic | Hacker News Reader

I purchased one for £24, 11 years ago, and still use it. Ironically from amazon (code B006GTOYDS) - can't find it in way back machine still have it in my purchase history. Before they started killing the competition. Miles better than the kindle to read in daylight and battery life still lasts weeks... cheap isn't always throwaway.

In contrast, i know people who have went through many kindles in this time and spent a small fortune on them.

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> Miles better than the kindle to read in daylight

Are you comparing it to the Kindle ereaders or their tablets? Standard (non-tablet) Kindles such as the Paperwhite series are like you describe (though they cost more than $100 and come with all of the lockin issues).

I don't know enough about the different kindle versions to say;

Kudos to you, but most would not be wise enough to know the difference (between cheap and throwaway).

How do you imagine that people would not notice if a product they use is good? Why would they consider it throwaway if it works well?

Sadly, for a lot of people, a "friend" mockingly saying "that's crap" would suffice.

Because they could always buy a replacement for cheap. Sadly, our consumer goods prices do not correctly reflect environmental externalities, so in a way a higher price is better for the environment, even if the difference doesn't go in the right pocket.

I don't think they would have a choice. In a scheme like this, publishers would lock it down so they can sell it to you again. Perhaps even only allow a particular book to be read.

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