Editorial: Amazon and Google are undermining mobile pricing, and that may hurt everyone

[ ](http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/03/editorial-amazon-and-google-are-undermining-mobile-pricing/)

When Google unveiled the [Nexus 4](http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/02/nexus-4-review/), [Nexus 10](http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/02/nexus-10-review/) and a [refreshed Nexus 7](http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/29/nexus-7s-new-pricing-is-official-16gb-for-199-32gb-for-249/) in October, the moment was arguably the crescendo of a change in the Android ecosystem that had been building ever since Amazon's [Kindle Fire](http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/14/amazon-kindle-fire-review/) first braved the marketplace in 2011. Along with a widely expanded Amazon lineup that includes multiple [Kindle Fire HD](http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/11/amazon-kindle-fire-hd-review-7-inch/) models and a price-cut tweak to the original Fire, two of the largest players in the mobile world now have top-to-bottom device businesses built around selling at break-even prices and recouping their money through content. That might sound good on the surface, but it's a bad omen for competitors that genuinely can't respond in kind -- and it could erode some of the values of diversity and innovation that we're supposed to hold dear as technology fans.

[Continue reading _Editorial: Amazon and Google are undermining mobile pricing, and that may hurt everyone_](http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/03/editorial-amazon-and-google-are-undermining-mobile-pricing/)

Filed under: [Cellphones](http://www.engadget.com/category/cellphones/), [Tablets](http://www.engadget.com/category/tablets/), [Mobile](http://www.engadget.com/category/mobile/), [Apple](http://www.engadget.com/category/apple/), [Samsung](http://www.engadget.com/category/samsung/), [ASUS](http://www.engadget.com/category/asus/), [Google](http://www.engadget.com/category/google/), [Amazon](http://www.engadget.com/category/amazon/), [LG](http://www.engadget.com/category/lg/), [RIM](http://www.engadget.com/category/rim/)

[Editorial: Amazon and Google are undermining mobile pricing, and that may hurt everyone](http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/03/editorial-amazon-and-google-are-undermining-mobile-pricing/) originally appeared on [Engadget](http://www.engadget.com) on Sat, 03 Nov 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our [terms for use of feeds](http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).

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