You know what they say. Be careful what you wish for. Since last year, I have been talking about the need for Amazon to offer alternative pricing plans to consumers. The more choices we consumers have, the better off we are. It seems Amazon did consider introducing such a subscription plan and decided not to go in that route (for now). Here is what Jeff Bezos had to say:

We’re willing to offer choice and if customers want , I don’t see any difficulty with doing that, but I like the cognitive simplicity of the current model

While that’s great news coming from Jeff, I doubt many people would be interested in paying $60 a month for a wireless plan. You are easily going to pay more than $490 [Kindle DX's current price] in your first year. Many have complained about Kindle being too expensive, but I doubt they’ll be complaining now that Jeff is putting the subscription model on the table.

I do believe that Amazon will eventually go into that route. The one time fee model will only get Amazon so far. The company is expected to introduce a lot of new features with Kindle 3.0 next year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that device came with a subscription plan. As Amazon attracts more Kindle owners, it is going to have to charge to keep Sprint satisfied with the whole deal. Considering that people use their wireless service to do all kinds of things on their Kindle, Amazon needs to find a way to reduce the load on the network and offset the costs. Introducing a wireless and subscription fees is one way to do that, so don’t be surprised if Amazon moved in that direction by the end of 2009.

Your take: would you be interested in paying $60 a month for a Kindle wireless plan if Kindle was offered to you for free?

Amazon has been selling a lot of Kindles lately despite the $359 price tag that used to turn people off a while ago. People have come to realize that Amazon Kindle allows them to save money on books and is well worth the money. But what is it worth to Amazon? According to industry experts, Amazon is making about $170 per each Kindle. That means Kindle’s profit margin is pretty healthy at this point. We have all been wanting to pay less for Amazon Kindle, but that wouldn’t be possible unless Amazon finds a way to build those screens for much less. The E-Ink technology does cost a decent amount of money and cuts into Amazon’s profits. No wonder we don’t have a color screen on our Kindles already.

The cost of wireless connection is another big part of the equation. You may think you are getting your wireless for free on Kindle, but in reality Amazon has already accounted for the cost. Amazon doesn’t want users to go overboard with their wireless connections, which is why it has introduced a set of guidelines to keep the door open for wireless fees in the future.

The bad news here is that we can’t expect Amazon to sell those Kindle 3.0’s for $100 or so. The good news is as Amazon gets more efficient with its Kindle productions, it could offer a decent discount on new Kindles. Experts have talked about Amazon having trouble producing affordable color Kindles. That would be finally possible when Amazon manages to bring down its production costs. The main question at this point is whether we will see a color-screen Kindle in 2009.

A lot of us tend to pick up things without reading the terms and conditions set forth by the manufacturer first. Think about it. You want to buy that nice HDTV or get that nice gaming console. Who has time to spend a few hours going through the terms and conditions and legal Mumbo Jumbo. But after having worked in the financial industry for a short while, I know you can get nasty surprises if you don’t know all the facts in hand. That’s why I read Kindle’s terms and conditions before I bought it. And you’d be surprised to know what’s in it.

Amazon Kindle comes with free wireless connection. That’s one of its strengths and has set it apart from other competitors such as Sony PRS 700. What most folks don’t know is that you can actually get charged for using your wireless connection for anything but shopping from Amazon Kindle.

Amazon provides wireless connectivity free of charge to you for certain content shopping and downloading services on your Device. You may be charged a fee for wireless connectivity for your use of other wireless services on your Device, such as Web browsing and downloading of personal files, should you elect to use those services. We will maintain a list of current fees for such services in the Kindle Store. Amazon reserves the right to discontinue wireless connectivity at any time or to otherwise change the terms for wireless connectivity at any time, including, but not limited to (a) limiting the number and size of data files that may be transferred using wireless connectivity and (b) changing the amount and terms applicable for wireless connectivity charges.

As you can see, you can get charged for surfing the Internet or tweeting on your Kindle. Not only that, if you are a bandwidth hog, Amazon could charge you a fee for your trouble. And if the Sprint partnership falls through some day, you can find yourself without wireless connection, and you won’t have the right to get your money back.

What surprises me is to see so many people complain about their area not being covered by Sprint after they have bought the Kindle. Amazon clearly states that your location may not be covered by Sprint, and that’s not Amazon’s fault.

… if your Device is located in any area without applicable wireless connectivity, you may not be able to use some or all elements of the wireless services. We are not responsible for the unavailability of wireless service or any interruptions of wireless connectivity.

And don’t for a second think you can use Kindle’s wireless connection to check something quick on your laptop. That’s not allowed either.

You agree you will use the wireless connectivity provided by Amazon only in connection with Services Amazon provides for the Device. You may not use the wireless connectivity for any other purpose.

I am sure Amazon values its customers too highly to charge them fees or discontinue their wireless service anytime soon. But don’t be surprised if and when they do that. You were told about it when you bought your Kindle!

Your take: is Amazon leaving the door open to charge for the wireless connection in the future?