I think it unlikely that the Karma will ever play iTMS downloads either, seeing as Apple apparently see it as a loss-leader to sell more iPods.

Wow, I never thought about it that way... But you're right. And it's the exact reverse of the traditional model where they practically give away the hardware in order to make money on the underlying content (radio, TV, the Internet itself.)

This makes me wonder, are there any other examples of successful business models involving selling content at a loss to sell hardware for profit??? I can't think of any obvious ones off the top of my head.

(Apologies in advance for hijacking this thread...)