Amazon Loses Their State Department Kindle Contract(What am I missing?)

redOrbit.com ^ | August 17, 2012 | Michael Harper

[newzjunkey]

A 24/7 State Dept-specific help desk and worldwide 3G network services were part of the contract.

More interesting to me is the convenience of only the Kindle being able to meet spec as written. iPad and others weren't considered since they are deemed tablets, not eReaders, and the Barnes-and-Noble Nook lacked a certain feature.

Holder's DOJ just happens to have an antitrust suit based on complaints initiated by Amazon who'd built its ebook dominance by taking loses on its Kindle ecosystem and ebooks, making fair competition from B&N, and others, unsustainable.

Between this questionable contract for State and DOJ acting as Amazon's hired gun against the free market, we must ask why is Amazon one of this administration's crony capitalist partners?

[Swordmaker]

149x2,500 Kindle Touch 3Gs= $372,500,yet this contract was for $16.5 Million,what am I missing?

Here's what you missed:

“US Department of State solicitation (Request for Proposals) SAQMMA12R0272 for Amazon e-Readers, Content Management, and Logistics is cancelled and the Justification and Approval (J&A) to award contract SAQMMA12D0131 on a sole-source basis is withdrawn. The Department of State intends to conduct additional market research and re-examine its requirements for this program.”

NO OTHER devices were allowed to be proposed in the solicitation. They requested other vendors to propose bids to provide AMAZON e-readers, i.e., Amazon Kindle Touch devices, and no one bid, except AMAZON. There was no way they could. They custom designed the bid to exclude ALL OTHER DEVICES except the Kindle Touch, and ALL OTHER VENDORS except Amazon (only Amazon can provide content!) and Amazon high-balled the bid! Other potential suppliers called foul.