Apple makes very little money on content compared to its hardware sales. To me, content mostly benefits the consumer, not Apple. But obviously without it, there would be no reason to buy the iPad, so its still really important.
If your getting a free product or service, or even at a reduced price, then advertising would be ok. Most people don't pay to put ad's on their devices, they usually pay to remove ad's.
Your opinion - where are the stats? What percentage of people pay to remove the ads. How many ad-free kindles were bought vs no-ad kindles?
Everyone I know that has an "ad" based kindle has stated that they don't even notice the ads most of the time because they don't appear when the device is actually being used - and in some cases - the ads have provided discounts on products they wanted which paid for their kindle a few times over.
Different business models. Both seem to be working for their respective companies. You can argue which is more profitable or who has more market share. That doesn't diminish the fact that both models work - and well.
Personally - I don't give 2 figs whether/how much Apple, Amazon, Google, etc makes on my hardware or software purchase. I buy what fulfills my needs.
Lastly - While Apple does make a ton on their hardware - you'd be naive to think that the ecosystem isn't want it REALLY important long term. Why? People invest in ecosystems. If I'm $X dollars into apps, ibooks, etc - the odds in me leaving Apple's ecosystem (and hardware) are slimmer than not.
The biggest "threat" to Apple isn't so much competing hardware. It's competing ecosystems. Before - Apple had little to no competition. They succeeded in grabbing a lot with both great products and a cohesive ecosystem.
I am sure Apple genuinely cares that Samsung is making competing products as proven by the lawsuits. But Apple knows that every Samsung device sold is one less on Apple's ecosystem. So yes - they lose the hardware purchase - but they lose the recurring income of everything else. And potentially for a lifetime.
The landscape has changed.
