This sounds similar to what Jungle Disk offers, but focused on pictures. The way they approach it is that they give users 5GB per month for a $2 per month fee for storage. On average, this should cover the AWS costs and leave some margin for Jungle Disks. I think any additional storage charges after that are billed at the rate of AWS or Rackspace since they are compatible with both (I believe they are owned by Rackspace). I think this approach makes it less intimidating to consumers who have no idea what AWS is.

There are plenty of services like that - which I'm not terribly interested in copying or spinning off as a "photo" version.

I do this myself for my own photos and thought others would enjoy and pay for a service that did the say. I love that my photos are backed up on S3 and it's not someone else's Amazon account. I own it and can do whatever I want with my photos.

I agree that it's a bit intimidating. My original idea was to see how many technical people were interested - hence posting the question on HN :).

This looks like it is either a hoax or wishful thinking from someone looking for feedback on a product concept.

1) At $99, the profit margins will be near zero or negative. Remember that Kindle and Nook are both subsidized by the sale of content and this is for 7 inches devices, so it would be hard to make money from an 13 inches e-ink screen with resistive touch at $99.

2) e-ink has a very slow refresh rate, so it won't be able to keep up with someone writing on it.

3) "wi-fi module on request with order", do they have multiple models? One with and one without wi-fi both at the same price, definitely a hoax.