Is that Kindle that promiscuous that it will literally connect to any open AP without prompting?

As of my current device (the Oasis), no, it does not appear to be this promiscuous. I can't speak to the analytics, but the whispersync and book downloading doesn't work unless you explicitly connect it to an AP.

Parent comment was

> if the developers take the egregious step of nerfing airplane mode,

and I was responding that IF the developers decide to nerf the airplane mode it's very possible they will start using any open AP; some TV's are reportedly doing this already

Ok so you don't know, you're just speculating without evidence.

No, the entire scenario is a hypothetical, the standard of evidence is inapplicable.

I don't understand the point then.

Literally any device you own with WiFi could be updated tomorrow to connect to any open access point.

Here on hn, I read several stories where smart TVs did exactly that: they tried all available wifi networks to see if one of them worked.

It doesn't seem so far-fetched that the Kindle might, too.

Sure, but I'm looking for an answer and not idle speculation.