I agree that many are just trying to undercut the competition. My pet theory is this is having an effect on consumers' expectations for tech-based products. Specifically, nobody thinks anything is worth paying for, or at least only want to pay a small price. That leads to only big companies being able to compete in markets since they can subsidize products for a long time.
If a company doesn't make money, cash flow and / or profits (preferably both), it is just under cutting the competition (if smart) or on its way into bancrupcy (if not so smart) or both.