yep, replying to myself. the other thing (briefly mentioned above by another commenter) is that you can, indeed, keep all your previous books and games, since they're licensed to the actual amazon account, rather than directly to the kindle device. so when you do get your new kindle, everything should come over just fine.

glad to hear the cs team was able to get wheatley locked down and they took care of those charges, but sad that it likely won't be returned. also, my apologies for leaving comments all over the place for you with the info...i wanted to make sure it found you. i'll go back to being my normal mostly quiet self now!

of note, if you de-register the device from your computer (which you can do, in the manage your kindle section), the 'finder' can still use it, if they register to their own account. this closes access to your payment info, but calling to have it locked does in effect brick it completely, as another commenter stated. just clarifying :)

wil, i just tweeted this same info to you. i work with amazon/kindle customer service (am off today, but this calls for extra help!). if you call in to our cs team, we can lock your kindle down so no one can use it. please call 1-866-321-8851 and tell the rep your kindle was lost on the plane and someone unauthorized is using it. we may even be able to refund the unauthorized purchases! i hope this helps! -elly