I also agree. I've worked with hardware companies where they send me their hardware for a few weeks for free to make it work with my software. In return I promote their equipment and my users know for a fact that what they buy will work with my software since my company personally has used the exact device. Other times I've worked deals with some hardware companies so they sale it to me at a discount since it's only for testing, I even take their demo or "floor model" that they no longer use. They know that when I'm talking to my customers I'll be mentioning their company as one we work with and it provides confidance in the equipment. 

It's a win win for my company and with the free advertising for the their company.

I deal with end users all the time and that is the thing everyone needs to understand. You may have equipment to sale but you need people willing to buy. How do you do that with the least amount of money and effort going into advertising and proving your value to the community expecially since the bad taste some companys have put into us mininer's mouths when buying equipment.

Expecially in the case of new USB stick getting some well known names using and to be able to test their equipment is in their best intrest and in effect the ROI to that selling company is much higher. Everyone likes to do the ROI for equipment so lets do a little here: New unknown and unproven company gives out, we will say, 5 sticks to various well known celebrities of the BTC community that cost only production cost. Those people in turn will be doing advertising to a wide range of people on their blogs and sites they control the sites that people trust. ROI of the monetary amount of the physical device is negative but the ROI by the sales because of this should be in the positive.