The word from Amazon is that their Kindle Fire has sold out forever. Â According to their website they will not be manufacturiing anymore. Â This comes at the perfect time as Amazon will be hosting a press conference to discuss the replacement of the Kindle Fire, how fitting for them.
The sell-out isn’t all that surprising: Retailers often let stock sell out or offer steep discounts on merchandise that is about to be replaced with newer versions.
Thursday’s press release about the Kindle Fire sell-out didn’t reveal how many have been sold, as Amazon famously doesn’t release Kindle unit sales. The company did say the Fire comprised 22% of U.S. tablet sales in its nine months on the market, though the source of Amazon’s data is unclear. IHS iSuppli’s analysis found that the Kindle Fire never held more than a 14% share of the tablet market, and sales have slipped in recent months.
The 7-inch Kindle Fire began shipping in November for $199, clearly aimed at undercutting Apple’s (AAPL, Fortune 500) wildly popular $499 iPad. The Fire is geared towards media consumption: reading books andmagazines, watching video and streaming music.
Among the rumors about next week’s event: Amazon may announce a 10-inch Kindle Fire. That would be slightly bigger than the 9.7-inch screen on the iPad.
[cnn]
