Amazon.com announced that it has sold all of its existing inventory of the Kindle Fire. This announcement fueled expectations that the online retailer will soon roll out a new model of their popular tablet.
There is a major press conference scheduled for next Thursday in Santa Monica, California for Amazon. The revelation that the retailer has sold every copy of its tablet suggests that they are no longer producing it, instead opting to design a new model for this holiday season.
Amazon launched the Kindle Fire $199 tablet last November. Amazon says that it captured 22 percent of U.S. tablet sales over nine months, putting it second behind the iPad and matching estimates of 6.7 million Fires sold.
ABI Research said in a note that dedicated e-readers should be down in 2012 to 11 million in 2012 from 15 million in 2011. While tablets are expected to outsell e-readers nine to one this year despite the increased cost, e-readers aren’t to go away completely.
“We believe there will always be a niche market for the dedicated reading device for voracious readers, business travelers, and educational segments, particularly ones that are low-priced,” said ABI analyst Joshua Flood.
Source: AP
