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Kindle Fire Is Sold Out Forever
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from geek.com: "Amazon has released a rather bizarre bit of news today. The Kindle Fire has completely sold out. You can no longer buy one, and the wording of the press release suggests there won't be any more manufactured. In nine months on sale Amazon claims to have secured 22 percent of tablet sales in the U.S.. With that in mind, Amazon will definitely be selling more Kindle Fires, however, the next one you'll be able to buy will probably have a '2' at the end of the name. Jeff Bezos said that the Kindle Fire is Amazon's most successful product launch so far and that there's 'an exciting roadmap ahead.' He also confirmed Amazon will continue to offer hardware, but there's no detail beyond that." Also covered on Slashcloud.
Product withdrawn from sale pending announcement of new product.
Film at 11.
.. Electric boogaloo?
Seriously, what a wierd way to market a product. You'd think they'd announce the launch of the successor before they stop selling.
I'd rather have that new google branded tab anyway.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/23/us-amazon-event-idUSBRE87M0XH20120823
That's the only reason I can think of that they would stop making money. It's like how Microsoft used to lose money on every Xbox sold, or Sony and the PS3. They wanted a foot in the door of the market, and their next offering will be something that makes them money for each unit sold, rather than losing them money.
I'll consider the KF2 if Amazon can prove they've permanently removed the ability to remotely delete files from it. No "Sorry (that we got caught)," no "We really truly promise, cross our hearts and hope to die, that we won't use this remote-kill feature which we've conveniently left fully intact and operational on our store servers." I'm not settling for anything less than "We're sorry we fucked with your property, we were wrong to do it irrespective of any licensing disputes, and we've irreversibly crippled our own ability to ever do it again. Here's proof and here's the list of files to rename or delete on your own device to make sure that even if we change our minds, we won't be able to do it to you ever again." Otherwise, I'll keep steering people toward Nook, BeBook, Onyxbook, Kobo, and other brands. Except Sony, of course.
I'm unwilling to buy a device that I end up not truly owning and controlling. I consider the lack of WLAN connectivity on my BeBook to be a feature after what Amazon pulled with 1984.
Help protect civil rights from abuse by the TSA - visit TSA News Blog.
http://www.tsanewsblog.com
Ya that was my exact thoughts as well. I went the nook route rather than the kindle route, and I went with an actual Ereader than a tablet but I've played with the fire and it is a good tablet especially for its price.
tfs:
Amazon will definitely be selling more Kindle Fires, however, the next one you'll be able to buy will probably have a "2 at the end of the name.
I take it this is a typo... surely they meant 2", as in, Kindle Fire 2", Finally, a kindle fire that you can fit in your mouth!
You want to upvote/downvote? Go back to Reddit! Here we mod up/mod down.
An all season, outdoor weathersealed version. Probably won't happen, but it would be more useful to me than one which shorts out in a light drizzle (the ones they've been making.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
All of the examples you give are closer to a razor and blade business model I think.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freebie_marketing
Or at least, they must not have been making much. If they can increase the specs slightly and the profit significantly that's enough reason to bring out a new edition. There's a zillion tablets out there now, so they could have a rebranded whatsit with a slightly modified bezel and a different rear panel sticker with little agony on their own parts.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Huh. I don't really think that an Amazon Kindle Fire 2 at the end of the name. Jeff Bezos said that the Kindle Fire is Amazon's most successful product launch so far and that there's 'an exciting roadmap ahead.' He also confirmed Amazon will continue to offer hardware, but there's no detail beyond that. is a particularly catchy name for a tablet, but I'm sure Amazon have done their market research and focus groups.
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
I know Amazon is trying to get everone to store everything in the cloud, but I really hope they put a media slot (micro or regular SD) on the new Kindle.
I'm seriously considering the nook tablet over the Kindle or Nexus 7, because I can't imagine doing anything on a tablet that really pushes the CPU/GPU, but I can see needing more than 16gb of storage. And not having a nearby wifi spot for the cloud, or the patience to download everything over wifi instead of swapping out a memory card.
Either that or they're just plain shitting themselves that Apple is about to eat their lunch.
Good timing for Amazon if they can sell out their existing inventory before Apple moves into the 7 inch device market. Perhaps Amazon has seen the writing on the wall. I expect many players will be forced out of the market.
If Amazon does a Fire 2 it will need to be more than a vanilla Android with a custom GUI. 7 inch devices are about to become a market requiring innovation, not just low pricing.
You can get a cheap, no-name, Android tablet with a capacitive touchscreen for less than $150 and the KF's specs were always fairly low. The CPU's OK, but the screen is 1024x600, there's stereo speakers but no microphone, there's no camera, and the only ports are audio out and micro USB - no video, no audio in. Oh, and it has a whopping 6G of RAM.
I suspect, actually, the KF does cost less than $200 to build. Not much less, but enough for it not to make a loss if someone buys one and never buys a single app or piece of music.
This development strikes me as a classic "Build anticipation for KF2" thing, not a "Phew, we got rid of the things. They were taking up space" type complaint.
Bear in mind that if the KF2 is a sub-$100 device, or alternatively is a $200 device with specs rivaling the N7, people who just bought a KF1 a few days before are going to be very upset with Amazon unless they issue free upgrades. Older Slashdotters may remember Amstrad's CPC664 fiasco where Amstrad replaced a 64K home computer with a 128K one over night, and the resultant bad press it got Amstrad! Consumers think they're being ripped off if a manufacturer makes their brand new device obsolete.
I'm very interested to see what the KF2 will be. Are Amazon going to go for cheap, or are they going to go for a Nexus 7 competitor?
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
"...but I've played with the fire..."
Traditional wisdom would recommend against such actions.
Why would you continue to make an old product when your new product (Kindle Fire 2) is scheduled to be released any day now? Nothing about that seems bizarre to me.
*plays the Apogee theme song music*
Still want Kindle Keyboard v2. Browsing dictionary via or typing on touchscreen is quite cumbersome. I read mostly foreign language books - a real keyboard is a big deal to me.
All hope abandon ye who enter here.
http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=211
You can get a cheap, no-name, Android tablet with a capacitive touchscreen for less than $150 and the KF's specs were always fairly low. The CPU's OK, but the screen is 1024x600, there's stereo speakers but no microphone, there's no camera, and the only ports are audio out and micro USB - no video, no audio in. Oh, and it has a whopping 6G of RAM.
6 gig of "RAM"? If you have a geek card, you need to turn it in, dude.
The headline of the article is "Kindle Fire 2 expected next week". Why would they deliberately increase the stock of the current generation, when they are going to have to sell them at a discount when the new generation comes out, thus competing with themselves?
The ideal situation for a manufacturer to be in is to sell out all of his old stock exactly when the new product is available. Next best is to have a small gap between product availabilty, building a little pent-up demand. Worst is having excess stock of the old product which must be dumped on the market.
Based on the fact that they have some sort of event scheduled for next week, I'd guess that they ordered what they thought would be enough units from manufacturing to hold them over until the KF2 is released, but ran out. Rather than order a whole new manufacturing run to tide them over for a week, looks like they just decided to wait for their new product launch.
The Nexus 7 is a great device. It's nice to be able to run the latest software without having to jailbreak/root the device sine most MDM software checks for this and disables your access to corporate data. So far I couldn't be happier with mine.
Anyone else notice the Kindle Touch is also "out of stock" ?
They are probably releasing the Kindle Fire 2 next week. Most likely they incorrectly managed their supply lines, didn't order enough Kindle Fires, and now don't want to order more.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Brain fart. Yes, I meant flash, or whatever it is you youngsters call non-volatile memory used for long term storage these days.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Barring some announcement from Amazon, my next tablet will be the Google Nexus 7.
Finding God in a Dog
Incorrectly managed their supply lines? Sounds damn near perfect.
Using a ziplock bag seems like a reasonable hack for some people. I even confirmed it works just now. Grabbed a bag from the cabinet, shoved a Kindle Fire in the bag (case and all), turned it on, and proceeded to use it without a problem.
I also just tried a Kindle Touch and LeapPad. Both work fine (though the LeapPad stylus is awkward).
Buy a good ziplock bag and you should be fine even if you go swimming.
The world is made by those who show up for the job.
And maybe not. The original Kindle sold for around $500. Do you think they felt "ripped" off when Amazon released the K2 for $250? Or the current base version for $79? Another example: I know many people who paid $25,000 for their Echo-style Priuses but a year later a dealer offered me one for a mere $18,000 because he knew a Prius 2 was coming soon. When you adopt something early, you should understand that you are paying a premium price and that later versions will be cheaper.
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
stick shift -> automatic is rarely an upgrade.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
I want a Kindle with a good color e-ink display. And not washed-out colors either.
Or did you think that was something different?
Fine for ecommerce but as a device manufacturer? Tine to backout of that strategy, mr bezos....
That new Nook Glow is pretty sweet, but I went with the Kindle e-ink because it was cheap ($70) and it's the only one that has a subscription to Fantasy & Science Magazine for a mere $1/month (instead of $3). I couldn't pass up that bargain.
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
Access to the prime lending library is the thing keeping me with Kindle at the moment.
People have been asking for over two years for custom screen savers on their Kindle 4. Amazon has not replied, published any reply or pushed any firmware update in all that time. The worst part is that the Kindle 3 had custom screen savers.
Awesome! Interstate fraud is a federal offense!
FYI, in order to be convincing that you weren't trying to take advantage of an obvious mistake (eg. expecting $180 worth of games for $18), you need to get your story straight. You claimed that Amazon screwed you, admitted a typo on the deal, and then refused to offer you a refund. So, to balance the karmic scales, you engaged in fraud while claiming to return the merchandise... and they issued you a refund.
Based on this inconsistency, you can understand why a reader may draw the conclusion that you aren't relating the whole story. Readers presume you've omitted salient, prejudicial facts that would change the interpretation of your anecdote in the mind of a normal person—and that's *before* considering your admission of fraud.
It seems Amazon offered you your money back/undo the transaction, but apparently that wasn't good enough for you. Then again, perhaps you're the kind of person who would sue a Down Syndrome person for promissory estoppel after they offered to sell you their parents' car for $3 and a hug, but the parents blocked the "deal" from going through.
people who just bought a KF1 a few days before
Amazon has a 30 day return period
Sounds like typical Amazon efficiency. They planned the stock of the Kindle Fire to run right up until the introduction of the new model, and hit it pretty close. They don't want to just list the old one as out of stock, because then they would have a backlog of orders that could never be filled, and they'd incur additional expense contacting customers and switching the order to the new one (which might not be exactly the same price).
You're as bad as the marketers. My Ipad 3 has 16gig of flash, but only a gigabyte of RAM.
The original Kindle sold for around $500. Do you think they felt "ripped" off when Amazon released the K2 for $250? Or the current base version for $79?
Try reading the whole post before responding. squiggleslash isn't talking about "early adopters", they are talking about anyone who may have bought an original Kindle for $500 mere days before the K2 was released at $250.
*I don't know if those prices are accurate, I'm just using them since they are what you used.
Another example: I know many people who paid $25,000 for their Echo-style Priuses but a year later a dealer offered me one for a mere $18,000 because he knew a Prius 2 was coming soon.
I'd be willing to bet that if I then came by the next day and bought that same model Prius for $10,000, you'd be pretty pissed off and would be back at that dealership to rightfully demand compensation.
Or how about a more pertinent example. You've mentioned in the past how you've been thinking about picking up an iPhone 4 once the new iPhone 5 is released, thinking that the iPhone 4 will be lowered in price then. But lets say that for whatever reason, you figure the iPhone 5 is still a year away and decide to buy the iPhone 4 now. But then the very next day after you've made your purchase, the iPhone 5 is released and the iPhone 4 goes down by about $100. I imagine that'd piss you off, and rightfully so.
They must have been subsidizing ... That's the only reason I can think of
That's a pretty limited imagination. Tablets are highly integrated. A specialized manufacturing site must exist to produce products like the Kindle Fire. Amazon projected demand too low and not enough were made before the lines were retooled for the next model.
This is normal manufacturing. Apple can't make old versions of their phones and tablets either for the same reason — the facilities don't exist any longer. They just do a better job projecting demand and having the replacements on shelves before they run out of the old stuff.
And Kindle Fire is based on Android.
I guess Apple will be suing them sometime down the road. Its what Apple seems to do best these days.
Why not Kindle Air, Wind or Earth?
Kindle ICE...even.
Sounds damn near perfect.
Yeah, one week of lack of inventory with no excess inventory to have to liquidate at a reduced price is close to ideal for forecasting sales (months in advance for retooling). So the Fire slightly exceeded their sales expectations over that period (perhaps by ~4%). Give the man a bonus.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
That was a Shakespeare-In-The-Park production of "Julius Caesar", you moron! You killed 5 actors! Good ones.
Obviously you do not have any involvement with manufacturing or supply chains. "Having replacements on shelves before running out of the old stuff" is, and most cases, NOT better planning. Having excess inventory on hand at the end of a product lifecycle is not good. It means that you have spent money to build stuff that people are not going to want to buy (because of the new product). To recoup that cost, you MUST sell that excess inventory, which usually means steep discounts. If someone buys your old product at a steep discount, it means you have lost a sale of the new product. Not good.
On the other hand, running out of supply is only a problem if the potential sales dry up. Even then, the loss of some potential sales to a competitor may still be preferable to losing more sales to yourself by having excess inventory.
Running out of supply on Black Friday is bad - you are going to lose a lot of customers to competitors who have supply. Running out of supply for ONE WEEK at the end of August (after back to school sales and before Christmas sales), is brilliant planning.
I got my nook simple touch off ebay for 60 bucks used, in pretty much perfect condition before they announced the glow. Over all though I'm really happy with it.
" Amazon claims to have secured 22 percent of tablet sales in the U.S." .... That might mean something if it actually *were* a full featured tablet running a modern version of Android. It's not. It's an Amazon media content delivery system, like the Kindle before it. And at that, it's probably very good. I was a huge fan of Kindle until I replaced it with a genuine tablet that does more things in one package. If they release a Fire that is *actually* an Android tablet I'll take a look. But the shallow perception of the media that tries to link the Fire to much more powerful and flexible platforms might as well be written by Amazon's marketing department.
Actually, no, he doesn't. It's memory. It's random access. Therefore it's RAM. The terms you are looking for are "long term storage" and "working memory". RAM can be used for either; so can oxide on a surface. See, for example, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_memory
Exec: There's a lot of less than perfect reviews of the Kindle Fire. Any ideas?
Regardless of an impending product launch, create scarcity.
The automatic is actually fairly good at choosing gears, in normal driving doing
almost exactly what I would do. I do like the manual, it's more entertaining because
you can use full throttle around down (it's a modes 2 liter engine). But if I've got
to navigate our legendary traffic jams it's the Automatic (having AC helps).
I'm looking forward to driving one of the DSG boxes.
Oh, and it has a whopping 6G of RAM.
I know I'm being picky here, but it isn't RAM. It's flash storage. Or just storage. Or storage space. Anything BUT RAM in fact. RAM is the memory the computer uses to run apps and such. Flash storage is what the computer uses to store files. This drives me insane when I'm trying to judge specs on products and the people reporting it call everything the wrong name.
"Those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - BenF
"Also covered on Slashcloud." -- LOL. Heck of a site you got over there. One comment, and amazingly enough it doesn't say "first post".
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
You're not the first to notice and I apologized earlier. Sorry about that.
Whoops...guess I missed that. Probably below my threshold or something. :p
"Those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - BenF
My first car was a automatic. My second was a manual. I'm not going back short of a hybrid/EV where a manual transmission makes no sense. It's a matter of learning; once you've learned how to use a manual you generally prefer them(worldwide).
My Anecdote: last 2 times I went car shopping I had horrible times finding them; 'Oh there's not much interest in them' combined with 'Whenever we get one in it's sold in a few days'. From the same dealer... Of course, I'd also get the 'but an automatic has a higher resale value!'. Tough cookies; I buy a car for a decade, not it's resale value. I'm not going to pay $1-2k more for a car that I don't like, to get $500-1k more in resale. There's plenty of used car buyers who like manuals as well.
I don't read AC A human right
It's OK, I feel like a complete dumbass over it. Normally I would flame someone over such a mistake! I think I'm just getting old...
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Never wanted one before.
But now that I can't buy one, I want it more than anything!
What's that you say? "Just get a used one for a third of the price?" "Wait until the next version of shiny?"
This is just pre-school psychology applied to marketing.
Baby is surrounded by thousands of toys. He ignores all save the one he's currently chewing on. Pick up one that's five feet away and take it out of the room. Baby drops current chew toy. Face turns red. Tantrum ensues. Baby miraculously speaks, "I want a Kindle Fire!"
I at least try not to be a complete asshole about that stuff. xD
"Those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - BenF
Works for me. I don't think anything a new KF will offer will make me want to suddenly run out a replace my KF1, if you will. The usage model for me is simple-- store and read books and docs. Access the internet from time to time, too. Do not see a need for a camera or increased memory footprint as I will likely never be able to read all that I have stored on my KF1 now. I guess the only thing that will force me to upgrade will be a failure of the battery.
Then again, if they had some utility that would completely duplicate all the items I have installed, including all apps, then I might consider making the upgrade. I just do not want to go through the pain and effort spent tweaking all my apps and what not all over again.
-- I fear explanations explanatory of things explained.