Looking forward to see some really great product in next version of Amazon Kindle Fire 2 or whatever it will be called. I guess it was really smart move from Amazon to halt production of current Kindle version as Google came up in similar price range slightly better tablet. So there was no reason for them to sell it for deeper loss. On top of that, it would have been slow sale hurting reputation of Kindle fire as top seller on their amazon site. For customers, there is no reason to buy Kindle Fire when Google's Nexus 7 is already out with much better feature set and similar price range..
Now question is, where will Amazon go with kindle fire 2. It has to be better than Nexus 7. They have few options left. Fire2 has to have better Webcam/Camera.. ideally both of them.. then resolution has to be close to Retina display.. Processor.. memory.. yada yada.. everything has to be better than nexus while price remains same.. or they can come with larger form factor version as well but then they hit iPad competition. I wish they will come up with 9 or 10 inch version with real good competitive iPad features as Samsung is more or less distance second player right now and seems to be focusing more on phone and larger phone segment.
I really wish that there is some good competitor for iPad and will set higher bar for Apple to either further innovate or open iPad or cut down some prices.. Till Apple get hits on their tablet market share of 70% or more, they are not going to budge anytime soon. Not that I don't like iPad or have anything against it.. But still it could be even better and hopefully even more open..
I may go for Fire2 this time to test it out.. Most of the feedback I heard about Fire so far.. everyone seems to be happy with Graphic rendering, UI and smoothness which is one of the forte of iDevices.. Hope to have larger form factor from Amazon this time..
Kindle Fire tablet sold out as Amazon readies update
New model faces competition from Google’s Nexus 7
By Peter Svensson
Associated Press
NEW YORK —Amazon. com says it has sold out of its Kindle Fire tablet computer amid expectations of a new model for the holiday season.The Internet retailer has a major news conference scheduled for next Thursday in Santa Monica. It’s widely expected to reveal a new model of the Fire there, so Thursday’s announcement that the first model is “sold out” suggests that Amazon halted production a while ago to retool for a new model. Amazon launched the $199 tablet in November. It was the first Kindle with a color screen and the ability to run third-party applications, placing it in competition with Apple’s iPad, at half the price of the cheapest iPad.
Amazon doesn’t say how many Fires it has sold, but says it captured 22 percent of U.S. tablet sales over nine months. That would make it the secondmost- popular tablet, after the iPad. Tom Mainelli at research firm IDC said that figure matches his estimate of 6.7 million Fires sold, all in the U.S. The Fire, which is about half the size of the iPad, could face a tougher challenge this holiday season. Many analysts expect Apple to introduce a smaller, cheaper iPad to take on the threat of the Kindle Fire and reach buyers who can’t afford a full-size iPad. In addition, Google just launched its own Kindle-size tablet, the Nexus 7, and is selling it for $199.
Amazon kept the price of the Kindle Fire low by keeping it small, stripping it of features and taking a small or zero profit margin. Its strategy is to make the Fire a means for people to buy more e-books, music and movie downloads from the Amazon store, which is intimately linked to the device. That’s a contrast to the strategy of Apple, which sees content sales as a sideline and wants to make a profit on every device sold.
Apple has sold more than 84 million iPads since its debut in 2010, contributing to strong quarterly earnings and a market valuation that has exceeded $625 billion — the highest ever for a public company. The iPad 2, released in March 2011, sells for $399. The newest models, out in March, sell for $499 to $829, depending on the amount of storage and wireless capabilities.
Amazon itself was the main outlet for the Kindle Fire. Its website now directs customers to used Fires available from other merchants. Staples stores recently sold it for $179. It wasn’t immediately known whether some stores still had it on shelves.
Amazon could update the rest of its Kindle line at next week’s event, too. The current models were launched a year ago. In the intervening time, competitor Barnes & Noble has launched a Nook e-reader with a built-in screen illuminator for reading in the dark.
ABI Research said Thursday that sales of dedicated e-readers, like the non-Fire, black-and-white Kindles, peaked last year. It expects worldwide sales of e-readers at 11 million in 2012, down from 15 million in 2011.
The research firm expects tablets to outsell e-readers 9-1 this year, despite costing four or five time as much. Still, e-readers won’t go away completely, ABI analyst Joshua Flood said.
“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,” Flood said.
Shares of Amazon, which is based in Seattle, fell 90 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $246.22 Thursday.
MARK LENNIHAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Half the size of the iPad, the Fire was the first Kindle tablet with a color screen and the ability to run third-party applications, at half the cheapest iPad’s price.
Now question is, where will Amazon go with kindle fire 2. It has to be better than Nexus 7. They have few options left. Fire2 has to have better Webcam/Camera.. ideally both of them.. then resolution has to be close to Retina display.. Processor.. memory.. yada yada.. everything has to be better than nexus while price remains same.. or they can come with larger form factor version as well but then they hit iPad competition. I wish they will come up with 9 or 10 inch version with real good competitive iPad features as Samsung is more or less distance second player right now and seems to be focusing more on phone and larger phone segment.
I really wish that there is some good competitor for iPad and will set higher bar for Apple to either further innovate or open iPad or cut down some prices.. Till Apple get hits on their tablet market share of 70% or more, they are not going to budge anytime soon. Not that I don't like iPad or have anything against it.. But still it could be even better and hopefully even more open..
I may go for Fire2 this time to test it out.. Most of the feedback I heard about Fire so far.. everyone seems to be happy with Graphic rendering, UI and smoothness which is one of the forte of iDevices.. Hope to have larger form factor from Amazon this time..
Kindle Fire tablet sold out as Amazon readies update
New model faces competition from Google’s Nexus 7
By Peter Svensson
Associated Press
NEW YORK —Amazon. com says it has sold out of its Kindle Fire tablet computer amid expectations of a new model for the holiday season.The Internet retailer has a major news conference scheduled for next Thursday in Santa Monica. It’s widely expected to reveal a new model of the Fire there, so Thursday’s announcement that the first model is “sold out” suggests that Amazon halted production a while ago to retool for a new model. Amazon launched the $199 tablet in November. It was the first Kindle with a color screen and the ability to run third-party applications, placing it in competition with Apple’s iPad, at half the price of the cheapest iPad.
Amazon doesn’t say how many Fires it has sold, but says it captured 22 percent of U.S. tablet sales over nine months. That would make it the secondmost- popular tablet, after the iPad. Tom Mainelli at research firm IDC said that figure matches his estimate of 6.7 million Fires sold, all in the U.S. The Fire, which is about half the size of the iPad, could face a tougher challenge this holiday season. Many analysts expect Apple to introduce a smaller, cheaper iPad to take on the threat of the Kindle Fire and reach buyers who can’t afford a full-size iPad. In addition, Google just launched its own Kindle-size tablet, the Nexus 7, and is selling it for $199.
Amazon kept the price of the Kindle Fire low by keeping it small, stripping it of features and taking a small or zero profit margin. Its strategy is to make the Fire a means for people to buy more e-books, music and movie downloads from the Amazon store, which is intimately linked to the device. That’s a contrast to the strategy of Apple, which sees content sales as a sideline and wants to make a profit on every device sold.
Apple has sold more than 84 million iPads since its debut in 2010, contributing to strong quarterly earnings and a market valuation that has exceeded $625 billion — the highest ever for a public company. The iPad 2, released in March 2011, sells for $399. The newest models, out in March, sell for $499 to $829, depending on the amount of storage and wireless capabilities.
Amazon itself was the main outlet for the Kindle Fire. Its website now directs customers to used Fires available from other merchants. Staples stores recently sold it for $179. It wasn’t immediately known whether some stores still had it on shelves.
Amazon could update the rest of its Kindle line at next week’s event, too. The current models were launched a year ago. In the intervening time, competitor Barnes & Noble has launched a Nook e-reader with a built-in screen illuminator for reading in the dark.
ABI Research said Thursday that sales of dedicated e-readers, like the non-Fire, black-and-white Kindles, peaked last year. It expects worldwide sales of e-readers at 11 million in 2012, down from 15 million in 2011.
The research firm expects tablets to outsell e-readers 9-1 this year, despite costing four or five time as much. Still, e-readers won’t go away completely, ABI analyst Joshua Flood said.
“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,” Flood said.
Shares of Amazon, which is based in Seattle, fell 90 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $246.22 Thursday.
MARK LENNIHAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Half the size of the iPad, the Fire was the first Kindle tablet with a color screen and the ability to run third-party applications, at half the cheapest iPad’s price.
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