Looking for a cheap Amazon (AMZN) Kindle Fire as a back-to-school gift? Well, don’t: Amazon says that it has completely sold out of the first-generation Kindle Fire as it prepares to launch the next-generation Kindle Fire sometime this fall. Although Amazon isn’t releasing any specific numbers for how many Kindle Fires have been sold, the company says that the tablet has been its best-selling product since its release last fall. The Kindle Fire made it fashionable to launch seven-inch Android tablets that sell in the $200 range after its release, culminating in Google’s (GOOG) popular Nexus 7 that launched this summer. Amazon’s full press release follows below.
In just 9 months, Kindle Fire captures 22% of U.S. tablet sales
10 of the top 10 best-selling items on Amazon since Kindle Fire launched are Kindle devices and content
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aug. 30, 2012– (NASDAQ:AMZN)—Less than one year ago, Amazon introduced Kindle Fire—combining 15 years of innovation into a single, fully-integrated, end-to-end service for customers. Kindle Fire quickly became the most successful product launch in the history of Amazon.com, earning over 10,000 5-star customer reviews, and is the #1 best-selling product across the millions of items available onAmazon since its introduction 48 weeks ago. Today, Amazon announced that Kindle Fire is sold out, and that in just nine months, Kindle Fire has captured 22% of tablet sales in the U.S.
“We’re grateful to the millions of customers who have made Kindle Fire the most successful product launch in the history of Amazon,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “This has been a big year for digital products on Amazon—all of the top 10 sellers on Amazon.com since Kindle Fire launched just less than a year ago are digital products. Kindle Fire is sold out, but we have an exciting roadmap ahead—we will continue to offer our customers the best hardware, the best prices, the best customer service, the best cross-platform interoperability, and the best content ecosystem.”
Kindle Fire offers customers a vast selection of digital content—over 22 million movies, TV shows, apps, games, books, magazines and more—in one seamless, end-to-end experience, making it easy for customers to browse, discover and purchase. Since Kindle Fire launched last September, all of the top 10 products on Amazon—across all products—are digital products.
