It looks like Amazon are going to have a monster hit on their hands with their new Kindle wireless reading device, as it seems that the first batch of UK pre-orders has already sold out due to overwhelming customer demand.
Amazon initially promised an August 27th delivery for anyone pre-ordering the compact, cut-price (£109/£149) eReader, but customers visiting the Kindle homepage are now seeing this message:
Temporarily sold out. Order now to reserve your place in the queue
Due to strong customer demand, Kindle is temporarily sold out. Order now to reserve your place in the queue. Orders are prioritised on a first-come, first-served basis. Orders placed today are expected to dispatch on or before September 4.
Outselling hardback books
Amazon boasts that the earlier Kindles have been the most-wished-for, most-gifted products on Amazon, with the eReaders receiving the most 5-star reviews and becoming the No.1 bestselling item for two years running.
The US Kindle store currently offers more than 630,000 titles, and the company recently announced that over the past three months, the number of e-books being sold on Amazon.com had raced significantly ahead of hardback sales.
Speaking to USA Today, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos predicted that the company will, “surpass paperback sales sometime in the next nine to 12 months. Sometime after that, we’ll surpass the combination of paperback and hardcover.”
Early review
PCadvisor.co.uk bagged an early review model, and praised the eReader’s overall design, speedier navigation and build quality, delivering a very positive verdict:
The Amazon Kindle 3 made an unusually quick, and positive, impression. The new Kindle’s solid build quality, improved design, integrated store, and cross-platform transportability (books are usable on any Kindle reader app, including iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, and PC) all add up to a winner poised to top the pack.
We want!
We’re certainly convinced, and have placed an order – so expect a review as soon as we can get our hands on it!
Order it here:
Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6″ Display, Graphite -£109
Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6″ Display, Graphite, 3G Works Globally -£149
Just put in an order myself. The Kindle is going to be huge. Who wants to shell out £600 for an iPad that you can’t even read in the sunlight when you can pick up a Kindle for just over a £100.
Game on, amazon!
Great news, the better this does the better for the consumer, Apple needs the competition and Sony needs to get it’s ass in gear!
need it for my husband who has had a stroke and has difficulty in reading ordinary books