Amazon says Kindle Fire sold out a week ahead of news conference
In what may be the first clear sign that a new version of the Kindle Fire is on the way, Amazon announced Thursday it has sold out of its entire stock of the 7-inch tablet.
The online retailer announced the news exactly one week ahead of a news conference it has scheduled in Santa Monica.
The Kindle Fire is an Android-based tablet with 8-gigabytes of storage that sold for about $200 before selling out. Amazon said Thursday the Kindle Fire now holds 22% of the tablet market.
If you search for the device on Amazon, the Seattle company will direct you to used units sold by its partners.
Speculation that Amazon will replace the Kindle Fire with a new device has been mounting since Google introduced the Nexus 7 tablet in June and reports began to circulate this summer that Apple is readying its own smaller-sized tablet.
Amazon fueled that speculation when it sent out a vague invitation last week to the Sept. 6 news conference in Santa Monica.
The company introduced the Kindle Fire last November after announcing the tablet in September.
“Kindle Fire is sold out, but we have an exciting road map ahead,” Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said in a statement.
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