News - Amazon orders more Kindle Fire stock as iPad sales slow down

[HEXUS]

Amazon ups production levels of Kindle Fire to cope with preorder demand.

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[Tarinder]

Bleh, I want one here. Why miss out on overseas markets?

[Scarlet Infidel]

Bleh, I want one here. Why miss out on overseas markets?

Because they are pushing hard just to build enough units for their home market. That's what this article is suggesting surely?

[crossy]

(Tarinder: "Bleh, I want one here. Why miss out on overseas markets?") Because they are pushing hard just to build enough units for their home market. That's what this article is suggesting surely?

No, I see what Tarinder's getting at. With a US-only launch they're effectively missing out on the chance to generate some "buzz" elsewhere. Maybe rationing the US, and allocating some production to the EU would have been more sensible. Then the scarcity value alone will make it desirable - heck, look at what happened to the HP TouchPad's.

Interesting to hear that the iPad2 predicted sales are down - the implication is that it's the KF that's to blame, but is this necessarily the case? And what about Android tablet sales - are these also down?

[bradyjames]

I'm not so sure the iPad sales are down. The quote is suggesting that estimated sales for the current quarter are lower than they had been predicting. However I believe the current quarter is still the highest volume of iPad's that Apple have sold to date. So I believe a more accurate interpretation may be to say 'iPad sales are not increasing quite as quickly as predicted'.

Still impressive numbers on the Kindle though. It goes to show that there is a big market for tablets at a lower price point. This is not altogether surprising though. Just look at the history of PC's vs Mac's - PC's sell more volume at lower price points but 'premium design orientated PC's' that have a comparable price to a Mac have not been very successful. I believe this is why many vendors are struggling to compete with the iPad when they are producing Tablets at similar price points.

[crossy]

Just look at the history of PC's vs Mac's - PC's sell more volume at lower price points but 'premium design orientated PC's' that have a comparable price to a Mac have not been very successful. I believe this is why many vendors are struggling to compete with the iPad when they are producing Tablets at similar price points.

Quite true - the "designer" PC's have had a problem that they've not really had anyone who could compete with the Apple "brand" - although I'd suggest that Sony have come close. Other brands, like HP for example, are still regarded as mere tools rather than something "aspirational".

Likewise with tablets - Apple's stranglehold is such that I've even heard folks using - for example - a Motorola Xoom refer to that device as an "iPad". Makes me wonder whether that's become as a generic term as "iPod" did for MP3 players.

Where I'll disagree is with that last statement - Apple definitely puts a healthy profit margin into their prices. So, you'll find devices that match, or exceed, the iPad2 in terms of spec for less expenditure, however none of these have the "man in the street recognition" that the iPad2 does. To sum up, other companies can produce a better product, but Apple's marketing beats them every time.

By the way, I'll not put the KF in that boat of "technically better than the iPad2" - mainly because it isn't. It's definitely a technologically poorer device, but then again, if all you want is a tablet, the fact that it's half the price (and from a recognized brand) is darned difficult to ignore. I suspect strongly that when the KF does go on sale over here that it'll sell like hot cakes.

[Scribe]

Not more stock! UK Stock!!!!!

Papa wants a Kindle Touch powered by a lovely Cortex-A8

[Scribe]

Where I'll disagree is with that last statement - Apple definitely puts a healthy profit margin into their prices. So, you'll find devices that match, or exceed, the iPad2 in terms of spec for less expenditure, however none of these have the "man in the street recognition" that the iPad2 does. To sum up, other companies can produce a better product, but Apple's marketing beats them every time.

By the way, I'll not put the KF in that boat of "technically better than the iPad2" - mainly because it isn't. It's definitely a technologically poorer device, but then again, if all you want is a tablet, the fact that it's half the price (and from a recognized brand) is darned difficult to ignore. I suspect strongly that when the KF does go on sale over here that it'll sell like hot cakes.

Much agreed, the end figures speak for themselves, just a quick look around in both the PC and mobile segments shows Apple has a much greater profit share of both markets than actual product share.