AppleInsider Staff
Despite early criticisms of the device and its $400 price tag, the Kindle electronic eBook reader sold out in just over 5 hours following its debut on November 19th, a representative for Amazon told AppleInsider.
Since then, the device has taken a beating from the mainstream media. Early reviews have expressed general appreciation for Amazon's run at a fresh concept but fault the retailer's inexperience in developing consumer electronics for the device's clunky and cumbersome user experience.
Still, Amazon has managed to remain completely backlogged on new orders and is warning customers that they should not expect their Kindle in time for the holidays if they're just now placing orders.
"Due to heavy customer demand, Kindle is temporarily sold out," reads a message on the retailer's website. "Because we ship Kindles on a first-come, first-served basis, please ORDER NOW to reserve your place in line. Your Kindle will not arrive by December 25th."
Since Amazon's strategy with Kindle and its electronic eBook store mirrors that of Apple's iTunes+iPod ecosystem, AppleInsider plans a full review in the near future.
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Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
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Amber Neely
70 Comments
I'm sorry but that thing is just plain U G L Y. If designs from 1992 are coming back, then great. However it reminds me of my old 1983 Osbourne portable computer - sure, it was portable but had no style.
I'd rather be seen carrying around the actual book than that thing.
Yes it sold out in 5 hours. I'm guessing to technology enthusiasts such as magazines and TV shows.
Looks pretty crap - and the b/w screen is soooo retro!Call me old fashioned, but why not just buy the book instead?I'm sure a real book is gonna be much more relaxing to read, and the UI is sooo intuitive.
sorry, but that thing is UGLY! and yeh, why wouldn't you just buy the book? the only reason i could think of is uni students/researchers and the like that need a lot of books with them all the time, but would rather just carry this ugly thing. id rather carry the books...
I like it because you can carry more than one book with you for the size of only one book. It isn't THAT ugly. I would still prefer to do it on an iPhone though.
I fail to see how this relates to Apple though.
And bringing up the "iPod of reading" is not enough. It's not the iPod of reading, not yet at least.