Amazon Kindle Fire has a surprising number of preorders
(CBS) - When the Amazon Kindle Fire launched, we thought it was pretty impressive. Who knew so many people needed an eBook reader?
According to the market research firm eDataSource, an estimated 95,000 preorders came in for the Kindle Fire on the first day. An additional 20,000 have been sold daily to reach a total of 215,000. Not bad.
Those numbers are only estimates, though. FYI, Amazon does not release official sales numbers. Annual sales for the Kindle have been estimated at anywhere from 500,000 in 2008 to 8 million in 2010. That's pretty staggering growth, but will it continue? By comparison the iPad sold 300,000 units it's first date of sale.
The Kindle Fire was announced on September 28 and will retail at $199.99. The price is definitely right, but we're still weighing all the options.
We think the Kindle Fire has the best chance of catching the iPad by the toes. And we love a good underdog story. Besides, our pocketbooks could use the break.
If we pick our electronic devices like we pick our winter coats. Then they must be functional, attractive and durable. Is Kindle Fire the "trifecta"? Add in the affordable price and we might just be convinced.
Maybe that's why the sale numbers, while impressive, seem moderate. Why aren't the numbers higher? Sorry, Amazon.
Does anyone else out there have the same thoughts or are we alone here?
