Panic in Kindle Park!

Two little words may screw up Christmas for a lot of shoppers who thought they knew just what to buy for the person who has everything:

SOLD OUT!

But those are the two little words on the Kindle page of amazon.com's website. The announcement in full:

Due to heavy customer demand, Kindle is sold out. Please ORDER KINDLE NOW to reserve your place in line. We prioritize orders on a first come, first served basis. This item will arrive after December 24. Note that Kindles cannot currently be sold or shipped to customers living outside of the U.S.

Amazon expects a new batch in eleven to thirteen weeks, meaning end of February or sometime in March, and gift wrapping is an option. Just in time to give a Kindle for Foot Health Month. Go on Amazon, take a number and get in line.

If you think you will absolutely die if you can't have your Kindle fix before then, Gizmodo reports that you can get a refurbished one.

This shortage plays up speculation that Amazon may be letting inventory run out in anticipation of the release of the long-awaited Kindle 2.0, which Kindlistas have pegged at Q-1 of the coming year. Common sense suggests that no sensible business would deliberately plan a shortfall of a hot seller in time for the biggest buying month of the year. So let's be generous and say that Amazon simply underestimated demand. Probably the only manufacturer that did in this Season of Surpluses.

RC