That’s interesting news, yes, and I would bet that he is close to being right. (Last week’s Flurry stats certainly agree with this estimate.) But what’s more interesting is that he preempted Amazon. Amazon is due to announce their financials tomorrow, and he just may have stolen their thunder. But maybe he didn’t.

This bit of news today might inspire Amazon to release real numbers tomorrow on how many KFs they sold. That would be a first for Amazon, yes, but just think. What if Amazon sold 7 million Kindle Fires last year. Wouldn’t they want to take the opportunity to surprise everyone?

On the other hand, they might have just barely hit the 6 million mark (or maybe even fallen short), and that might be enough to discourage them. “Meeting expectations” is not enough anymore, so today’s news might preclude tomorrows.

In any case, tomorrow’s news is then one to pay attention to. Today is just tea leaves. Let’s see what happens.

About Those 6 Million Kindle Fires Sold

Given the questionable market success of the current Playbook, you have to wonder what they’re thinking.

The Playbook was the most discounted tablet of 2011. I cannot tell you how many times it went on sale, and the price for the 16GB base model went down to $199 at  couple points. That’s 60% off the original retail, and it’s the same price as the Kindle Fire. And now they’re going to release 2 new models?

That makes me wonder. RIM wouldn’t  lunch new models if they weren’t expecting to be reasonably successful, so I wonder what their sales figures are. There’s  good chance that all the negative press about the Playbook doesn’t reflect how users feel bout the tablet. Perhaps RIM is selling more units than it appears. That would make sense, given their future plans to expand the line.

On the other hand, maybe they’ve decided to go bankrupt in a big way.  But on the gripping hand, this is just a rumor. We don’t know yet what is really going on.

I actually lean towards this being  good idea. All those sales mean that there are a lot of Playbook owners out there. That’s enough to catch the attention of at least some developers, and new rumors of future Playbook tablets will keep them interested. By the time the second 7″ Playbook comes out (April or so), RIM should have a solid ecosystem of apps for it.

via N4BB

BlackBerry to Release 10″ Playbook Tablet This Year?

Notebook Italia has turned up an interesting product shot. According to their sources, this could be a 7″ Asus eeePad or it could be the new Asus eeeMemo.

They haven’t said where they got it, but this blog has been following the 7″ eeePad rumors for a couple months now.  It seems likely that they caught the eye of an Asus insider.

If this is real, then this tablet would likely have specs similar to the rumored specs of the eeePad Memo, which is supposed to ship with a 1.2GHz SnapDragon CPU, 16GB of Flash storage, Wifi/3G, and an IPS screen (1280×800 resolution).

The eeePad Memo was first mentioned by Asus  in January 2011, but so far as I can tell it was never released. The demo units also looked a lot different from the tablet above, and that suggests that this is something different.

But let’s be clear, Notebook Italia doesn’t even know the screen dimensions of this image, much less the model name, price, specs, or release date. They don’t even claim that this is a 7″ screen. So at this point all we have is a teaser image that hints at a possible new product.

While I am hoping for a 7″ eeePad Transformer, I’m deeply curious about how Asus would manage the keyboard dock. This model looks to be based on a portrait orientation, not landscape, and that leaves the short side of the screen for the dock. That’s not enough room for a real keyboard. Maybe the dock will have a second screen? Now that would be cool.

Asus was already on my list for CES  2012, and now they have a star, exclamation points, and several drooling zombies after the name. But I’m also only going to be at the show for 3 days, so I might miss it.

7″ Asus eeePad to Show Up at CES 2012?

The Loop debunked this rumor yesterday. They checked with their sources, and Apple is not planning to release an iPad at iWorld/MacWorld. They’re also not releasing it at CES, either, so don’t get your hopes up. Oh, and The Loop also heard Apple isn’t going to release an iTV at either event.

I’m not terribly surprised. Like I mentioned yesterday, the latest Digitimes rumor contradicted at least one of their earlier  rumors. There’s a reason why I call them rumor mongers, and today’s news shows that I’m describing them accurately.

Do you know, this reminds me of one Digitimes rumor I debunked a few months back. Digitimes was reporting that the then not yet released Kindle Fire was doomed. According to Digitimes’ sources, their sources doubted its success because it had a 7″ screen and thus it would be entering a crowded market. That’s nonsense now, but at the time there was absolutely nothing to support the idea.

One reader commented that he suspected Digitimes (or their sources) had an ulterior motive. That story wasn’t published for its news value, but was instead leaked in order to manipulate the stock price. I wonder if that’s what is happening here?

Well, not stock price so much as manipulating tablet sales. This rumor is likely to cause some to delay purchases and get their hopes up. During that delay Apple’s competitors have a chance make a few more sales to disappointed consumers.

In any case, nonsense like this is why I didn’t used to report on rumors. And I still have to control my gag reflex even today.

The Loop

Apple Not Releasing iPads in January?

Now Digitimes is reporting that Apple has 2 iPads coming in late January, not one, and neither is going to be the iPad Mini.

The new iPads are rumored to be unveiled at the iWorld conference on 26 January.  This event opens a couple weeks after CES, and it’s no surprise that Apple’s ignoring CES again (they do every year).  Both new models will join the existing iPad 2, and according to industry sources Apple’s going to sell 3 models.  They’ll each be focused on a different market segment (entry-level, mid-range and high-end), the sources claimed.

The rumor goes on to add that the iPad 2 will stick around and get a price cut.  It’s going to go head to head with the Kindle Fire, while the new models will be for those with deeper pockets. The new iPads will have dimensions similar to the existing iPad but they’ll be getting a new 9.7″ screen. It reportedly will have double the resolution of the existing screen (QXGA – 1,536×2,048 pixels). The more expensive one is also supposed to get an 8MP camera, while the middle model is supposed to have a 5M camera.

Interesting rumor, but I’m a little disappointed. I was looking forward to the iPad Mini.

And I’m not so sure that this one is completely true. There have been times where Apple has released more than one iPod at a single event, so that could be what’s happening with the new iPads. But I think it’s much more likely that the 2 models referenced above are actually the same device, only with one small difference. I think one will have 3G.

But I do think the iPad 2 rumor is mostly true.  i don’t think Apple will sell it for $200, or even $300, but I do think the refurbs could get that cheap and they will be available for quite some time, just like the original iPad is now.

Digitimes

Apple to Release 2 iPads in January?

Digitimes is reporting new rumors passed to them from their usual industry sources.  Barnes & Noble is reported to have received over a million of the new Nook Tablets from Inventec, the manufacturer. There are also reports that B&N has expanded new orders for the NT because of good sales over the Thanksgiving Day weekend.

This might not measure up to Amazon’s rumored success, but if B&N manages to sell a million Nook Tablets this year then they will be one of the top manufacturers. It will also be a great first month of sales. To put these sales in perspective, the RIM Playbook only sold 250 thousand in its first month and the Motorola Xoom, Google’s flagship Android tablet, only sold a 100k.

But we also shouldn’t read too much into this. Just because B&N orders a lot of Nook Tablets and gets them in the warehouse doesn’t mean that they’re actually selling them. Nor does it it mean that customers aren’t returning them, like I did with mine. In fact, I would bet that B&N will see a fair number of returns. Look at the steady supply of Nook Color refurbs. Barnes & Noble gets so many of those back from customers that they can supply Overstock, Walmart, and still have enough for the occasional sale on Ebay. No matter how many NC they might be selling, that’s still a large volume of returns.

B&N Projected to Get 1 Million Nook Tablets From Suppliers This Year

According to their sources, Quanta has already shipped 3 to 4 million Kindle Fires to Amazon. And that count is from the units that have actually left the factory, not just come off the assembly line.  There are also reports that Amazon is on plan to hit 5 million Kindle Fires sold by the end of December.

If this happens, it’s a stunning development. If Amazon really pulls this off then they will have trounced Apple. 5 million Kindles sold in 6 weeks will crush the record set by the iPad (2 million shipped in first month) and the iPad 2 (2.5m shipped in first month). Let me  put these figures in perspective. The RIM Playbook only sold 250 thousand in its first month and the Motorola Xoom, Google’s flagship Android tablet, only sold a 100k. So Amazon managed to pull off something that I thought only Apple could do.

Do you know, I didn’t think this would happen. I thought the KF would have excellent sales but I didn’t think any Android tablet could match the stellar success of the iPad. It looks like I was wrong.

Before the KF came along, we had the iPad market ( tens of millions sold) and everyone else (hundreds of thousands sold). Now that the iPad has been dethroned, we’re going to see the tablet market as Amazon, Apple, and everyone else. And yes, I’m giving Amazon their own segment; they are just as much control freaks as Apple (only more subtle about it).

Amazon Expected to Ship 5m Kindle Fires This Year

According to my source, B&N will be offering a limited edition Nook Touch on Friday.  I’m told that it’s going to be white and sell for $80.

Update: And now that new Nook (with the cream colored backside)  is listed on the B&N website. Oy. That didn’t take long.

My source called the new e-reader the Nook Cream, but I’m not so sure that part is true. “Nook Cream” sounds more like a drink for the cafe, not a gadget. But since I don’t have any pictures or brochures yet, I decided to share the name anyway.

While I may not be able to substantiate the product name, I did manage to confirm 1 detail.  I’ve heard via another channel that at least one store has received boxes of a Nook product that isn’t supposed to be opened until Friday.  I did not get any info on what’s in the boxes, just that they’ve arrived in the store. But that’s enough to decide what I’ll be doing on Friday.

If anyone knows more about this cream-colored Nook Touch, please let me know. Comments can be anonymous and I never reveal my sources.

Confirmed: B&N to Sell Limited Edition Nook Touch on Friday

Digitimes is reporting that the larger Kindle Fire, which I am dubbing the Kindle Bonfire, is not going to launch for quite a few months. The current predicted launch date is right where I thought it would be when the first rumors appeared a couple months back (right after the Kindle Fire launch event).

The Kindle BonFire is now expected to ship some time in the second quarter of 2012. It’s still rumored to be an 8.9″ screen and it is still supposed to be made by Foxconn. Today’s rumor also adds another twist to the story; Foxconn will reportedly become one of the manufacturers of the current Kindle Fire.

Foxconn is a name that everyone should know; they are so large that they make a gadget for just about everyone. Chances are you own at least one device that they were hired to assemble. For example, Foxconn has been the primary manufacturer of the Kindle since the first one launched four years ago.

BTW, I decided to give the larger Kindle Fire a nickname. I’m going to call it the Kindle BonFire. No, that’s not a sign of any inside knowledge; I just wanted an easy way to refer to it. It almost certainly exists, so I will likely be talking about it in the future.

But that’s a good name, isn’t it? It’s a larger fire, and you can throw your books, movies, and music on it. (And yes, that is my sense of humor coming into play.)

P.S. Since this gadget is only a rumor, I’m going back to the unicorn lead photo.

image by flash.pro

Kindle BonFire Is Rumored to Ship in Q2 2012

According to their industry sources, Amazon has increased the orders from the factories. They were reportedly expecting to sell three and  half million Kindle Fires in 2011, but shortly before launching the KF Digitimes believe bumped that to 4 million.

This most recent news suggests that they’ve increased their orders to 5 million, all of which will be shipped before the end of 2011.

All these reports are coming from unnamed sources at Amazon’s suppliers, so there’s not much we can do to verify them.

But if they’re true then it would mean that Kindle Fire orders have picked up significantly since that first leaked report a month ago. Amazon’s system showed that they’d gotten a quarter of a million pre-orders in the first 5 days. If you extrapolate from that number and expand it to fill the rest of 2011 then Amazon will sell around 4.5 million Kindle Fires this year. It’s a little hard to believe that Amazon could raise that to 5 million sold, but it’s not impossible.

I hope it’s true. You see, more Kindle Fire orders means that more will be returned. And that means the refurbs will show up sooner and drive the price down on competing Android tablets.Yes, I do have an odd way of looking at things, but I try  to see the KF as a part of the Android tablet market as a whole.

Speaking of the tablet market, we’re going to see some interesting things happen in the near future. I believe there’s an oversupply of Android tablets in the market and there’s also a glut of refurbs. There are so many refurbs available now that I’m not sure that there’s a gadget retailer anymore that doesn’t stock at least one refurbished Android tablet. In fact, there are so many that even Walmart stock the refurbished Nook Color for $149.

I’m expecting to see some pretty awesome deals in the next 6 months. Do you recall that Groupon offer last month for the Skytex tablets? That’s just the beginning. We’re going to see more offers like that in the not too distant future.

But the downside of all these deals is that the crappy tablets will likely be discounted first. Look at how many times the Viewsonic gTablet went on sale this year. I have one, and I think that it was a misguided attempt to market a second rate tablet as a premium. Trust me, it never felt like it should have cost $400+ (the original retail).

In any case, I’m looking forward to having my pick of tablets in the net few months. Who knows, we might even see the Vox discounted, too.

Amazon Bumped Kindle Fire Order to 5 Million Units