Kindle Touch 3G gone ?

aceflor · 08-23-2012, 03:35 AM

There is no Kindle Touch 3G anymore on amazon.de or on amazon.es or on amazon.fr.
It is not "not in stock", it just completely disappeared.... !!!!

TimW · 08-23-2012, 03:57 AM

Strange. In the US, it shows a 1-2 week wait time before shipping. I don't know if that's a supplier foulup or *perhaps* new devices on the way. I tend to think it's a foulup. Still too early for new devices, I think.

aceflor · 08-23-2012, 04:03 AM

Or it's amazon reading our speculations here and having fun at our expense.

I wanted to order a touch 3g as a birthday present for a friend who travels a lot, so the 3g made totally sense. I wanted to do it yesterday, but had other things to do and so it was on my todo list for today, and now I can't. If there was a new one at least to replace it....!!!

TimW · 08-23-2012, 04:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aceflor

Or it's amazon reading our speculations here and having fun at our expense.

I wanted to order a touch 3g as a birthday present for a friend who travels a lot, so the 3g made totally sense. I wanted to do it yesterday, but had other things to do and so it was on my todo list for today, and now I can't. If there was a new one at least to replace it....!!!

That's rotten luck. The US store does have Kindle Touch 3G (SO) refurbs available for 129.00 USD. If you had someone purchase one of those to send to you, that's a good price.

amjbrown · 08-23-2012, 05:50 AM

In the UK if you search for "Kindle Touch 3G" you can access the product page and get the messages "Top-of-the-line e-reader with free 3G wireless" and "Currently unavailable. We do not know when this item will be back in stock".

Doesn't look like it's coming back. I wonder if Amazon are struggling to make 3G work economically? I used it loads on holiday. Brilliant. But free lifetime?

fjtorres · 08-23-2012, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amjbrown

Doesn't look like it's coming back. I wonder if Amazon are struggling to make 3G work economically? I used it loads on holiday. Brilliant. But free lifetime?

The contract the US Department of State is (still) working on to expand their use of Kindles to distribute and manage their content worldwide specifically mentioned 3G alongside the frontlighting so I doubt Amazon is giving up on 3G.

There was a rumor a few weeks back that they had pushed back the introduction of their new lineup so the (spot) shortage of some models may be because they expected them to be in phase-out. They may be shifting shipments from some markets to feed others or they may have restored assembly of the existing models and be waiting to re-fill the pipeline or maybe the new models are close enough they're willing to wait it out. Some US models were sold out for a few days early last week, leaing to amusing speculation:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=187588

There isn't enough evidence to tell what they're up to. All we know is... something is going on.

(Their timing stinks, though.)

aceflor · 08-23-2012, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

(Their timing stinks, though.)

It sure does. I am used to Amazon managing everything pretty smoothely, but their very erratic stock management of the Kindle those last few weeks is not at all at the level of proficiency we are used to.

I am now seriously doubting they will introduce a new Kindle in August or September.
If they do surprise me, it will anyway be again only available in the US and maybe in the UK, the rest of us will have to wait until mid 2013....

poohbear_nc · 08-23-2012, 07:53 AM

FWIW, the M-Edge website (maker of cases, etc. for Kindles) had put up a teaser page with the phrase "new models rumored to arrive in September" but it now reads "coming soon".

I wonder if fulfilling the State Dept. contract (see fjtorres post above) has either consumed too much of the available eInk screen supply, or has delayed the production of the consumer models.

fjtorres · 08-23-2012, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I wonder if fulfilling the State Dept. contract (see fjtorres post above) has either consumed too much of the available eInk screen supply, or has delayed the production of the consumer models.

The State Dept contract was never signed because of a protest; they went back a couple of steps in the procurement process to give the protestors a chance to put up or shut up.

The delays are rumored to be due to problems with the frontlight lightguide layer. But since the source is Digitimes the rumor's credibility is debatable:
http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...indle-delayed/

With B&N having acknowledged *they* are having troubles in that area and Sony refusing to play in that arena the rumor does gain a bit of viability. But still... Digitimes... Keep a kilo of salt handy.

TimW · 08-24-2012, 07:25 AM

There are no new Wi-Fi only Kindle Touches for sale in the Amazon US store. (There haven't been any 3G models for quite some time.) I assume it's a supply snafu, but at least they have refurbs for sale.

krm0789 · 08-24-2012, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimW

There are no new Wi-Fi only Kindle Touches for sale in the Amazon US store. (There haven't been any 3G models for quite some time.) I assume it's a supply snafu, but at least they have refurbs for sale.

I feel like those haven't been consistently available either. I've been looking for a week or two and every time I search, the availability is different. Thanks for posting that though, I was finally able to order a refurb!

tubemonkey · 08-24-2012, 09:21 AM

With new models pending, I'm sure Amazon doesn't want to get stuck with a bunch of Touch's.

I see a new touch (front lit) making an appearance. I also see a continuation of the non-touch, but at a lower price; possibly $49 over the holidays.

LovesMacs · 08-24-2012, 11:29 AM

Maybe Amazon is busy preparing new Kindles with 4G LTE connectivity to their store and Wikipedia, Wi-Fi for everything else. That way you can purchase books even faster.

ucfgrad93 · 08-24-2012, 11:34 AM

Amazon has scheduled a press conference for September 6th. Most seem to think that the new Fires and ereaders will be introduced then. Amazon has probably cleared most of their stock of Touch 3G and doesn't want to get stuck with a bunch of the old models like tubemonkey said.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=188846

08-23-2012, 03:35 AM	#1
aceflor Wizard Posts: 3,472 Karma: 48036360 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: where the sun lives, or so they say Device: Pocketbook Era, Pocketbook Inkpad 4, Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Scribe	Kindle Touch 3G gone ? There is no Kindle Touch 3G anymore on amazon.de or on amazon.es or on amazon.fr. It is not "not in stock", it just completely disappeared.... !!!!

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08-23-2012, 03:57 AM	#2
TimW Wizard Posts: 1,022 Karma: 6824104 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Southeastern Kentucky Device: KK3G, KPW1, Sony PRST1, Sony PRS350, iPod Touch 5G	Strange. In the US, it shows a 1-2 week wait time before shipping. I don't know if that's a supplier foulup or perhaps new devices on the way. I tend to think it's a foulup. Still too early for new devices, I think.

08-23-2012, 04:03 AM	#3
aceflor Wizard Posts: 3,472 Karma: 48036360 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: where the sun lives, or so they say Device: Pocketbook Era, Pocketbook Inkpad 4, Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Scribe	Or it's amazon reading our speculations here and having fun at our expense. I wanted to order a touch 3g as a birthday present for a friend who travels a lot, so the 3g made totally sense. I wanted to do it yesterday, but had other things to do and so it was on my todo list for today, and now I can't. If there was a new one at least to replace it....!!!

08-23-2012, 05:50 AM	#5
amjbrown Addict Posts: 322 Karma: 1231044 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: London, UK Device: Kindle Oasis 3, Kindle app on the iPhone	In the UK if you search for "Kindle Touch 3G" you can access the product page and get the messages "Top-of-the-line e-reader with free 3G wireless" and "Currently unavailable. We do not know when this item will be back in stock". Doesn't look like it's coming back. I wonder if Amazon are struggling to make 3G work economically? I used it loads on holiday. Brilliant. But free lifetime?

08-23-2012, 07:53 AM	#8
poohbear_nc Bah! Humbug! Posts: 63,422 Karma: 135239851 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	FWIW, the M-Edge website (maker of cases, etc. for Kindles) had put up a teaser page with the phrase "new models rumored to arrive in September" but it now reads "coming soon". I wonder if fulfilling the State Dept. contract (see fjtorres post above) has either consumed too much of the available eInk screen supply, or has delayed the production of the consumer models.

08-24-2012, 07:25 AM	#10
TimW Wizard Posts: 1,022 Karma: 6824104 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Southeastern Kentucky Device: KK3G, KPW1, Sony PRST1, Sony PRS350, iPod Touch 5G	There are no new Wi-Fi only Kindle Touches for sale in the Amazon US store. (There haven't been any 3G models for quite some time.) I assume it's a supply snafu, but at least they have refurbs for sale.

08-24-2012, 09:21 AM	#12
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,762 Karma: 158733736 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	With new models pending, I'm sure Amazon doesn't want to get stuck with a bunch of Touch's. I see a new touch (front lit) making an appearance. I also see a continuation of the non-touch, but at a lower price; possibly $49 over the holidays.

08-24-2012, 11:29 AM	#13
LovesMacs Fanatic Posts: 513 Karma: 2644386 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: iPhone, Kindle Touch	Maybe Amazon is busy preparing new Kindles with 4G LTE connectivity to their store and Wikipedia, Wi-Fi for everything else. That way you can purchase books even faster.

08-24-2012, 11:34 AM	#14
ucfgrad93 Wizard Posts: 2,370 Karma: 9026681 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Colorado Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2nd Gen	Amazon has scheduled a press conference for September 6th. Most seem to think that the new Fires and ereaders will be introduced then. Amazon has probably cleared most of their stock of Touch 3G and doesn't want to get stuck with a bunch of the old models like tubemonkey said. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=188846