PRS 650 backordered till March 2011

[porkupan]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Sure is in stock. Both the red and the black.

Well, those black ones sure didn't last very long, did they? No longer in stock on US SonyStyle.

Originally Posted by WendyH

Sony Style Australia no longer shows the red PRS-650 as an option. They no longer have "Available In" and the little coloured squares of black and red like they do with the PRS-350 and the three colours it is available in. The black one is out of stock again anyway.
I don't get what is going on with Sony and their Readers!

It sure looks like Sony hit some major manufacturing obstacles. It's not entirely clear what it is, maybe they are getting screwed by PVI, who prefers to exclusively service Amazon. Plus, Sony's distribution channel is way too wide, and they seem to have trouble figuring out where the demand really is.

What's even more puzzling is the deficit of accessories (namely, covers). No hi-tech parts involved there.

[maxbookworm]

I know, it's bizarre. Even if I were ready to upgrade to a 650, and even if I were willing to accept a red one (I'd much prefer silver), I wouldn't be able to get a cover for it anyway. WTH?

[cwappy]

I almost think they are trying to run through their existing inventory of 650's, along with related accessories, to try and phase it out. Maybe stick with the 350, which price-wise competes more closely with Kindle, and the 950. Or perhaps there is a wifi-enabled version in the works, after all the negative comments they received from reviews. But more than likely they are just having problems with manufacturing.

[alecE]

I tried to order a 650 from Sony in the UK yesterday. We got as far as being about to give my card details when the operator announced "There's a block on this - I can't order anything. I'll get back to you as soon as I have news."
Eventually got a message to say that there were too many back orders already placed and they weren't allowed to place any more orders. No timescales given for new supplies.

Do Sony really want to sell their stuff?

[faithbw]

It looks like the black 650 is available again on the US Sony site. I won't be able to get an eReader for another week and a half. I hope they're still in stock by then.

[gwbuffalo]

I am pretty sure the obstacle may be moving the manufacturing off shore. I base that opinion on what Sony has done many times with their compact digital camera products. I have seen many Sony compact models released that were originally made in Japan, and then either one of two things seem to happen next... One is that the stocks eventually get depleted, and the model is discontinued. The other is that models start showing up made in China (usually identical in every other way).

The interesting thing is that with the latter occurrence, there may or may not be a lapse in the supply chain. I noticed that not long after I picked up a PRS-950 the other day, the stocks seem to be drying up. Best Buy and many on line retailers are showing them out of stock. My PRS-950 was made in Japan with a manufacturing date of June 2010.

It will be interesting to see if the future stock happens to be made in China. With the camera products, there are sometimes gaps in supply when this happens. Anyone else notice any changes in place of manufacture? Maybe the 350 is already made in China? Not sure about the 650, but the original 950 is definitely made in Japan.

P.S. I hope the missing accessories are related to better than expected sales. They do need to fork up some more covers (I like they way they work the best, especially the nice magnetic catch on the front and back).

Originally Posted by porkupan

Well, those black ones sure didn't last very long, did they? No longer in stock on US SonyStyle.


It sure looks like Sony hit some major manufacturing obstacles. It's not entirely clear what it is, maybe they are getting screwed by PVI, who prefers to exclusively service Amazon. Plus, Sony's distribution channel is way too wide, and they seem to have trouble figuring out where the demand really is.

What's even more puzzling is the deficit of accessories (namely, covers). No hi-tech parts involved there.

[WendyH]

My 650 that I bought in November 2010 before all the supply shortages was made in China. They started to run out a few weeks after that, the red one (I bought the last one at Sony Central) was already in short supply. So you may very well be right.
Where does it say what the manufacturing date is?

[Poppaea]

I initially thought all Sonys were made in China nowadays but it turned out the 950s are Japan-made, 650s and 350s China. From the beginning.

PocketBook Germany sold 10,000 units per month instead of their usual 1,000 montly units at the end of 2010. Now multiply this with Sony being said to be No. 2 in the world and you can think of what has happened....

[gwbuffalo]

I think you're right about the sales (even took Sony by surprise). Sony has been doing a much better job in the past several years in listening to what the market wants. I think they really hit the target for eInk-based readers with the new X50 series, and sales seem to support that.

With the 950, maybe Sony was less sure about high volume sales for that model? If demand continues to increase, maybe manufacturing will eventually move to China as well?

Originally Posted by Poppaea

I initially thought all Sonys were made in China nowadays but it turned out the 950s are Japan-made, 650s and 350s China. From the beginning.

PocketBook Germany sold 10,000 units per month instead of their usual 1,000 montly units at the end of 2010. Now multiply this with Sony being said to be No. 2 in the world and you can think of what has happened....

[lexlan]

from SonyStyle and they shipped it to me today. I just kept checking back every hour or so and when the out of stock message was gone I ordered it.

[WendyH]

That's how my son ordered his last week from Sony Style Australia. They were in stock for a very small window overnight for a couple of nights and he managed to order one. Now they have been out of stock again for about a week. He was lucky, his arrived the next day.

[sovre]

Well it's now March, the fabled month when the 650 was supposed to stop being backordered and when some predicted a new line of Sony eReaders would emerge. But now it's not just the 650 that's backordered at all retailers aside from Sony themselves but the 950 is backordered too. And 350 availability seems to be moving in a similar direction: fewer retailers are carrying this device than before, and while it used to run for 130, it is now hard to find one for less than 180.

Apple just announced the release of the iPad 2, but Sony hasn't announced any new eReaders. So I guess that means anyone who wants one of these elusive devices should buy one from Sony while supplies last. Imagine how you will feel if soon all models are backordered and the cheapest unit you can get is a 350 for 500!

[doreenjoy]

I bought my 350 the week it was released, and it's made in China. I don't think any of the x50s were made in Japan.

[gwbuffalo]

The PRS-950 model (at least the first batch sold) is definitely made in Japan as noted on both the package and the device. We may see that change as new shipments arrive, who knows?

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

I bought my 350 the week it was released, and it's made in China. I don't think any of the x50s were made in Japan.

[gwbuffalo]

Probably no reason to worry about that. Sales of the current models appears to be brisk, and that's most likely the reason for shortages. Besides, late Summer to early Fall is the traditional time for releasing new reader products for Sony (and others).

Might be the end of some of the accessory covers though (at least in their present forms). I don't care for the zipper pouch version that's still available, so I hope there will be new covers coming soon.

Originally Posted by sovre

Apple just announced the release of the iPad 2, but Sony hasn't announced any new eReaders. So I guess that means anyone who wants one of these elusive devices should buy one from Sony while supplies last. Imagine how you will feel if soon all models are backordered and the cheapest unit you can get is a 350 for 500!