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Amazon quadruples Black Friday Kindle sales; doesn’t share numbers

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Once again, Amazon has made a big to-do about the volume of Kindles sold, without making public any actual sales numbers. ‘Best Black Friday Ever for Kindle Family: Kindle Sales Increase 4X Over Last Year,’ its press release proclaims. ‘Holiday shoppers made Kindle Fire the bestselling product across all of Amazon.com on Black Friday; Kindle Fire now the bestselling product across Amazon for 8 weeks running -- ever since its introduction on September 28.’

So, the new Amazon Kindle is selling well, compared to previous Amazon Kindles. How many Kindles have actually been sold? No one knows for sure, but in the release, Dave Limp, vice president of Amazon Kindle, says: ‘millions.’ Our Technology blog writes:

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Since the first Kindle eReader was launched in 2007, Amazon has yet to release any specific sales numbers, only ever saying that the Kindle has sold millions. Likewise, Barnes & Noble has made it a practice of never sharing its specific sale numbers for its eReader or tablet sales thus far. However, the company does say its Nook Color tablet is currently the top-selling Android tablet on the market. Apple, whose iPad is the top seller in the tablet market, does release its sales figures for top-selling items. Last quarter, Apple said it sold 11.1 million iPads, up 166% from a year earlier. Since the iPad first launched in 2010, Apple has said it has sold more than 39 million tablets.

More Kindles may have been sold because of Black Friday deals being offered on the e-readers and Fire tablet. PC World notes that the Kindle DX was marked down from $379 to $259, a price cut that continues through today, Cyber Monday. Wider availability may also have helped Amazon’s devices reach new buyers; in addition to being sold on Amazon, the Kindle can now be found in major retail outlets, including Best Buy and Target.

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-- Carolyn Kellogg

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