Rumor has it that Oprah will give everyone in her audience a Kindle again today. There's no word if she'll repeat the coupon code of a previous show, but with prices as low as they are now, I doubt that'll happen. What did happen last time, though, is that the Kindle sold out within a day. Adding fuel to the fire, on tomorrow's show, she is going to announce the new Oprah Book Pick and it must be one that is available for the Kindle, as Amazon is hyping the show on their Facebook page.International customers have already faced a sellout of Kindles for the holidays (except the Kindle DX) and the current wait is still projected at 5-7 weeks, so about mid-to-late January is when those who order now will start seeing their Kindles in the mail. Those in the UK are starting to see some slight delays in shipping (up to a week for the Wi-Fi only model). So far, US models are both showing as in-stock for next day delivery. In the past, this has been the case right up until the instant they go out of stock and have a long back-order period.
If you were already planning on getting a Kindle for the holidays, but haven't ordered yet, I recommend that you don't wait. For international readers, you have only two choices: get a Kindle DX (which is still in stock for international orders) or use a remailing service that will handle the customs fees and paperwork and order one of the US models that way (the only difference is the charging adapter, which you order separately; with a US model, you don't get a discounted price on that item). Those in the UK should definitely not delay, as the current backlog could quickly grow to beyond Christmas delivery.
Here are the links for those looking to have one of these under the tree this year:
US Kindles
- Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6" Display, Graphite $139
- Kindle 3G Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G + Wi-Fi $189
- Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G, 9.7" Display, Graphite $379
- Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device 2nd Generation, Free 3G, 9.7" Display, White, $329
- Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6" Display, Graphite £109 4 to 7 days wait
- Kindle 3G Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G + Wi-Fi £149 3 to 5 days wait
