Amazon sells out of Kindle

From CNET News.com: Amazon has sold out of its least expensive Kindle, perhaps providing further evidence of the e-reader's popularity or signaling a new device in the offing.

Anyone who has visited the popular e-tailer's site in the past year or so has grown accustomed to being greeted by the Kindle's image. However, as of Tuesday afternoon, the base $189 Kindle had been replaced on Amazon's home page by the $379 Kindle DX.

The page for the base Kindle featured a note to shoppers saying the device was "temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available." To our knowledge, this is the first time a Kindle has been listed as sold out since 2008.

Sales of the Kindle had reportedly tripled since Amazon lowered the price from $259 in June. Earlier this month, CEO Jeff Bezos said the e-reader and bookstore have reached a "tipping point," with Kindle titles outselling hardcover books on the massive online marketplace for the first time.

While the device being out of stock may be related to those brisk sales, it's also possible Bloomberg was on the mark in May when it cited anonymous sources saying we could expect the next generation of the e-reader in August, which is right around the corner. Bloomberg reported at the time that the device was expected to be thinner and have a sharper picture but not come with a touch screen or color.

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