Kindle Fire平板电脑需求升温

    消费者是否已经厌倦了只有黑白两色的电子书阅读器？似乎确实如此。

    美国俄勒冈州波特兰市的投资银行太平洋皇冠证券（Pacific Crest Securities）近期公布的一份报告显示，亚马逊（Amazon）标准电子书阅读器所用组件的订单数量比该银行之前的预期减少了75%。

    我们依然预计亚马逊将在今年第3季度发布多点触控、黑白屏设备，但我们将把今年第2季度和2012年全年的单位销量预期从150万台和1,230万台分别调整到120万台和970万台。

    虽然Kindle电子书的销量可能下降，但市场对Kindle Fire平板电脑的需求却在持续攀升，使Fire平板电脑组件的需求量增加了约60%。亚马逊彩屏平板电脑的前景似乎一片光明，分析师查德•巴特利甚至预测，今年第2季度，Kindle Fire平板的销量可能达到180万台，全年销量将达到1,470万台，达到其之前预测的较高水平。

    新Kindle Fire 7寸平板预计将在今年第3季度发布，至于外界风传已久的10寸平板，消费者或许还要等上很长时间（有可能是“无限期的等待”）。

    不过，如果Kindle Fire的需求真的会持续升温，那绝对是亚马逊的福音，因为有报道称，在前几个月，亚马逊卖出的每一台平板电脑都在赔钱。平板电脑销量的增加意味着从图书到视频，各种媒体内容的销量也将随之增加。或许这才是杰夫•贝佐斯期待的情形，并再次体现了亚马逊一贯坚持的理念——牺牲短期利润，换取长线增长。

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    Are people tiring of black-and-white e-readers? It seems that way.

    According to a recent report from Pacific Crest Securities, a Portland, Oregon-based investment bank, orders for components used in Amazon's standard e-readers have fallen 75% from the bank's previous expectations.

    We still expect new multi-touch, black-and-white devices to launch in Q3, but we are cutting our Q2 and 2012 unit sales forecasts to 1.2 million and 9.7 million, respectively, from 1.5 million and 12.3 million.

    But while Kindle sales may be falling, demand for the Kindle Fire is climbing, with requests for components up nearly 60%. Things are looking so good for Amazon's (AMZN) color tablet that analyst Chad Bartley says sales could reach 1.8 million units for the second quarter and 14.7 million units for the year, which would be at the higher end of his previous estimates.

    And while we can expect a new 7-inch Kindle Fire in the third quarter, we'll have to wait longer (think "infinite delay") for that long-rumored larger tablet.

    If demand for the Kindle Fire is really heating up, that's good news for Amazon, which reportedly lost money on each tablet sold during its first few months available. More tablets in more people's hands means increased sales of its various media, from books to video. Which the company's philosophy until now of sacrificing upfront profits for long-term gains, may be exactly what Jeff Bezos envisioned.