But it’s impossible not to also hear business pundits spinning their interpretations in the press. You’re just not going to avoid news of Apple’s current or Facebook’s expected share price, for example.
So reading something like “Amazon's Kindle Fire shipments slump in Q1: IDC,” as Reuters wrote last week, might give you pause. If no one's buying the product, should I? Will it even be around in a year, and will there be any new software for it?
That headline was based on estimates from an analyst firm called IDC. Now, one of its rivals, NPD (they always seem to be three-letter names) offered a different view in a blog post, titled “Shipments Are Not Sales.”
Analyst Steven Baker pointed out that “shipment” simply means how many of the gadgets went from factories to warehouses and stores. The drop off, he said, was probably just because the shelves were still well stocked. NPD estimates that in the past three months, Amazon sold over twice as many Kindle Fire tablets as it “shipped,” since it already had a lot of inventory.
Bottom line: The Kindle Fire probably isn’t going away. If the slim, $200 media tablet with a seven-inch touchscreen and plenty of online content appeals to you, go ahead and get it. Don’t take too seriously what the number crunchers say.