Of all the ebook readers on the market today, Amazon dominates with its range of Kindle-branded devices. But it's safe to say there's perhaps a bit too much variety in the Kindle range, and it looks as though Amazon has taken action to rectify the situation.
Have we just bid farewell to the Kindle Voyage? It looks that way seeing as it's now out of stock on Amazon. As TechCrunch reports, Amazon confirmed the device is no longer available, but isn't saying anything beyond, "that customer response to Kindle Voyage has been incredibly positive and we've sold out."
Amazon is well-versed at planning ahead and ensuring a supply of very popular products is available to customers, especially for its own devices. With the Kindle Voyage going out of stock, it suggests one of two things has happened. Either Amazon is set to replace the Voyage with a new model or the ereader reached the end of its life.
If Amazon was planning a new model surely it would be available in time for the Voyage to disappear, which suggests the second reason is more likely. It also makes more sense when you look at the Kindle range as a whole.
The Voyage was introduced in late 2014 and boasted the highest resolution and contrast available in an ereader at the time. It was also reviewed as the best e-ink reader on the market. Since then, we've had a third generation of the Kindle Paperwhite and two generations of the high-end Kindle Oasis appear. The Voyage was left in the middle at $199.99.
It makes sense for Amazon to focus on offering an ebook reader with a low price point everyone can pick up as an entry-level model, while at the same time offering a high-end model. There's no need for anything in between those two devices until we get a color Kindle ereader (if that ever happens!).