The growth of popularity for the Kindle is amazing. Why? Prehapes because it is a great way to read books, and at the same time save the trees that are used to make the printed versions. Still books are and will remain popular.. after all we grew up reading books made from paper (converted trees). I was surprised by the news story from Associated Press, as it quoted the sales from only one of the many on_line sources for the Kindle. "Associated Press" Amazon said Thursday that people bought more than 1 million Kindles each week in December. The company has never released specific sales figures for the Kindle. Since the launch of the first Kindle in 2007, this franchise has grown to include several e-readers and the Kindle Fire tablet. The Kindle Fire is expected to be one of the first true competitors to Apple's iPad. Amazon says the Fire has been the best-selling product on its site since its introduction 13 weeks ago. Even so, the iPad is still expected outsell all other tablets, including the $199 Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Inc.'s new $249 Nook Tablet. The iPad starts at $499.