Fancy that, Kindle Fire sells out before Amazon’s event next week

There used to be a time in technology reporting when a product going “unavailable” was an unintentional hint that a company had a new product in the pipeline.

But those days are long gone. In preparation for its September 6 product unveilings, Amazon is announcing — yes, announcing — that the Kindle Fire is out of stock.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wasn’t coy on what the move means. “Kindle Fire is sold out, but we have an exciting roadmap ahead—we will continue to offer our customers the best hardware, the best prices, the best customer service, the best cross-platform interoperability, and the best content ecosystem,” he said in a statement today.

The reference to “an exciting roadmap” is the most important bit, as it’s a clear message from Amazon that tells consumers one thing: “Don’t buy a Kindle Fire right now. Seriously.”

Fortunately, those consumers will only have to wait exactly a week before the new Kindle Fire is announced. How convenient.

Amazon’s announcement comes three days after its Kindle Touch eReader also went out of stock. As with the Kindle Fire news, that move was also a not-so-subtle indication that Amazon has a new eReader on the way. Don’t act too surprised.