The first Amazon Kindle was released more than three years ago, and for whatever reason, Amazon still won’t share exact sales figures concerning the device.  But this morning, the company did see fit to disclose one important fact: the third-generation Kindle has become the bestselling product in Amazon’s history.

To put that in perspective: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" previously held the title, and that franchise has had national reading programs, Halloween tie-ins, a string of hit movies, and even a theme park help boost its sales.

It’s not like a trickle of holiday-related purchases just happened to push the Kindle over the top, either.  Amazon said in a statement, "On Christmas Day, more people turned on new Kindles for the first time, downloaded more Kindle Buy Once, Read Everywhere apps, and purchased more Kindle books than on any other day in history."

So it appears the Kindle will hold onto first place for quite a while.  Indeed, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos reasoned/advertised, "We’re seeing that many of the people who are buying Kindles also own an LCD tablet. . . .  They report preferring Kindle for reading because it weighs less, eliminates battery anxiety with its month-long battery life, and has the advanced paper-like Pearl e-ink display that reduces eye-strain, doesn’t interfere with sleep patterns at bedtime, and works outside in direct sunlight, an important consideration especially for vacation reading."

Then Bezos pointed out, " Kindle’s $139 price point is a key factor – it’s low enough that people don’t have to choose."

The most-purchased Kindle book on Christmas Day was "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," by the way.