Amazon has extended its flagship Kindle Fire family with the introduction of new devices at a press event in Santa Monica on Sept. 6. The new line-up includes a revamped version of the original Fire along with 7-inch and 8.9-inch versions of the new Kindle Fire HD.
The upgraded original Kindle Fire tablet will cost $159, compared to the previous versions $199 price tag. The 16GB version of the new 7-inch Kindle Fire HD will come for $199 and a 16GB 8.9-inch version will be available for $299. However, Amazon's 32GB 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE connectivity will be a little pricey ($499), compared to what the company has offered till now.
7-inch Kindle Fire Upgraded - Features
The upgraded 7-inch Kindle Fire has received an improved processor, which is said to be 20 percent faster than its predecessor. The company has also doubled the RAM size to offer 40 percent faster performance and longer battery life.
The non-HD Kindle Fire features a 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP 4430 processor and has a 1024x600 pixels resolution.
Amazon has introduced a 7-inch Fire HD that comes with a 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP 4460 processor and 1280x800 HD display.
The refurbished original Fire tablet will be shipped from Sept. 14 and the HD version will be shipped in October. Both the HD and non-HD versions can be pre-ordered on Amazon.
8.9-Inch Kindle Fire HD - Features
While rumors were rife that Amazon will launch a 10-inch Kindle Fire tablet at this event, the company opted for a smaller yet the biggest tablet of the Fire family. The new 8.9-inch tablet has a 1920x1200 pixel resolution (254 ppi), 16:10 aspect ratio, and is available with a 4G LTE option.
The new tablet measures only 8.8mm thick and weighs 20 ounces. Inside, Amazon packs a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 OMAP4470 processor, dual Dolby Digital stereo speakers, a dual-band Wi-Fi chip, and two antennas for Wi-Fi reception, which run on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.
According to Amazon, the Fire's Wi-Fi is 54 percent and 41 percent faster than the Nexus 7 and iPad 3, respectively.
With the new line of Fire tablets, Amazon has addressed the problems that dogged its older tablet. All Fire models, except the non-HD 7-inch Fire, flaunt front-facing cameras. The new range also includes HDMI and Bluetooth.
Amazon, however, hasn't given any information about the battery estimates for the 8.9-inch Fires, but the new 7-inch HD model is said to support 11 hours of continuous use.
The price range for the Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch tablet start at $299 for 16GB of storage and $369 for the 32GB version. For the 32GB and 64GB 4G LTE version users will have to shell out $499 and $599, respectively. The Kindle Fire 8.9-inch tablet is available for pre-order and will ship Nov. 20.
Amazon's New Tablets - Threat to Apple iPad?
Amazon is trying hard to turn the tables on Apple with the launch of the new 8.9 HD tablet with 4G LTE support and Retina-like display. This time, the company has gone out of its comfort zone of a low-cost tablet with compromised features and has tried to pack in good features at a reasonable rate.
Only time will tell whether Amazon's tablet offerings are successful in stealing iPad's thunder.
