Amazon debuts $299 8.9" Kindle Fire HD, $119 e-ink Kindle Paperwhite

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Amazon on Thursday announced its new Kindle lineup, led by a 16-gigabyte 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD priced at $299, along with a $199 7-inch model, an updated $159 Kindle Fire with a faster processor, and a new e-ink frontlit Kindle Paperwhite starting at $119.

The new lineup is led by the flagship 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD, which has a 1920-by-1200-pixel resolution packed into a screen that is slightly smaller than the 9.7-inch display of Apple's iPad. The upgraded display is said to have 25 percent less glare than its predecessor with a sharper, clearer picture with better contrast. The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD starts at $299 for 16 gigabytes, while a 32-gigabyte model is $369.

Though the new 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD lineup was announced Thursday, the hardware will not ship until Nov. 20.

However, a smaller 7-inch version of the Kindle Fire HD will ship Sept. 14 for $199, matching the price of last year's Kindle Fire when it first launched, but packing in 16 gigabytes of storage. A 32-gigabyte 7-inch Kindle Fire HD will run $249, and will be available Oct. 25. Both 7-inch models have a screen resolution of 1280 by 800.

New additions to the Kindle Fire HD also include a forward-facing camera, HDMI output, and new stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus sound, an audio engine exclusive to the Kindle Fire HD. Dual Wi-Fi antennas will also run on the 5 gigahertz band for better wireless connectivity that Amazon claims is 41 percent faster than Apple's third-generation iPad.

On the software side, the Kindle Fire HD has a slew of new features such as Whispersync for voice and games, X-Ray for movies through IMDB, and an all-new e-mail client geared toward corporate users with "world-class" Exchange support. A new built-in app called Kindle FreeTime also allows parents to set time limits for kids based on app categories, such as games, movies and books.

Kindle


With the launch of the Kindle Fire HD, Amazon has dropped the price of the lower-end 8-gigabyte Kindle Fire to $159. While cheaper, the hardware has still been updated to be 40 percent faster and with longer battery life. Customers who order today will have the device ship on Sept. 14.

For its e-ink lineup, the new Kindle Paperwhite display packs in 212 pixels per inch and is a capacitive touchscreen. Amazon's Patented Light Guide technology offers up to 8 weeks of battery life with the backlight enabled.

The device is 9.1 millimeters thin and weights 7.5 ounces. New features include the ability to change fonts on the fly, and an estimate that tells readers how much longer until they finish their current book.

Kindle


Kindle Paperwhite is available for preorder today, and will begin shipping on Oct. 1. It comes in a regular Wi-Fi-only model for $119, while a the version with free 3G connectivity costs $179. Without "special offers," the Paperwhite starts at $139, while the 3G version is $199.

The traditional Kindle has also been given a $10 price cut, to $69 for the ad-supported model, and $89 for ad-free. It features new fonts, crisper text and 15 percent faster page turns, and will begin shipping on Sept. 14.

Amazon
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos at Thursday's press conference in California. Image via CNet.


Amazon is also pushing into the direct publishing business with a new service that allows authors to publish their works for free and within hours. With Kindle Direct Publishing, authors will keep their copyrights and can distribute globally, while receiving 70 percent of sales.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 108
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member


    Now let's see if iPad mini will be cheaper.

  • Reply 2 of 108
    Kindle Paperwhite? Seems like they're inviting a not-so-friendly nickname...
  • Reply 3 of 108


    So the kindle fire @159 and the kindle fire HD w 16gb @199 designed to compete against ipad mini @???


     


    wonder if this strategy will work.....prices are very compelling and they have a formidable infrastructure for content.


     


    I still think if you have the iPad and want a second device it will be worth an extra $100 to get the ipad mini so that all your apps and music can be shared.


     


    that is.....if there IS an ipad mini!

  • Reply 4 of 108
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member


    Holy **** balls.


     


     


     



     


     


     


    I might be trading in my iPad 3 for a Kindle Fire HD 8.9" (32GB) with LTE

  • Reply 5 of 108


    Looks interesting. I'd be willing to check it out. That 12/mo data plan is pretty damn compelling I must say. I like it.

  • Reply 6 of 108


    250 mb a month? that's nothing!!!!

  • Reply 7 of 108


    I hate to say it, but the iPad pricing now seems very out of line with the rest of these tablets. Yes, you get more functionality for the price point, but it seems like the iPads are more "Pro" tablets. I hope Apple can keep their margins up and keep dominating the market.

  • Reply 8 of 108
    duoduo Posts: 26member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post

     a new e-ink frontlit Kindle Paperwhite starting at $119.



     


    image


     


    I use a kindle myself but that's just funny. 


     


    Anyway, as far as the tablets are concerned, despite the fact that I've never once found myself interested in the Fire I'm glad Amazon's pricing them so aggressively. Race to the bottom or not, this will definitely heat up the competition in the 7-inch space. 

  • Reply 9 of 108


    Pretty excited about the new Kindle Paperwhite. If the screen is as nice as it sounds, I'll be picking one up soon. Kinda a terrible name, though.


     


    I think the big thing is going to be data - at $50/year, that puts the 9" Kindle Fire at over $400 cheaper than the iPad for the first year. If the Kindle Fire 1 was any indication, it won't be anywhere as nice as the iPad, but if people are just using it to read, surf the net and watch movies, it'll definitely be something to think about. It's kind of funny, with all of the saber rattling between Microsoft, Google and Apple, Amazon is quietly sitting in the background, plotting world domination.

  • Reply 10 of 108
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Katonah View Post


    250 mb a month? that's nothing!!!!



     


    Hell, I barely use 200MB of my data plan allotment on my iPhone 4S... my wife uses even less. And that's even with me tethering my iPad Wi-Fi to my iPhone every once in a while. Most of my data usage is via Wi-Fi. 


     


    Your mileage may vary though, of course.

  • Reply 11 of 108
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mazda 3s View Post


    Holy **** balls.


     


     


     



     


     


     


    I might be trading in my iPad 3 for a Kindle Fire HD 8.9" (32GB) with LTE



    If all you did is consume Amazon contents then you should do it.

  • Reply 12 of 108

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Katonah View Post


    So the kindle fire @159 and the kindle fire HD w 16gb @199 designed to compete against ipad mini @???


     



     


    Backwards.  The iPad mini is response to  the Kindle Fire.  A few years ago Apple said, "NEVER!" to a 7 inch tablet.  Now they are going to release one at a price comparable to the Kindle Fire. 

  • Reply 13 of 108
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by OriginalG View Post


    I hate to say it, but the iPad pricing now seems very out of line with the rest of these tablets. Yes, you get more functionality for the price point, but it seems like the iPads are more "Pro" tablets. I hope Apple can keep their margins up and keep dominating the market.



    That because these people don't sell for profit.

  • Reply 14 of 108


    8.9in, 1920x1200 is 254ppi with an IPS display for $299. That will certainly look better than 7.9 at 1024x768... Of course iOS vs AmazFrankenDroid is a totally different story, but clearly Amazon is trying to take it seriously.

  • Reply 15 of 108
    wovelwovel Posts: 956member
    I buy all my books and magazines from Amazon because it works everywhere. Movies I haven't but I may start leaning more that way with the player available on the iPad now. I won't switch right away, but in a year or two it will be interesting. We have two of the original fires in our house now. Despite the reviews, they get a lot of use here. I am sure one of them will go to the HD, I look forward to checking it out.
  • Reply 16 of 108
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member


    I think anyone who shed their money to buy Nexus 7 looks a bit silly now.

  • Reply 17 of 108
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by matrix07 View Post


    I think anyone who shed their money to buy Nexus 7 looks a bit silly now.



    Gotta agree there. For the screen alone, I'd be crying myself to sleep ;)

  • Reply 18 of 108
    duoduo Posts: 26member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by thataveragejoe View Post


    8.9in, 1920x1200 is 254ppi with an IPS display for $299. That will certainly look better than 7.9 at 1024x768... Of course iOS vs AmazFrankenDroid is a totally different story, but clearly Amazon is trying to take it seriously.



     


    The one thing that concerns me about the new Fire HD is its aspect ratio. I don't know what the iPad's aspect ration is off the top of my head but it's definitely not 16:10 like the Fire. My brother has a 17" MBP with that resolution and I'm just trying to picture holding a tablet like that in portrait mode and it seems like it'll be too long to comfortably use. 

  • Reply 19 of 108


    I know some of you are going to get on here and trash this thing, but this device has some VERY cool stuff.  


     


    1. A screen that reduces clear.  Fantastic and needed on the iPad.


    2. Cloud saving for games. I hate having to start over.


    3. Multiple profiles and time limits for kids.  Brilliant.


    4. Ability to seamlessly switch between Audiobook and printed book.  Never even thought of this.


    5. It's own data plan.  Yes, 250 MB is not much, but neither is the $50 price point.  It's enough to help you when your between Wi-fi hotspots and really need to access something.  I will never be used as your primary source of data.


     


    Those are the things that have me taking pause.  They are looking at what Apple is NOT doing and the things people are sort of annoyed about and they are responding.  Apple had better take a look at these specs.  In particular to me is the parental controls.  As a parent who has had some issues with my kids doing stuff on the iPad they should not, it STILL pisses me off that Apple wants me to pay a king's ransom and buy 2 iPads to block certain things.


     


    New Kindle Fire is worth it to me for that alone.  But I feel compelled to wait and see what Apple does with the iPad Mini before I jump, but I won't hold my breath on the parental controls.  Apple seems hell bent on making parents either pay extra or jump through hoops if they want to protect their kids.

  • Reply 20 of 108
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member


    While this will undoubtedly be a success, it will never attain the popularity of an iPad or Nexus if Amazon doesn't start selling worldwide. 


     


    It's a shame since I suspect Amazon's trump card is their content. Without licensing deals worldwide, an Amazon tablet is a lot less useful. 

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