Amazon moves ahead with Kindle tablets, ereaders (photos)

1 of 13

  • Amazon chief Jeff Bezos was thrilled to show off his company's new tablet and ereader devices. The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD 8.9 will come in two basic versions: one at $299 and a higher-end model with 4G LTE that will go for $499. The 7-inch Kindle Fire HD 7 with 16GB will retail for $199. Here is Rachel King's full story.

    Larry Dignan's analysis: Gadget as a service: How hardware soon becomes irrelevant.

    Amazon is trying to take on the iPad more directly with a larger focus on productivity in the enterprise. Bezos pitched the Fire's all new email functionality, which includes "world-class" Exchange support, faster access to new email, and improved sync reliability for contacts and calendars.

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • Amazon claims the the Kindle Fire HFD has  41 percent faster Wi-Fi than the iPad 3 and 54 percent more than the Nexus 7.

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • New features include a Dolby audio engine exclusive to the Kindle Fire HD as well as a new system called MIMO, which essentially improves Wi-Fi reception by using echos for better signals.

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • The side view.

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • The Kindle Fire HDs will sport a new X-Ray feature, which basically zooms in on everything from character names in books on any upcoming Kindle or integration with IMDB for actor biographies on the Fire.

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • Kindle Fire games.

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • The Kindle Fire 7 will be pretty much the same as the Kindle Fire 8.9.

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • The Kindle Fire 7 fits into your hand.

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • Bezos also unveiled a new ereader, the Kindle Paperwhite. It features three display stacks: a patented light guide, capacitive touch, and a paperwhite display. Read Rachel King's blog for the details .

    It's 9.1mm thin and 7.5 ounces light, "thinner than a magazine and lighter than a paperback," according to Bezos. It's biggest new improvement might be its 8-week battery life.

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • The Kindle Paperwhite display includes 62 percent more pixels at 212 pixels per inch to offer what might be the closest any e-reader has come to actually replicating the look of paper pages.

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • In a protective cover, the Kindle Paperwhite almost looks like a real book.

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • The Kindle Fire had its price cut to $159.

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • The low-end Kindle is having its price cut by $10 to $69.

    Caption by: Andy Smith

1 of 13

Amazon takes the wraps off its new tablets, the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD and the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD. They expect to give Apple stiff competition in price and features.

Read More Read Less

Amazon chief Jeff Bezos was thrilled to show off his company's new tablet and ereader devices. The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD 8.9 will come in two basic versions: one at $299 and a higher-end model with 4G LTE that will go for $499. The 7-inch Kindle Fire HD 7 with 16GB will retail for $199. Here is Rachel King's full story.

Larry Dignan's analysis: Gadget as a service: How hardware soon becomes irrelevant.

Amazon is trying to take on the iPad more directly with a larger focus on productivity in the enterprise. Bezos pitched the Fire's all new email functionality, which includes "world-class" Exchange support, faster access to new email, and improved sync reliability for contacts and calendars.

Caption by: Andy Smith

1 of 13

Related Topics:

Amazon Apple Cloud E-Commerce Hardware Enterprise Software
Add Your Comment
Add Your Comment

Related Galleries

    • 1 of 3