Amazon Kindle Fire: A $199 Kindle Tablet
by Jason Inofuentes on September 28, 2011 9:54 AM ESTKindle Touch and New Kindle
No one announces just one product at an event these days, and Amazon is no different. Along with the Kindle Fire, Amazon saw fit to refresh their line of e-readers. E-reader enthusiasts, you know who you are, will recognize the technology behind the new Kindle Touch from the likes of the new Nook and the Kobo. The IR sensor laden e-ink display allows touch inputs to be received and elicit page turns and other UI interactions. Now devoid of many of its buttons, including the full QWERTY keyboard of its predecessors, the Kindle Touch is smaller than the Kindle 3 and comes at a new price point, $99. For that you get the WiFi model which promises faster page refreshes and so on. Free global wireless internet for life is the promise of the 3G variant, which at just a $50 premium makes it a terribly good bargain.
Also joining the keyboardless clan is the new Kindle. This device shares the new e-ink panel with the Touch, but makes do with a hand full of navigation buttons in lieu of the touch screen. The device is significantly lighter and smaller than its predecessor, no doubt owing much to the loss of the keyboard, and brings the e-reader market to a new price target at just $79. The new Kindle will be offered in WiFi only guise, so bibiliphilic globetrotters will have to make do with the Kindle Touch 3G. Amazon also saw fit to unite its AmazonLocal deals service with the Special Offers that graced the last generation of Kindles. The new ads will be displayed as screensavers on the entire e-ink line and are promised to maintain a certain aesthetic so that a buyer would hardly notice that it's not just a pretty screensaver.
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Wrap-up
Leading up to the announcement, I expected that Amazon would leverage its media offerings to make a tablet that could compete with Apple on content. Beyond that I had no idea what would be in store. It comes as little suprise though that Amazon saw fit to completely obfuscate the Android platform beneath a UI that steers the argument decidedly in favor of the tablet as media consumptive device. Based on these first looks, the UI is elegant and friendly, and the hardware is sufficient enough to provide a good media experience. And at $199, no other tablet offers as compelling a combination of services, content and value. We can't wait to get our hands on the Kindle Fire and discover whether Amazon has set the tablet market ablaze, or simply joined the other kindling.
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Rick83 - Thursday, September 29, 2011 - link
Nope, that's the one.Little note: The 1.5 GHz OMAP 4460 won't arrive until next year, due to TI not being able to get the chips out earlier.
The launch 'turbo' versions will be OMAP 4430 clocked at 1.2 GHz.
JasonInofuentes - Thursday, September 29, 2011 - link
Can you get me a source on that?Rick83 - Thursday, September 29, 2011 - link
A quick googling leads me here, which references the Archos Facebook page:http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/09/23/archos-g9-...
Possibly Samsung will get 4460s ahead of Archos (due to being a more interesting customer), so there may be 4460s appearing before the end of the year in some smart phones.
shin0bi272 - Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - link
I thought that the whole reason the kindle was supposed to be cool was the E-ink stuff. So it didnt use batteries once the page had been displayed etc. Not that color isnt a great upgrade but cant you do colored e-ink? This seems like it will just get lost in the shuffle to me. Its another ipad knock off.Gazziza - Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - link
Perhaps you missed it but there's also the new Kindle Touch and updated Kindle that will be released as well...shin0bi272 - Friday, September 30, 2011 - link
I did miss that ... mainly because I don't keep up with tablets too much since I don't really need one. Can't help but get SOME news about specific tablets (i.e. ipad, and now this fire) but I dont go looking for it. I just tend to hear some stuff and remember it then see the same company releasing something completely different and wonder why they changed to look like everyone else. I do hope the new kindle will have color e-ink because I think that's the coolest idea in a long time.danjw - Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - link
If you could also connect it to a TV, I think it would be a good deal. As is, I am not so sure.tviceman - Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - link
I hope they don't skimp on the hardware with the eventual full sized Kindle. It would be nice to see it with more storage and a better processor (Tegra3).synaesthetic - Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - link
... but not useful until we get root and custom ROMs stripped of all Amazonian data-mining tools.Cyanogenmod plz.
secretmanofagent - Thursday, September 29, 2011 - link
Is anyone else concerned that the Silk browser will route traffic through Amazon? If you do a search for hair dyes for example, would Amazon now recommend it to you on their site? I just wonder how invasive the traffic being directed through them will be, not to mention being reliant on them for routing in the event of a failure on their end.