Amazon Reveals Kindle Fire HD, Paperwhite, Tons More

[exfileme]

Amazon revealed two Kindle Fire HD tablets, the Kindle Paperwhite e-reader, and various new services including a 4G LTE package. Nope, no Amazon phone today.

Amazon Reveals Kindle Fire HD, Paperwhite, Tons More : Read more

 

[bavman]

This brought a tear of happiness to my eye. Its nice to finally see some android tablets coming out with nice screen resolution.

 

[buckcm]

It's too bad these devices have awful software on them. Amazon made good changes with the update, but the OS is terrible. Running an Amazon app covering Android is pretty lame. It's possible to root it and use ICS, but that comes at the cost of losing the Amazon exclusives.

 

[slabbo]

where does it say that it's only tied to AT&T? I think i missed reading that on this.

 

[joytech22]

[citation][nom]bavman[/nom]This brought a tear of happiness to my eye. Its nice to finally see some android tablets coming out with nice screen resolution.[/citation]

Except everything your familiar with regarding Android will pretty much be non-existent on this tablet.
HOPEFULLY there will be custom ROM's available for this tablet days or weeks of release.


Either way I'll eventually be getting one because damn.. Thats a mighty nice screen, speaker set, specs and price.

 

[Guest]

This would have been perfect if only it had an MicroSD slot, especially the Wifi 9" model.

 

[devotiecon]

paperwhite? more like paperweight loooooooooooooooooooooool

 

[obsama1]

Don't forget that they're ad-supported!

 

[joytech22]

[citation][nom]obsama1[/nom]Don't forget that they're ad-supported![/citation]

No.. There are ad supported versions, but not all of them are add supported.
I own a non add supported Kindle Keyboard 3G, and it's wonderful.

 

[darkchazz]

SGX544 seems pretty good.
Better than that Tegra 3 Geforce rubbish that lags in almost all intensive games.

 

[boiler1990]

AT&T's data service isn't bad (but the big 'if' is coverage); I used my LTE iPad in DC and the coverage is solid and I got amazing speeds.

I just don't think 250MB/month will be enough for anybody other than the average person checking email - it limits what you can really do with the tablet. I had the 3GB/mo plan and streamed Pandora at work (9 hrs/day, 5 days/wk) for a whole month and hit about 2.5-2.75GB.

 

[bustapr]

i dont really care for a tablet, but damn I am thankful that amazon is selling them as cheap tablets/ereaders. thanks to this, the actual kindle ereader prices are so low now. I mean the new kindle paperwhite is just $119, and the revamped regular kindle(without backlight) is just $69. That is insane! These ARE however the ad based prices. But that isnt a bad thing because the ads are ONLY on screensaver and on the homepage as a small strip on bottom of screen, no distraction at all while reading. definitely going to buy the paperwhite.

 

[thrakazog]

I think you'll find a lot of people will be upset upon finding out that all the new kindle fires are ad-supported (both the HD models and the normal one). Having ads on both the lock screen and on the home screen will be enough to not only convince many people to not consider it right off the bat, but also will probably be the center of more than a few website news stories in the next couple days.

 

[teh_chem]

I'm curious what the data plans will be for beyond the 250mb included data per month--I'm assuming it's simply AT&T's current "tablet" data packages--$30/3GB or $50/5GB--but I'd be hopeful for some "special" pricing (right...).

The lady has the original Fire--which was okay for what it was, but nothing impressive IMHO (and its deployment of various things vs. on standard android tablets can be a bit perplexing). But now that Amazon is making real tablets (i.e., essentially everything but a microSD card slot--and I see now also no GPS still), they are looking to be a really good alternative to standard android tablets. Before this announcement, I was pretty much banking on my next tablet being one of the flavors of the Win8 devices, but now seeing this release info, the 8.9" Fire HD might be really appealing, especially since I've noticed that despite delusions of using my android tab for productivity-related stuff, I mainly use it for video-watching and email/web stuff (you know, because productivity sucks on android tablets still).

Just wish they would make a keyboard dock with expanded battery like the TF.

[citation][nom]thrakazog[/nom]I think you'll find a lot of people will be upset upon finding out that all the new kindle fires are ad-supported (both the HD models and the normal one). Having ads on both the lock screen and on the home screen will be enough to not only convince many people to not consider it right off the bat, but also will probably be the center of more than a few website news stories in the next couple days.[/citation]
So an ad is going to be shown during the portion of time between when I wake up the device and swipe to unlock it. Meh, big freaking deal, hardly something to worry about. And to be honest, if an ad gets pushed that allowed for a cheaper MSRP for the device, but also caters to my product tastes, all the better--that's what Amazon's whole goal is, and if I'm being offered a discount/coupon on something that I'd normally buy, I'm all for that. If I can get a device with all of these features for $499 and I have to see an ad that I might be interested in, I'll put up with that. And I'm betting tons of other people will too.

 

[thrakazog]

Actually, after you unlock the device, the ad will be in the bottom left corner of the screen. Check amazon's site. It tells you if you click the link in the description. It's just not the unlock screen. What's really bad, is they are showing pics of the device that don't reflect this, even though it clearly stated in the description.

 

[thrakazog]

Also....I didn't say "everyone" would be upset. Let's say a place is a selling a quarter pounder with cheese for 50 cents. But, 1% of the hamburger patty is feces.

Now, 1- you will not taste the feces 2- you will not smell the feces 3- it will not harm you in any way 4- it may actually introduce helpful bacteria into your digestive system that are medically beneficial.

But here's the thing. A lot of people will not want the burger because it has feces. Now, if you want to eat the feces burger, that is 100% your choice and perfectly ok. But don't be upset at people who might not want the burger, even if it is only 50 cents.

 

[CaedenV]

1920x1200 on a 9" screen... To think that my 27" monitor has the same resolution! I love that these portable devices have it, but come on! give us some better desktop resolutions already! And for a decent price!

 

[cknobman]

$200 more to get 4G???

F-cking idiots.

 

[amdwilliam1985]

I have kindle 3 keyboard with ad-supported. Loved the device, would pick it over the regular version everyday. Now I get to see something new every time, instead of the same old boring locked screen.
In fact, I would pay amazon to put ads in my kindle 3, lol. Instead I got like $40 discount with hit. My friends were so jealous, because my locked screen is always exciting.
Not sure about the kindle tablet with ads though, if it's only appearing on locked screen then I'll be all over it. As long as it doesn't hurt battery. Because it does not hurt battery of kindle 3.

 

[teh_chem]

[citation][nom]Thrakazog[/nom]Also....I didn't say "everyone" would be upset. Let's say a place is a selling a quarter pounder with cheese for 50 cents. But, 1% of the hamburger patty is feces.Now, 1- you will not taste the feces 2- you will not smell the feces 3- it will not harm you in any way 4- it may actually introduce helpful bacteria into your digestive system that are medically beneficial.But here's the thing. A lot of people will not want the burger because it has feces. Now, if you want to eat the feces burger, that is 100% your choice and perfectly ok. But don't be upset at people who might not want the burger, even if it is only 50 cents.[/citation]

I know you didn't say everyone (and I know I exaggerated the situation). I'd be willing to bet that currently, more than 1% of hamburgers is already poo. Not that it matters since that has nothing to do with this situation. Remember what happened with the ad-sponsored kindle? Despite a vocalized outcry against it in the online world, it went on to become Amazon's best-selling electronics item, better than the non-sponsored kindle, indicating that the consumers are happy to subsidize the purchase price of their items with occasional advertisements.
[citation][nom]Thrakazog[/nom]Actually, after you unlock the device, the ad will be in the bottom left corner of the screen. Check amazon's site. It tells you if you click the link in the description. It's just not the unlock screen. What's really bad, is they are showing pics of the device that don't reflect this, even though it clearly stated in the description.[/citation]
Yes, but you only see the ad if the device is idled at the home or lock screens. Out of all the times someone is using a tablet, how frequently are they idled at the lock screen or home screen? Hardly ever if they're actually using their tablet, so it has zero impact on the usability of the tablet.

Amazon knows what they're doing here, and they know that people will be happy to pay a reduced price (from otherwise) if it means showing targeted ads. Much like how when you log in to your amazon page it shows almost the same thing--items you "might be interested in." Sure, it's not the same thing as seeing amazon ads the entire time you're using your computer, but then again, Amazon isn't selling you an ad-subsidized computer.

 

[alexmx]

[citation][nom]Thrakazog[/nom]Also....I didn't say "everyone" would be upset. Let's say a place is a selling a quarter pounder with cheese for 50 cents. But, 1% of the hamburger patty is feces.Now, 1- you will not taste the feces 2- you will not smell the feces 3- it will not harm you in any way 4- it may actually introduce helpful bacteria into your digestive system that are medically beneficial.But here's the thing. A lot of people will not want the burger because it has feces. Now, if you want to eat the feces burger, that is 100% your choice and perfectly ok. But don't be upset at people who might not want the burger, even if it is only 50 cents.[/citation]


that's the most idiotic analogy i've ever read.

what if you were about to buy a car and they offered you to take $2000 off in exchange for putting a banner on your doors?

 

[clivene09]

[citation][nom]cknobman[/nom]$200 more to get 4G???F-cking idiots.[/citation]

technically $200 more for 4G, AND 16 more gigs of mem.

 

[clivene09]

[citation][nom]ALEXMX[/nom]that's the most idiotic analogy i've ever read.what if you were about to buy a car and they offered you to take $2000 off in exchange for putting a banner on your doors?[/citation]

Sounds like a bargain. If I didn't want it (and I likely wouldn't) it would cost less than 2K to rectify.

 

[wildkitten]

And yet, still no SD slot.

 

[alidan]

[citation][nom]ALEXMX[/nom]that's the most idiotic analogy i've ever read.what if you were about to buy a car and they offered you to take $2000 off in exchange for putting a banner on your doors?[/citation]

well i would be driving around with a big banner on my car... hell i would ask if they could put more stuff on it if they take the price even lower...

and for the crap burger, so long as i am 100% sure that i will not get sick, and the crap isn't human or rodent, im game for 50 cents.