Amazon Is on ‘Fire’: Your Guide to the New Tablet for Under $200
- Posted on September 28, 2011 at 3:21pm by
Liz Klimas
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Kindle shook the e-reader and tablet world today with its announcement of four new tablet devices all under the $200 price point.
Amazon Kindle Fire was announced as new addition to the tablet market today. (Photo: Steve Kovach/Business Insider)
The devices include the regular, non-touchscreen e-reader ($79), a touchscreen version ($99), a touchscreen and 3G version ($149) and the much anticipated Kindle Fire ($199), a tablet that could light a little fire under other tablet competition including Android and iPad.
Analysts report that three out of every four tablets sold is an iPad ($499), which gives Fire some lofty goals to shoot for right out of the gate. The tech industry expect this 7-inch device to start rivaling tablets like those with Android operating systems before it is able to reach the heights of iPad.
The Kindle Fire (7 inches) is a bit smaller than iPad (about 9.5 inches), but it has some rivaling capabilities. (Photo: Steve Kovach/Business Insider)
Fire features a dual-core processor with wi-fi capability but does not have a camera or 3G wireless access like its more expensive competitors.
CNET has more on Fire:
Amazon is also offering free cloud storage to customers of the devices. Since most of the content is backed Amazon’s cloud, the Kindle Fire is also wirelessly synced to the cloud service, eliminating the need for users to manually back-up or sync their content.
And Amazon has included its Whispersync technology, which delivers digital books to the Kindle and now will also work with movies and television shows. The benefit here is that people will be able to view a movie or TV show on their home TV, pause it, and then pick up where they left off on their Kindle Fire, much like Netflix allows people to do between its TV, PC, and mobile apps.
Watch the report here:
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos told BusinessWeek “We don’t think of the Kindle Fire as a tablet. We think of it as a service.”
Amazon also announced a new browser — Silk — to enhance the web browsing experience on its tablets. PC World reports:
Silk is different from other browsers because it can be configured to let Amazon’s cloud service do much of the work assembling complex Web pages. The result is that users may experience much faster load times for Web pages, compared to other mobile devices, according to the company.
[...]
“The modern Web has become a complicated place,” Bezos said. As a result, “It is difficult — challenging — for mobile devices to display modern Web pages rapidly.”
To speed page rendering on the Kindle Fire, Silk uses a “split browser” approach, Bezos said. “It partially lives in EC2 and it partially lives on Kindle Fire.”
This video explains the onus for Silk and how it works:
If you’re not sold yet on the device that will be ready to ship November 15, watch Kindle Fire’s first ad:
The Associated Press Contributed to this report.
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Comments (66)
NeptunusRex
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 12:01amBarnes and Novle will be announcing the new Nook Color in the next few days, gonna wait and see what they come up with. Not ready to have everything with the leviathan Amazon/Google just yet.
Report Post »xzero01
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 10:52pmwas that lex luthor??? WRONG!!!
Report Post »Gary747
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 10:14pmSo, iPad or Fire? Which is the best investment?
Report Post »TINFOIL HATS
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 11:20pmiPad ….hands down……you get what you pay for.
Report Post »BoiseBaked
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 12:48amI’d wait for 1.1 of the Kindle Fire. That is, if you just want great WiFi browsing and some music and video play. I think Amazon may have something here. And the price is right. It what HP should have been targeting.
Report Post »jilsoft
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 9:33pmThe front page of the Blaze pic for this article shows a bald guy holding up this new offering from Amazon. He scares me… looks like a zombie!
Report Post »CW3147
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 8:49pmAll it needs is GBTV and I’m piratically sold.
Report Post »Uranium Wedge
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 9:23pmGood luck with that Amazon…. Your gonna need it.
Report Post »patriot308
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 12:41am“piratically” Does that mean your a Pirate? Or have you been hanging with Obama and Dan Quayle,,,,,, quick; how do you spell potato… or……. is it potatoe???? Just kidding!!
Report Post »LitlBits2010
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 11:02amI can’t wait to try this….I’ve had a Kindle (2) for close to 2 years – and LOVE IT! I can carry a library around in my purse – sync books between laptop and Kindle – always picks up where I left off. Have NEVER had a problem with Amazon,….I look forward to the Fire!
Report Post »Uranium Wedge
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 9:10pm@patriot308
Report Post »Be soft mkay
CW3147
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 10:03pmI might as change my name to “Horrible typist that relies on Spell-check” On an earlier post I was trying to spell Authentic and I spelled Atheistic.
Report Post »rwandrw
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 8:46pmfunny the “Kindle” on my IPad works GREAT!! Think I will stick with that
Report Post »ozz
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 8:44pmThey said this uses cloud. Cloud is their planned internet 2. They intend to replace the free dynamic internet they have little control over with it. The cloud system stores your data on itself and does much of your computing for you. It also will be hosted by about 12 companies world wide. That means no one can have a site on the net unless it is threw these 12 providers. That means internet freedom will be gone. If the state does not like your web site not only can they pull it but they can insure you never get another. Since all your data will be stored on its giant central computer network instead of your computer you will have no privacy. 1984 any one? If this means little to you or you think it is just conspiracy theory, you are a dumb monkey and you belong in the chains you will soon find your self in.
Report Post »mr.goodvibe
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 9:46pmOzz, Just like most Paulites you think of yourself as in the know and insult anyone who does not know the scoop and dares to have another opinion. You Ron Paul supporters are his worst enemy for election. Instead of just touting the greatness of your candiate you speak down to and scare off those who might change their mind and support him by calling them stupid sheeples all the while sounding like the elite radical leftist loons. Do Dr. Paul a favor and shut up.
ozz
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 11:46pm@mr.goodvibe
So how does your avoidance of addressing the message and focusing on slandering the messenger not paint you “sounding like the elite radical leftist loon”?
Address my assertions or do us all a “favor and shut up”
For those interested in learning more about cloud google it or go here http://www.whiteowlconspiracy.com/nwo/the-cloud-trojan-horse-for-internet-takeover/.
Report Post »Pastor Melissa
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 8:42pmI own what they are now calling a Kindle keyboard. Love it. Use it for so much more than books. I want a Kindle Fire. I want one bad.
Report Post »dsind
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 7:51pmi am a zombie, i am a zombie, i am a zombie.
ok next topic!
Report Post »chips1
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 9:36pmWow!!! I finally got my 8-track tape player hooked up. Now I’m going to Best Buy and get me some good Mamas and Popas tapes. Eat your hearts out.
Report Post »TunaBlue
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 6:35pmMy Kindle has become another appendage. I read whenever I have a few minutes and it all adds up. You’d be surprised how much time you waste sitting around waiting on others. I use the highlight feature and pool data and I can use my research on the fly from the information/books I’ve read on the fly. It‘s great in a discussion when you’ve got hands on reference material from something you’ve read.
Books are more expensive than when I first purchased the Kindle. Booksellers are taking advantage of the market, but there’s going to be blowback from customers and the market will adjust when shoppers become more reluctant to buy.
Report Post »jhaydeng
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 8:16pmThe guy on the front page looks like Lex Luthor!
Report Post »Meyvn
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 5:59pmWhatever.
Report Post »Down2TheC
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 6:18pmLove the Kindle but the promise of cheap e-books went bye-bye once the publishers all colluded on pricing scales. Because they wish to fight the inevitable, the e-book download is often more expensive than the paperback. No upgrade in hardware for me until Amazon grabs it’s sack and stands up to those crazy pricing schemes. No e-book should be more than $10 and the e-book should be one price from the day of release. Print less hard covers if there’s no market for them, don’t punish the e-readers. Everything you sell us is pure profit! Screw the printers.
Report Post »HisNameWasRobertPaulson
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 6:30pmYeah! Also, screw the writers! Who needs them! No one needs writers! Just send us lots of random letters arranged so that we think we are smart or something! Yeah!
Seriously? You think you get to dictate what prices are? Don’t like it? Don’t buy it? That’s the great thing about the free market. You get to decide what you do, and do not, buy. Great, isn’t it?
Quit your whining, charlie sheen!
Report Post »mr.goodvibe
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 9:47pmEveryone knows Al Gore invented the internet.
Report Post »Meyvn
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 5:56pmWtfe.
Report Post »orionreplay6607
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 5:55pmI love my Kindle. It holds countless books and I travel so much, it’s nice to always have my library at my fingertips. If you feel you can‘t switch or don’t want to switch, I say give it a chance. It grows on you very quickly.
Report Post »SolidusRaccoon
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 5:26pmI love my Kindle, I might have to get one of these/
Report Post »vivrobbins
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 4:43pmI will be getting one, soon as I can save up for it. I have the kindle,and love it.
Report Post »nuttyvet
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 5:08pmthe Kinlde RULES! I have all my textbooks on it. Can’t begin to explain how damn handy that is!!!
Report Post »CatB
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 5:17pmI just pre-ordered mine .. I have been wanting one but was waiting for this! You also get a month of Amazon unlimited tv and movie service to try when you pre-order (starts when you register your Kindle Fire). I am always getting somewhere and find I have forgotten my “book” to read .. now I will have many many books and other entertainment with me.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 9:44pmCATB:
Report Post »You need a girlfriend badly.
Lucy Larue
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 4:42pmSigh…,I am a bibliophile. I love the quiet of a bookstore.I love the smell. I love going up and down aisles upon aisles of nothing but beautiful books.
Report Post »I resent the Kindle and all of it’s ilk! I hate them. I feel as though I am grasping an Etch A Sketch when I hold one. I need pages to TURN!
Border’s is gone. Will Barnes and Noble be next?
If I purchase one of these monstrositys as a Christmas gift for a tech savvy loved one, will I be abetting the demise of something I cherish? Bas Bleu!
sing it out
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 4:51pm@ Lucy Larue… I feel the EXACT same way! If Barnes & Nobles goes too, becuase of these wireless readers, I don‘t know what I’ll do! There’s something about walking through a bookstore, holding the book in your hand, smelling the pages…
Report Post »PropstotheGast
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 5:08pmI bet you a dollar when the last new book is printed there will be a Kindle service that lets you order any book you want, bound in a selection of styles with custom print size, shipped to your door. Imagine being able to order all your old favorites in identical formats for your home library shelves…. I bet that is where we are heading….and if we arent, I’ll start something like that myself.
Report Post »offwego
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 5:15pmI totally agree with you. I would much rather hold my beloved book and turn those lovely pages. On the other side — I was searching for books for my kids a few years ago and found a wonderful author by the name of Henty — how I wanted my kids to devour his books — but they are so expensive. When I did a search I found that I could download all his books for free because they are no longer copywrited – - so I must confess that they will be getting e-readers for Christmas for a fraction of the cost that the collection would cost.
Report Post »GabbyB
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 5:53amLucy, I always thought the same thing, that I would need the feel of the book, the smell, the actual turning pages, but now I couldn’t imagine living without my Barnes & Noble Nook. I think this was one of the best things I ever bought. I love to read big, heavy thick books, and now I can. I carry around 500 books at one time. I have several different versions of the Bible with me at all times, along with the Constitution. I love my nook.
Report Post »gunslinger9729
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 4:50pmI agree about the kindle is ok but I have a nook color and its sooo much better. I can read a ton of books on it and also go online with it just like a tablet. I can store books like crazy on it, with its expandable storage its very flexable too. I can get music or vidios and put them on a micro card and switch it as needed. I put the grandkids stuff on a card so they can look at the stuff thats for kids without getting into my books. But I can also go to the book store in person and get free stuff while sitting there and can get the bookstore expereance as well. Also there are a ton of the books that are free or very low priced as well. At last count there are over 100,000 free books and I do not know how many millions of books under $10 bucks. And I can carry all those books on my boat without the bulk and it fits in my pocket of my jacket. My nook can hold up to 125,000 books with a 32gig memory card and thats more than I will read in my life. I even have gotten Glenns books on my nook lol.
Report Post »bulldog62
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 4:38pmYou know what, I worked for a company that repaired amazon products until the last few weeks, WHEN THEY MOVED MY JOB TO CHINA!!!!!! you can buy their crap if you want to, but I will try to buy from companies that support American jobs. In a horrible economy, with high unemployment they just put a few more hundred people out on their ear. Great job Amazon!!!
Report Post »58basse
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 7:16pmHi Bulldog62.
Report Post »DO NOT BLAME THE COMPANY………………blame the OBAMA government for driving a profitable business to China. He dictates policies and the EPA, hence, IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE UNTIL JAN. 2012. Who did YOU vote for in 2008??????
bulldog62
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 9:57pmVoted for Mcain, and it is up to the business even though the govt. imposes all those crap taxes. They could have chosen to bite the bullet and keep their repair operation here instead of moving. Maybe if we hadnt got away from manufacturing in this country we wouldnt be having this conversation. BUY AMERICAN, if you can find it!
Report Post »saranda
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 12:46pmYou seriously blame Obama for Amazon moving jobs offshore? This has been going on since Reagan. It is all about labor costs and nothing to do with taxes, regulations, or whatever else you can think of. Try to put stuff into perspective and put the blame where it belongs….China offers cheaper labor and we want cheap goods….blame the US consumer.
Report Post »bulldog62
Posted on October 1, 2011 at 8:48pmAmerican companies pay American workers higher wages, ,American workers have more money to buy the higher priced American producst, seems like it would work, except for the cheap poeple who would buy from china anyway. I guess it is our fault.
Report Post »turkey13
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 4:14pmI got a WI-FI, 3G for Xmas and love it. I’m on dial up so have to go to town and use AT&T 3G which you have to drive around to get a few bars to use and it really only takes 60 to 70 seconds to download a book. I wish they used US Celliular which works everywhere in Oklahoma. All the business’s here have their WI-FI pass word protected.
Report Post »KillerRamen
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 4:05pmThis is a very tempting device… I love my Kindle 3G and I wouldn’t mind a Kindle Tablet that can do e-Comics, Netflix, Angry Birds and (someday) GBTV!
Report Post »daxx04
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 11:45amSorry, I already contacted Amazon and there is no Netflix app and they do not have any plans for one. Amazon has their own streaming, probably won’t be a Netflix app.
Report Post »KillerRamen
Posted on September 30, 2011 at 2:26pmIt will be up to Netflix to make one (not Amazon) and knowing Netflix they’ll make it pretty quickly. I also use Amazon’s streaming service as well, so it’s all good.
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 3:53pmI always did tell the people at Apple and the computer store geeks that the iPad is WAYY over-priced for what it is. I hope this tablet outsells and proves what I have been saying.
Report Post »I am still trying to get an HP Touchpad for $99.
CatB
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 5:12pmI just preordered mine.
Report Post »Wabbitseason
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 3:37pm…..meaning Opera browser came up with the “Cloud” concept a long time ago
Report Post »Wabbitseason
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 3:37pmOpera browser came up with this first….
Report Post »commonsenseguy
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 3:34pmif i had an extra 200 plus dollars, it would be spent on something useless right now. but hey,if the government is going to force amazon to give them out for free,then please send me one, o yeah, not gonna happen, i have a job,home and land,so again don’t think i will waste 200 plus dollars.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 3:31pmI was resistant to switching to a Kindle. I got one as a gift last Christmas and love it. If you’re on the fence about them, give it a try. You won’t miss having a hard copy at all. I know I haven’t. The best thing about it is that when hear of a book you might be interested in, the book store is in your home, no waiting.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 3:37pmI have been wondering about the Kindle, now that others have been commenting on them and showing them to me, I am seriously thinking of saving for one and getting it.
Thanks for the additional input.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 3:42pmYou won’t regret it Snowy. You can get new books only out in hardback for half the price on the day they are published. Do you have wireless set up at home?
Report Post »SREGN
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 4:18pmMy biggest fear is that when I finish my reading session and stand up, it’ll fall right into the toilet.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 4:27pmSREGN, I knelt on mine 3 months after I had it and the screen froze. They shipped me another one in 1 day, at no charge, with all my previously downloaded books on it! Just don’t flush!
Report Post »cessna152
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 3:24pmThis product could not have been made without government intervention….
(SARC)
Report Post »FaithfulFriend
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 3:42pmThat is the most perfect comment post ever. Congratulations!
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 3:43pmYea, the government spent trillions developing it. (You can bet they would have!)
Report Post »Elena2010
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 3:44pmLOL — you betcha! A free market is no substitute for a central gov’t controlled economy **sarcasm in extreme**
Report Post »TelepromoterNChief
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 3:48pmThat maybe so, but let’s be honest, the government knows what’s best for us.
Report Post »Nick84
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 6:49pmYou do understand that without the government we might not have the Internet and without the Internet, we wouldn’t have inventions like the kindle, right?
Report Post »mr.goodvibe
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 9:51pmEveryone knows Al Gore invented the internet. Come on people!
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