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Amazon Debuts Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire HD In 2 Sizes

Posted by timothy on from the plus-they-wash-your-back dept.

Nerval's Lobster writes "Amazon used a Sept. 6 event in California to debut a range of products, including a front-lit [not back-lit, as originally reported] Kindle e-reader with a higher-resolution screen, an updated Kindle Fire, and the new Kindle Fire HD in two screen sizes. First, Bezos showed off a new version of the Kindle e-reader, the Kindle Paperwhite, complete with a front-lit, higher-resolution screen (221 pixels-per-inch and 25 percent more contrast, according to Amazon). The device weighs 7.5 ounces and is 9.1mm thin; battery life is rated at eight weeks, and the screen brightness is adjustable. He then showed off the updated Kindle Fire, before moving to the Kindle Fire HD, which features a choice of 7-inch or 8.9-inch screens, dual stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus, two antennas for better Wi-Fi pickup, and a Texas Instruments OMAP 4470 processor (which Bezos claimed could out-perform the Tegra 3). The Kindle Fire HD's 7-inch version will retail for $199 and ship Sept. 14, while the 8.9-inch version will cost $299 and ship Nov. 20. An 8.9-inch, 4G LTE-enabled version with 32GB storage will be available starting Nov. 20 for $499, paired with a $49.99-a-year data plan."

15 of 307 comments (clear)

  1. But it's not the google experience by alen · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I want to feel warm and fuzzy and covered in the goodness of complete googleness

    1. Re:But it's not the google experience by dffuller · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Nor is a tablet a suitable replacement for an Eink reader.

    2. Re:But it's not the google experience by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That is just a bizarre comparison. BBC is paid for by the *government*, Amazon is a private company. I don't see why a Kindle couldn't work perfectly outside the US.

    3. Re:But it's not the google experience by WaywardGeek · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Amazon's walled garden is the #1 strength of the Nexus 7. Also, the latest Android is nice. I have the Amazon Kindle app, the B&N Nook app, Google's Play Books app, and of course an audio-book player which is what I use most often. I was wondering what Amazon could offer that would make me wish I had a Kindle Fire HD. Looks like nothing.

      On the positive side, the $300 price point for the larger device is eye-opening, though I'm pretty happy with my 7". My family keeps stealing it, and my wife travels with it, even though she has an iPad. The Nexus 7 is simply a better e-book reader than any current iPad.

      --
      Celebrate failure, and then learn from it - Nolan Bushnell
    4. Re:But it's not the google experience by hawguy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      >>>Sorry Amazon, nice try, but your walled garden isn't for me.

      One could say the same about the BBC and their "walled garden". Why on earth did you think you could use an amazon tablet outside of its home country? I certainly don't expect to be able to hear/watch BBC outside of the UK.

      Because I paid for the tablet, but I don't pay for the BBC?

    5. Re:But it's not the google experience by MozeeToby · · Score: 3, Insightful

      As has been reported recently on Slashdot (and known to people with circadian rhythm disorders for much longer) staring at a backlit screen at night can seriously screw up your sleep schedule. Not to mention many people have more eyestrain from backlit screens than non-emissive ones. For many people, a tablet is a terrible replacement for an eInk ereader. Does make me wonder if this Paperwhite will have the same problems though.

    6. Re:But it's not the google experience by Man+Eating+Duck · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So, it has a light, but does it do PDF annotation? Can you zoom and navigate and crop PDFs easily? No.

      The primary use for an e-ink reader is to read novels. PDF is not a suitable format for that. Although the Sony reader has the features you ask for, for those of us who don't read children's books they are not necessary. Technical reference works is not really what it's designed for either, but it's quite adequate, and far better than the tablet I left at home.

      Look, if you don't read novels e-ink is not for you. Get a tablet for your games, browsing, magazines and illustrated PDFs. We who *do* read novels are quite happy with our readers. BTW, I also have a tiny clip-on reading light which works perfectly well, but I almost never bring it because I don't need it.

      --
      Are you a grammar Nazi? I'm trying to improve my English; please correct my errors! :)
    7. Re:But it's not the google experience by 1u3hr · · Score: 4, Insightful

      the UK government protects its local artists/authors by not allowing imports unless registered under UK copyrights.

      What? What?

      Bullshit.

      I've exported plenty of books to the UK, (when I worked for a publisher) never heard of this requirement.

      Maybe you're thinking of North Korea or wherever it is you live, because "copyright registration" is not a requirement" to sell books in any civilised country.

      However, I'm sure publishers do want to restrict the marketing regions. They will have contractual arrangement with Amazon to do so. But that's nothing to do with either copyright or the UK government.

    8. Re:But it's not the google experience by chrismcb · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Get back to me after you spend most of the 8 hours of your 10 hour flight reading... and then immediately get on a train for a 10 hour train trip. How's that tablet working now?
      I like eink as I don't have to stare at a light bulb to read. Plus it has about a one month battery life.

  2. Re:Like the multi-user features by Robadob · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I would have thought, apples plan is that every user in the house owns their own iDevice, rather than sharing them.

  3. Re:All this technology... by h4rr4r · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sales tax is not state by state, it is county by county or in some states town by town.

    I have been involved in projects to do this and it is a huge PITA. State sales tax is easy, town or county are hard since zip codes and other such normal address data do not tell you if they are within a town/county or not.

  4. Re:Like the multi-user features by kybred · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But instead of getting each of two kids an iPad, a single Kindle Fire for both is viable...

    I'm guessing that you don't have two (or more) kids. Share is typically not in their vocabulary.

  5. No page turn buttons :( by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why why why Amazon? Pretty much everything about the new Kindle sounds great except for the lack of page turn buttons. I'm still using my 3rd generation Kindle and I'd love to upgrade it to a higher contrast screen with built in lighting, but touchscreen-only navigation is a killer. It makes one handed reading more difficult and uncomfortable, will cause screen smudges, and will be nearly impossible to operate with gloves.

  6. Re:Like the multi-user features by RocketRabbit · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's because of shitty parenting. Proper parenting results in sharing. Shitty parenting results in kids that are rutted and who simply grow, like a cow or a vegetable. Proper parenting involves raising children so that they understand the concepts of sharing, respect, playing nice, etc.

  7. DPI by manekineko2 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    iPad 3 which has a much better DPI than the Fire

    iPad 3rd Gen has a resolution of 2048×1536 on a 9.7" screen, giving it a DPI of 264.

    Kindle Fire HD 8.9" has a resolution of 1920x1200 on a 8.9" screen, giving it a DPI of 254.

    For all intents and purposes, the Kindle Fire HD has the same DPI as the latest iPad.