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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."

8 of 307 comments (clear)

  1. Like the multi-user features by SuperKendall · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Kindle has a nice idea of how the device can be used in a family, where the parents can control time spent by kids.

    It'll be interesting to see if Apple has anything up and comping to address this same problem, until now they have kind of ignore this.

    I think Amazon could do very well with the new Fire, and also the new PaperWhite kindle - that's the first e-ink Kindle that appeals to me, the others were just too low contrast for me. And even iPad owners could easily be enticed to buy a cheaper e-ink Kindle... that could well help cement them as the leader in e-Books (not that they were not already pretty cemented).

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Like the multi-user features by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That probably is Apple's plan. It was easy enough to carry forth when there were no good competitors. But instead of getting each of two kids an iPad, a single Kindle Fire for both is viable... it'll be interesting to see uptake on this vs. Apple's plan, or if Apple decides that in fact they should think about more of a multi-user approach.

      Apple is even sort of well positioned to take up multi-user stuff if they want to thanks to iCloud, each kid could have a different iCloud account and the device could easily switch home directories based on the current iCloud user setting. They just don't make that easy to do right now (I think it would re-sync the device every time you switched users).

      Indeed, Amazon could probably not have managed this this family thing without the Whispersync stuff in place themselves...

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    2. Re:Like the multi-user features by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You've met any siblings? If one wants to do something, the other will want to do the same thing, just because the other does it. Time share plan is a good idea in theory... practice on the other hand ... not so much.

  2. Re:Paper White!! Wait, what? by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Was e-ink ever gone ? No LCD beats it for long reading sessions.

    I didn't find that to be the case for previous e-ink kindles, the lower contrast was like looking at dirty paper and bothered me enough I preferred LCD's for hours of reading.

    The new Paperwhite display looks like a winner to me though, finally realizing the full potential of electronic paper along with a great lighting solution. I think it could be the first e-ink I really do find preferable to an LCD, and it has a decent PPI for rendering text.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  3. Re:Price on data plan is suspect by clarkkent09 · · Score: 1, Interesting

    In other words that's about twice as expensive as $20 for 2GB that I pay to my cell phone company.

    --
    Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
  4. Re:But it's not the google experience by Jethro · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It is absolutely trivial to transform a Kindle Fire into a regular Android tablet. My mom did it. I got a refurb one specifically for that purpose. It is currently running Jelly Bean pretty smoothly.

    --


    In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is kinky.
  5. Re:But it's not the google experience by nospam007 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "My kindle has all of that."

    Mine too. I own all the models but the touch has a problem in country life.
    Each time a fly lands on it, there's a page change, back or forward, depending on the landing zone.
    Sometimes the fly also looks-up a word in the dictionary.

  6. Re:But it's not the google experience by Artifakt · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What's really weird about your counterpoint is: There was a time in the 80's and 90's when the US donated launch vehicles to put up BBC's satelites over various tropical locations such as the Carribean, and the treaties that made this possible spelled out that US citizens who could get line of sight to those birds could legally access the programming. Living in Fla. at the time, I was one of the people who did it. Later, i was told by a US government source that they never meant to have that knowledge become generally public, and actually wrote the BBC to confirm it was as I remembered. BBC reps actually sent me a government address to contact if I wanted more information and confirmed that was their understanding as well, so I have no idea who the US government was acting on behalf of.

    --
    Who is John Cabal?