Amazon refreshes Kindle Fire line with four new tablets

As has been the case with the last few fall seasons, Amazon has refreshed its Kindle Fire tablet lineup. For 2014 we find the online giant introducing no less than four models including its first designed specifically for children. All four are the first to run Amazon’s latest UI, the Fire OS 4.0 known as Sangria.

Kindle Fire HD

First up is the standard Fire HD model which now comes in both 6-inch and 7-inch versions. Available for $99 and $139, respectively, the tablets will begin shipping in October a variety of color options: black, white, cobalt, magenta, and citron. Powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, other specifications include front and rear facing camera, all-day battery life, and Dolby Digital Plus Audio.

Kindle Fire HDX

The more powerful tablet experience gets even better with the integration of Dolby Atmos which promises to be “twice as loud as the iPad Air”. What’s more, the tablet improves on the Wi-Fi front and is now compatible with 802.11ac MIMO. The 2.5GHz quad-core processor keeps things humming; the battery is able to withstand 12 hours of usage. Another key feature is the Dynamic Light Control, a custom touch that changes the white point based on ambient lighting in the environment. Due later this year, it aims to more closely resemble a piece of paper.

Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition

For the first Amazon has introduced a new product which is aimed expressly for children. The tablet will come in both 6-inch and 7-inch versions and include 2-year “worry-free” warranty. Further, the tablets come with one-year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, an all-in-one subscription of books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and games.

“Kids break things, so we added a 2-year, no-questions-asked, worry-free guarantee”

No slouch, the Kids Edition features an HD display, quad-core processor, and a pair of cameras. Shipping in October, the 6-inch version is $149 while the 7-inch carries a $189 price tag.

The post Amazon refreshes Kindle Fire line with four new tablets appeared first on AndroidGuys.

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Amazon gives its flagship Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 a modest spec boost

If you’ve ever seen a TV commercial for Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets, you know the company isn’t shy about comparing itself to Apple. Indeed, the retail giant is hoping you’ll buy its flagship Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 this holiday season instead of a boring iPad Air. This year, though, Amazon appears to be competing purely on specs: The company just refreshed the HDX 8.9, and while it has the same design as last year’s model (20 percent lighter than the iPad, as Amazon is quick to point out!), everything under the hood is just a bit better. A bit faster. The tablet is up for pre-order today for $379, the same price as last year’s HDX 8.9. Which makes sense: All things considered, this is a fairly modest upgrade.

For starters, this is the first tablet with Snapdragon’s top-of-the-line 805 chip — a 2.5GHz, quad-core processor that brings a 70 percent graphics improvement boost, according to Amazon. Raw performance aside, Amazon is claiming 12 hours of runtime this year, roughly similar to its predecessor. In addition to that 805 chip, this is also the first tablet with Dolby’s Atmos surround sound technology. Naturally, Amazon is quick to say that it’s twice as loud as the iPad Air, but that’s not really the point. The point is that the sound feels more immersive, like it’s coming at you from all directions. Indeed, after getting hands-on, I can confirm the audio is impressive — if you plug in a pair of headphones. Preferably some over-ears. You’re simply not going to get the same effect with just the tablet’s speakers, and an Amazon rep admitted in an interview that even in-ear earbuds might not be the same. Still, the next time you find yourself on a plane with some noise-canceling headphones, you could have yourself quite the movie-watching party.

Moving on, the HDX still has an 8.9-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 display with a pixel density of 339 ppi. That said, Amazon added a new “Dynamic Light Control” feature, which changes the white balance of the pages in reading mode to make it look more like paper depending on the ambient light conditions. That means it can go from cool to warm, from blue to nearly yellow. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of such a feature — the Samsung Galaxy Tab S works much the same way — but it’s a welcome addition here, especially since the price is staying the same. (If you disagree, Amazon says you can turn that feature off.) Finally, the new HDX has 802.11ac WiFi, a step up from 802.11n. Kind of a no-brainer upgrade, if you ask us.

http://www.engadget.com/embed-5min/?sid=577&playList=518421001&responsive=false

Other than that, many of the HDX 8.9’s improvements boil down to Amazon’s new software, dubbed Fire OS 4.0. (Following Amazon’s grand tradition of giving its software alcohol-themed code names, this build is called “Sangria.”) New features include unlimited online photo storage, the ability to add up to six user profiles, as well as a so-called Family Library where you can share apps, games, books and videos with someone else in the family — your spouse, say. For the first time, Amazon is also throwing in a word processing suite, WPS Office, which — surprise — stores files on Amazon’s own Cloud Drive service.

Firefly, a feature first introduced on the Fire Phone, is also making its debut on tablets. If you recall, it basically lets you scan anything you set your eyes on — and then buy it. Additionally, Amazon ported over its ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) feature from Fire TV, which guesses at which movies and TV shows you’re searching for, and gets ready to stream them before you actually hit “play.” This time around, the software is built on Android KitKat — not that this looks anything like Android. If anything, the move to KitKat might make it a little easier for developers to bring over their apps to Amazon’s own app store. But as far as the UI, this is uniquely Amazon: easy to use, but heavily skinned.

Though the software contains some useful new features, it’s not reason enough to buy the HDX 8.9 specifically: Amazon’s other new tablets run the same OS, and last year’s models will also get upgraded to Fire OS 4.0. On that note, the 7-inch HDX will still be around, except Amazon is cutting the price by $30 to $199. Always an option if you want the user profiles, but not necessarily the Snapdragon 805 chip. (We can’t blame you there.) Again, the new HDX 8.9 is up for pre-order today. Aside from the tablet, there’s also a keyboard to go with it ($60) and a new folding “Origami” cover that’s about 20 percent lighter than last year’s case. Will we review it? Maybe we will; maybe we won’t. Either way: You generally know what to expect here.

Terrence O’Brien contributed to this report.

Filed under: Tablets, Amazon

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Amazon’s new budget tablets include 6- and 7-inch sizes, as well as a kids edition

Here’s the funny thing about Amazon: Because it’s already selling you stuff, it has an easy way of knowing when a product category is starting to take off. Case in point: budget tablets. After reading lots of user reviews complaining about cheap, unreliable slates, the company had two major takeaways. One, people actually buy this crap and two, maybe Amazon can do better. That brings us to today’s news: The outfit just introduced a 6-inch, $99 tablet, its least expensive yet. In addition, the company refreshed its $139 Kindle Fire HD 7 along with so-called Kids Edition models, which are basically the same 6- and 7-inch tablets, just with a two-year warranty and some robust parental controls. All of them start at under $200.

All told, with the exception of screen size, the two tablets have the same specs, including an unspecified quad-core 1.5GHz processor, a 1,280 x 800 screen, an eight-hour battery, Dolby Digital Plus audio and dual cameras, with the rear one capable of shooting 1080p video. Both run Amazon’s new Fire OS 4.0 (code-named “Sangria”), which brings over the Firefly scan-and-buy feature from the Fire phone and ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) from the Fire TV. With the new software, you can also add up to six user profiles. Finally, a new “Family Library” feature lets you share books, apps, games and videos with someone else in the house — maybe a spouse who has a different Amazon account.

Really, then, the only difference between the two tablets is screen density, with the 7-incher coming in at 216 ppi and the 6-inch model going up to 252. Obviously, since we haven’t tested these, we can’t vouch for the performance, but even so: Those are impressive screens for tablets this cheap. Other than that, the main selling point seems to be durability. Amazon used a Gorilla Glass panel to help ward off scratches, and it tested its tablets with sunscreen, salt water and even a machine that simulates items being tossed around inside a bag. Naturally, your mileage may vary, but Amazon is at least hoping its tablets will fare better than all those no-name brands people have been giving two-star reviews.

Meanwhile, as we said, the Kids Edition features the same 6- and 7-inch tablets, except it comes with a rubber case and a two-year replacement plan that covers the sorts of accidents not normally included in standard gadget warranties. Additionally, Amazon is including its “FreeTime Unlimited” package free for one year, which features various kid-friendly content that includes books, movies, TV shows, apps and games. (All this stuff varies in age-appropriateness, though Amazon says the tablet is primarily aimed at children ages three to 10.) Given that these are the HD 6 and HD 7, they do have front- and rear-facing cameras, though a future software update will also give kids the ability to add digital “stickers.” Like you do when you’re seven.

http://www.engadget.com/embed-5min/?sid=577&playList=518421001&responsive=false

Speaking of software, there are naturally lots of parental controls on board here. By default, in-app purchases aren’t allowed, and kids don’t have access to the Appstore. Children can’t get into the settings — or email or the web browser, for that matter. Parents can set time goals (e.g., read for 30 minutes a day), and they can forbid kids from opening any of the “entertainment” content until they eat their vegetables get a certain amount of educational work out of the way. Parents can also limit time for different activities as well as set a curfew, after which the kids can’t access the device anymore. Finally, like other new Kindle Fire tablets, the Kids Edition has room for up to six user profiles, with the option to set different parental controls for each. And yes, if you happen to be the adult in the house, you could, if you wanted to, use the tablet in an unrestricted way, just like any other Amazon tablet.

The HD 6 starts at $99, while the HD 7 is priced the same as last year, at $139. Both are available in five colors, including white, black, fuchsia, cobalt blue and a neon yellow-green color (our name for it, not Amazon’s). The Kids Edition, meanwhile, starts at $149 for the 6-inch model and $189 for the 7-inch version. All of them ship in October, though you can pre-order them starting today. No word on whether we’ll enlist a kid to toss one of these around, but in the meantime, we’ve got some hands-on photos if you feel like taking a closer look.

Terrence O’Brien contributed to this report.

Filed under: Tablets, Amazon

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Amazon’s $200 Kindle Voyage is the Rolls-Royce of e-readers

Perhaps Amazon sold a lot of 3G Paperwhites without special offers. Or maybe Kobo’s Aura HD has quietly taken the world by storm and Jeff Bezos decided he needed an answer. Whatever the impetus, Amazon has decided there is room in the world for a $199 e-reader. The Kindle Voyage was built for people who “love to read.” Clearly the company thinks there is a place out there for a premium e-reader and, while we can’t vouch for the vibrancy of the high-end e-reader market, we can confirm that Amazon has put together a stunner of a device. The familiar Kindle software has even picked up some neat new software tricks that the Voyage taught its more budget-minded siblings.

In many ways, the Voyage looks like your standard e-reader. It’s small, rectangular and there’s a crisp, beautiful E Ink screen up front. But once you start poking at it a bit, you realize this is a different beast from most of its predecessors. For one, like the Kobo Aura, the screen is flush with the body — there’s no raised bezel here. Secondly, the materials are decidedly more luxurious. The shell is made of a gorgeous matte magnesium that would feel at home on Lenovo’s top-of-the-line ThinkPads, while the front is a chemically hardened glass. That plate of glass is also micro-etched, which pretty much eliminates glare and lends a pleasing texture to the device. Amazon likes to say it feels like paper and, while that’s a bit of a stretch, the company isn’t completely off base. The small amount of resistance the etching adds delivers a tactility that is missing from a smooth, glossy panel.

Underneath the glass is a next-generation Paperwhite display that packs 300 pixels per inch in a 6-inch panel. To say text and images were “crisp” would be an understatement. Simply put, it’s the best screen we’ve ever seen on an e-reader. Even on complex images, you’d be hard-pressed to spot an individual pixel. And the lighting continues to be in a class above most of its competitors — it’s smooth, even and almost blinding at its highest settings. Amazon even sneaked some sensors into the Voyage, which allow it to automatically adjust the front light based on your surroundings.

The Voyage is also incredibly thin and light. At 7.6mm, it’s the thinnest Kindle yet and only 0.1mm thicker than an iPad Air. Obviously, we couldn’t sit and read for hours on end during our brief introduction to the device, but we can’t imagine you’d have any trouble holding it. And, even if your arm did get tired, there’s an Origami cover that can also act as a stand for your Kindle.

The Voyage also marks the return of page-turn buttons… sort of. Underneath the bezel is a force sensor that can trigger “PagePress” — Amazon’s fancy way of describing turning the page without touching the screen. You can still swipe if you want, but as any of you who read while standing on a bus or train know, one-handed swiping can be difficult. A small, vibrating motor even provides some haptic feedback to let you know you’ve turned the page (in case you couldn’t figure it out by looking at the screen).

The Kindle software has also picked up a few new tricks. Notably X-Ray has two new modes: an image browser for all your picture-heavy titles, and notable passages, which collects all the most important moments in a timeline view. While you could potentially use it like CliffsNotes, it seems more useful for quickly catching up if you’ve put a book down before finishing it. (I, for one, could really use this with my copy of The Wilderness Warrior, which has taken me almost three years to read.) There’s also WordWise, which puts definitions right on the page as you’re reading them. It’ll certainly be handy for students working to build their vocabulary, but it’s definitely too cluttered to use for everyday reading.

All of the new software features will be making their way to the refreshed Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite as well. The Paperwhite is getting only the mildest of upgrades — going from 2GB to 4GB of storage. The truly budget $79 Kindle, on the other hand, is getting a relatively significant revamp. The new design, other than its bulky body, is almost indistinguishable from the Paperwhite. The navigation buttons are all gone and the interface has gone all-touch. You also get a much beefier processor and twice the storage as before. While you don’t normally think about the processor in your e-reader, as Amazon keeps packing in features, you’ll be thankful for the extra horsepower. Even with the new CPU, you’ll probably notice a stutter or two as you poke around in X-Ray or start turning on features like WordWise.

Both the Voyage and the new Kindle will start shipping in October and are available for pre-order today. Now all Amazon has to do is convince someone that any e-reader, even one as lovely as the Voyage, is worth $200.

Filed under: Amazon

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