Android Authority this week – September 19, 2015
It’s been a busy week in the world of Android, and much of the buzz was generated by an unlikely player – BlackBerry. Check out our BlackBerry Venice close-up and the other news of the week: Qualcomm announced details about Snapdragon 820 and Quick Charge 3; more rumors about the HTC One A9 surfaced; Google announced the date of its Nexus event; Google Now on Tap became available; Amazon introduced its newest Android tablets; and details about the next Chromecast leaked out.
Inside AA HQ
Can we still be excited for new smartphones? In a world where leaks are the norm and truly new features and designs are increasingly rare, is there room left for genuine surprises? Matt wrote a very interesting piece on how the “leak culture” makes it increasingly hard to experience the joyful wonderment that used to accompany new product announcements “back in the day.” But while genuine surprises are harder to come by, we just can’t quit our addiction. “It is this lust for more that paradoxically encourages further leaks, and yet in the process, only further traps us into the vicious cycle of information excess,” as Matt puts it.
It’s definitely ironic that just a couple of days after Matt published his post, we brought you an exciting (and exclusive) leak. Perhaps even more ironic, the device that’s got all of us excited is a slider-phone with a mechanical keyboard from BlackBerry. And it runs Android. Those are words I never thought I would ever type. Check out hands-on images and video tour of the BlackBerry Venice, and thanks again to the fine folks at Baka Mobile for sending the media our way.
Sunday Giveaway: A big congratulations to last week’s winner of the OnePlus 2 giveaway: Sergiy G. from Ukraine. This week we are giving away a Samsung Galaxy Note 5, enter here.
The stuff you shouldn’t miss
- Tips and tricks: Here are Edgar’s tips for making the most out of your smartphone camera
- Unboxing: Josh takes a very unusual phone out of the box: the Marshall London
- Quick look: Will a fresh look and a focus on cloud integration set the Nextbit Robin apart?
- Opinion: Simon looks at the dangers that could bring down the high flying Xiaomi
- How to: You can get close to stock Android, without rooting: here are some pointers
- Opinion: Apple’s latest products speak about the dominance of Android, argues Matt
- Comparison: Galaxy S6 vs OnePlus 2: bold marketing can only get you so far
- Review: Is Google’s Project Fi worth your attention? Edgar weighs in
- Review: Lanh reviews the highly anticipated Moto X Pure
Top news of the week
Qualcomm’s next big things
- Qualcomm introduces Quick Charge 3.0 – powering up devices 4x faster!
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 to feature super fast LTE, powerful WiFi and smarter connectivity
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 and 430 processors – performance meets affordability
One A9 rumors
- HTC One A9 rumored to launch in November with modest specs
- HTC A9 Aero flagship reportedly will feature Marshmallow out of the box
Nexus 5x is coming
- Here are the front and back of the Nexus 5X in mint
- Google announces an event to be held on September 29th
BlackBerry Venice: up close
- Exclusive: New leaked images of the BlackBerry Venice
- Blackberry Venice shown off in quick look video
Google Now on Tap is here
Amazon sells a tablet six-pack
- Amazon announces latest Fire tablets, priced as low as $50
- Amazon announces revised Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
Next Chromecast
Join our newsletters
Get the Android Weekly delivered to your inbox each and every Sunday, sign up for our newsletter below.
Android Authority Newsletters
- Android Weekly
- Apps Weekly
- Dev Weekly
- Breaking News Alerts
- Top Stories of the day
- Review Alerts
- Deal Alerts
The Amazon Fire tablet is so cheap you can buy it in a six-pack
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
A few weeks ago we heard about the murmur that Amazon was getting ready to release a $50 tablet – and today, they’ve done just that. The simplistically named Amazon Fire tablet features a 7-inch IPS display, quad core 1.3GHz processor, expandable memory up to 128GB and front and rear cameras, and costs – you guessed it – just $49.99 USD. That’s extremely cheap, so cheap that Amazon is even offering the tablet in a six-pack, available for $249.95 – for those wondering, that’s buy-five-get-one-free.
Naturally, you get access to all of Amazon’s exclusive services, but of course that means that you’ll be running a forked version of Android. That said, the Amazon Fire tablet is basically the perfect tablet for kids and those just getting into smart devices now – we’ll have to wait and see how good the quality is once the tablet starts hitting people’s hands, but the price makes it a very attractive option regardless.
What do you think about the Amazon Fire tablet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Business Wire
The post The Amazon Fire tablet is so cheap you can buy it in a six-pack appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Amazon is selling the ASUS ZenFone 2 with 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage
Today, the ASUS ZenFone 2 re-debuts with a higher amount of RAM. The handset, which has been applauded as one of the better unlocked devices on the market, originally launched with two models that differed in RAM and storage: 2GB of RAM / 16GB of internal storage or 4GB of RAM / 64GB of memory. The price of those models stands at $199 and $299, respectively. The new model keeps the internal storage at 16GB but raises the amount of RAM to 4GB. And the price is an affordable $229.
Via: Liliputing [Amazon]
Come comment on this article: Amazon is selling the ASUS ZenFone 2 with 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage
New Amazon Fire TV announced with 4K streaming, Alexa and is up for pre-order
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
Amazon came out of the gates this morning with a slew off announcements regarding nearly everything in their product line up. Among the announcements is a newly beefed up Amazon Fire TV. The set-top box has been beefed up with 75% more processing powers that is provided by a MediaTek 64-bit quad-core processor. It offers up a dedicated GPU as well as 2GB of RAM to help. It sits with 8GB of internal storage, but does offer up support for expandable storage up to 128GB.
Along with the spec bumps Amazon also added in Alexa support. Alexa is the brain behind the Echo
Amazon has also beefed up the Wi-Fi with 802.11ac MIMO for added throughput and range. Which will certainly help with its ability to now stream 4K content.
The new Fire TV does sound quite a bit better than its predecessor. Amazon kept the pricing the same with the new Fire TV landing for $99.99. They are also offering up a Gaming Edition package, which includes Amazon Fire TV, Game Controller, a 32GB microSD card, and two games—Disney’s Ducktales and Yacht Club’s Shovel Knight—all for $139.99. Not a bad deal.
Hit the link to get a pre-order in for the New Amazon Fire TV, which is expected to start shipping by October 5th.
The post New Amazon Fire TV announced with 4K streaming, Alexa and is up for pre-order appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Amazon announces seven new devices for Fire tablet, Fire TV portfolio
Tablets begin shipping in September with Fire TV units commencing next month
Amazon, as it is often wont to do this time of year, has announced new models in its Fire lineup of tablets and TV products. For 2015 Amazon has expanded its portfolio a bit, bringing in a new low price point ($50) for its standard 7-inch model while changing things up on the larger side, too. And, over on the TV front, the company has bolstered that family with new hardware and software capabilities.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s in store for the seven new devices rolling out this fall.
Tablets
Fire tablet – Setting the bar for what can be had at a very attractive price, the new tablet retails for $50. Hardware features include a quad-core processor, 7-inch IPS display, cameras on the front and back, 8GB storage, with microSD support (up to 128GB). Powered by Fire OS “Bellini”, the new tablet also comes loaded with Amazon Underground and provides quick and easy discovery of content, deals, and more. Amazon will also sell this tablet in a “Buy 5, get 1 free” deal. That’s six tablets for $250. Pre-order today with shipping expected on September 30.
Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 – Offered in 8-inch and 10.1-inch versions, these two models will be offered in a variety of colors. The 8-inch has four color options: black, magenta, blue, and tangerine; the 10.1-inch is sold in black and white. . The smaller comes with 8GB and 16GB options while the larger has 16GB and 32GB capacities.
The displays are protected by Gorilla Glass to ensure they withstand the scratches and scuffs that come with taking them everywhere. Also running the 5.0 Bellini OS, other standout features include Dolby Audio with 5.1 virtual surround sound and expandable storage capacity (up to 128GB).
Pricing shakes out to $149 (8GB) and $169 (16GB) for the Fire HD 8 and the Fire HD 10 is $229 (16GB) and $259 (32GB) as long as you let Amazon place the occasional sponsored ads. To remove that option runs an extra $15. Pre-order today with shipping expected on September 30.
Fire Kids Edition – A refresh of the child-centric model introduced last fall, this one comes in with a lower price point for 2015. What’s more, the kid-proof case has been updated in the process. Toss in one year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited and a two-year guarantee and you’ve got a bargain for $100.
Fire TV
Fire TV and Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote – The TV units pick up support for 4K Ultra HD this year as well as the Alexa technology found in the standalone Amazon unit. The Fire TV sells for $100 with shipments starting October 5. The Fire TV Stick retails for $40 with the standard remote or $50 if you bundle it with a Voice Remote. Shipping begins October 22 for the HDMI-based dongle.
Fire TV Gaming Edition – A new version of the console-like unit, this one includes the 2015 Fire TV, the new Fire TV Game Controller, a 32 GB microSD card, and two popular games: Shovel Knight and Disney’s Ducktales. Worth roughly $190, it’s bundled together for $140 and starts shipping October 5.
The post Amazon announces seven new devices for Fire tablet, Fire TV portfolio appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Amazon announces new Fire TV Box with 4K video streaming and Alexa digital assistant
Fast on the heels of revealing the Fire tablet with a price tag of just $50, Amazon has announced the new Fire TV set-top box. Besides sporting a 64-bit quad-core MediaTek processor, the 2015 Fire TV includes Amazon’s digital assistant, Alexa, as well as supporting 4K video streams.
As you can see, this year’s Fire TV appears virtually identical to last year’s model in terms of cosmetics, but it differs quite a bit internally. This year’s model is said to offer 75% more processing power than the previous model that was powered by the Snapdragon 600. Let’s take a closer look at what else this year’s Fire TV has to offer.
Specifications:
- Fire OS 5 Bellini
- MediaTek Quad-core processor (64-bit) Dual-core @ 2.0GHz + Dual-core @ 1.6GHz
- PowerVR GX6250 GPU
- 2GB RAM
- 8GB Internal storage
- MicroSD card slot (up to 128GB)
- Dual-band, dual-antenna WiFi, supporting 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
- Ethernet port 10/100
- Bluetooth 4.1
- USB 2.0 port
- Support for 4K (Ultra HD) video streams
- Video formats: H.265, H.264
- Output resolution: 2160p up to 30fps, 720p & 1080p up to 60fps
- Audio formats: AAC-LC, AC3, eAC3(Dolby Digital Plus), FLAC, MP3, PCM/Wave, Vorbis, Dolby Atmos
- Image formats: JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP
- Dolby Audio/ Dolby surround sound
- Remote with Voice support
- Dimensions: 115 x 115 x 7.8mm
- Weight: 270 grams
The 2015 Fire TV comes with a $99/£79 price tag, while in the US there is also the option to buy the Fire TV Gaming Edition for $135 which comes with a Fire TV games controller and 2 free games (Shovel Knight and Disney DuckTales: Remastered). UK readers can add the games controller to the basket separately for £39. The Fire TV is available to pre-order right now, and is scheduled to begin shipping from October 5.
Full Press Release:
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Last year, Amazon introduced the first Amazon Fire TV, combining voice search that actually works, fast and powerful performance, and an open ecosystem to deliver the easiest way to watch Netflix, Amazon Video, HBO NOW, Hulu, WatchESPN, and more on your big-screen TV. Since launch, Fire TV has become the #1 best-selling Amazon device category, with Fire TV Stick quickly becoming Amazon’s fastest-selling product ever. Today, Amazon is making those best-selling products even better. Introducing the next generation of Fire TV—the new Amazon Fire TV with support for 4K Ultra HD, and the new Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote.
“The new Fire TV includes 4K support, more processing power, Alexa integration, the largest selection, and exclusive features—for less than $100. The new Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote brings voice search and Alexa integration for less than $50. These are powerful devices at incredible prices.”
The new Amazon Fire TV is available for pre-order today for just $99.99 www.amazon.com/fire-tv and will start shipping on October 5. Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote is available for pre-order today for $49.99 at www.amazon.com/fire-tv-voice and will start shipping October 22. Fire TV Stick is also still available for purchase for $39.99 at www.amazon.com/fire-tv-stick.
Fire TV devices have the most channels, apps, and games of any streaming media player, and are the easiest way to enjoy movies, TV shows, music, and live TV from services such as Netflix, Amazon Video, HBO NOW, Hulu, WatchESPN, SHOWTIME ANYTIME, Sling TV, STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, NBC News, Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, Vevo, Plex, A&E, YouTube.com, and more. Plus, the new Amazon Fire TV provides access to more 4K Ultra HD movies than any other streaming media player, with 4K content from Netflix, Amazon Video, and Prime Video. Already available in 4K are shows and movies from Amazon Video such as Transparent, Better Call Saul, American Hustle, and Amazing Spiderman 2, as well as shows and movies such as Narcos and Marvel’s Daredevils from Netflix.
“The team has packed an incredible amount of technology and innovation into a tiny package,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “The new Fire TV includes 4K support, more processing power, Alexa integration, the largest selection, and exclusive features—for less than $100. The new Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote brings voice search and Alexa integration for less than $50. These are powerful devices at incredible prices.”
The All-New Amazon Fire TV—Tiny Box, Huge Performance—$99.99
True-to-Life Picture Quality with 4K Ultra HD
4K Ultra HD is the next generation of entertainment and delivers a more realistic entertainment experience with 4x the resolution of 1080p. Amazon Fire TV is half the price of any other 4K Ultra HD streaming media player. With 4K support for Prime Video, Amazon Video, and Netflix, Fire TV also provides access to more 4K Ultra HD movies than any other device. Movies and TV shows already available in 4K include award-winning shows like Transparent, Better Call Saul, and Orphan Black, and blockbuster movies such as Captain Phillips, Men in Black 3, andMoney Ball—with more being added regularly.
Better HD Video Quality for More Customers
The new Amazon Fire TV is built to support High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC). In the coming months, the new Amazon Fire TV will deliver more 1080p high-definition streams from Amazon Video than ever before with HEVC—even if you don’t own a 4K TV. HEVC is roughly 2x more efficient at encoding video than the current industry standard, H264, so less bandwidth is needed to deliver high-quality video streams. As a result, the majority of Fire TV customers will now get to experience high-quality, 1080p TV shows and movies from Amazon Video.
Built for Speed
The first Fire TV delivered industry-leading performance—now, Fire TV is even better, with 75% more processing power, and still less than $100. The new Amazon Fire TV has 5x the processing power of the latest generation Roku, and 8x the processing power of Chromecast. It comes packed with a MediaTek 64-bit quad-core processor, a dedicated GPU, plus 4x the memory of the latest generation Chromecast, and Roku.
Powerful Wi-Fi Performance
Fire TV features the latest standard in Wi-Fi technology—802.11ac MIMO—which gives you faster throughput and longer range for better performance, even if your router is located in another part of the house.
Expandable microSD Storage
In addition to the 8GB of on-device storage, Fire TV now offers expandable storage via microSD card slot for up to 128GB of additional storage for downloaded apps and games.
World-Class Customer Service with Mayday Screen Sharing
Mayday Screen Sharing brings Mayday-powered customer service to the Fire TV streaming box, delivering 24×7, 365 days-a-year technical assistance—for free. When you call customer service by phone, the Amazon expert can remotely connect to your Fire TV—with your permission—to answer any questions you may have or to help troubleshoot. They can draw on the screen, walk you through how to do something, or do it for you—whatever works best.
Audio from Dolby, the Standard in Home Audio
With Dolby Audio, enjoy rich, cinematic surround sound via HDMI to your TV or AV receiver. Plus, Dolby enhances the Bluetooth headphone support on Fire TV, so you get Dolby’s virtual surround sound, consistent quality, and enhanced volume leveling while listening to your favorite movie or TV show with headphones.
Take Gaming to the Next Level
Gaming on Amazon Fire TV has been a customer favorite since launch, providing high-quality, low-cost options for the whole family. The all-new optional Fire TV Game Controller now includes voice search, an audio jack for private listening with Dolby enhancements, refined controls for a better gaming experience, and up to 90 hours of battery life without headphones. Plus, today Amazon introduced the new Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition, which includes Amazon Fire TV, Game Controller, a 32GB microSD card, and two games—Disney’s Ducktales and Yacht Club’sShovel Knight—all for $139.99. To read the press release about the new Gaming Edition, visit: www.amazon.com/gaming-edition-pr.
The Fire TV Family Gets New and Updated Features—Fire OS 5 Brings New Features to the Full Lineup
Just ask Alexa
Last year, Amazon introduced voice search that actually works—no more hunting and pecking in an alphabet grid to find your favorite TV shows and movies. Now, the convenience of voice is getting even better on Amazon Fire TV with built-in support for Alexa, the brain behind Amazon Echo. With Alexa, Fire TV voice capabilities become even better—simply speak into the voice remote and ask Alexa for the weather, sports scores, traffic, music, and more. Alexa provides natural-language responses, combined with an immersive on-screen display, each time you ask a question on Amazon Fire TV. Just say “Alexa, play some jazz” to listen to your favorite music and simultaneously view album art, song title, and more via the on-screen experience. Say “Alexa, when do the Seahawks play?” to find out when the next game is on, or say “Alexa, how’s the weather tomorrow?” to see if you need to bring your umbrella and simultaneously view the five-day forecast on your big screen TV. Plus, coming next year, use Alexa to find and play TV shows and movies, navigate Amazon Fire TV, launch apps, and more—simply speak into the voice remote and say “Alexa, resume Star Wars;” “Alexa, search for drama movies with Matt Damon;” or “Alexa, play Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” Alexa integration will roll out to all existing Fire TV and Fire TV Stick customers via a free, over-the-air software update.
Largest Selection of Channels, Apps, and Games
Since launch last year, Amazon Fire TV selection of channels, apps, and games has grown by 17x, with over 3,000 apps now available. Customer favorites on Fire TV include Netflix, HBO NOW, WatchESPN, SHOWTIME ANYTIME, HBO GO, Hulu, STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, YouTube.com, Spotify, Pandora, AT&T U-verse, and Tennis Channel Everywhere. New channels and apps coming soon include FOX NOW, FXNOW, Poker Central, and Turner Classic Movies. Fire TV integrated universal search from the very beginning, and customers have loved being able to easily search across multiple services, including HBO GO, Showtime, Hulu, STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and Vevo. Plus, Amazon will be adding over 10 services to universal search by the end of the year, including A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime, and PBS.
Live TV
Now you can watch the big game, breaking news, and more, live and on-demand on Amazon Fire TV—all you need is the internet. With Fire TV, you have access to a variety of live and on-demand video and TV apps such as HBO NOW, Sling TV, NBC News, Tennis Channel Everywhere, and more. With a subscription to Sling TV, you have access to live and on-demand content from channels like ESPN, CNN, TBS, HGTV, and AMC.
Best Device for Prime
With Prime Video, Prime members get access to thousands of movies and TV shows, including Transformers, Wolf of Wall Street, Anchorman 2, The Americans, Justified, and Downton Abbey, at no additional cost. Plus, get access to award-winning Amazon Original Series programming likeTransparent and Tumble Leaf, as well as new shows coming this fall—which will all be available in 4K Ultra HD. With Prime Music, Prime members can listen ad-free to over a million songs from artists like Mumford & Sons, Daft Punk, P!nk, Bruno Mars, Blake Shelton, The Lumineers, Bruce Springsteen, and Madonna—plus, coming early next year, listen to top, curated Prime Music Radio Stations on Fire TV. Use Prime Photos to get unlimited storage for photos, and access them on Fire TV devices to play slideshows or choose a favorite album for the screensaver.
Plus, All the Features Customers Expect from Amazon
Fire TV is not just a gadget—it is a seamlessly integrated service that combines all of the features that customers love about Amazon, Prime, and Fire devices, including:
- Say It, Watch It with voice search that actually works—Simply speak the name of a movie, TV show, actor, director, or genre into the remote on the Amazon Fire TV, the all-new Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote, or the Fire TV Voice Remote App on Fire TV Stick. No more hunting and pecking in an alphabet grid.
- Instant streaming with ASAP—No more waiting for movies and TV shows to buffer. ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) is now 40% faster on the new Amazon Fire TV, so videos start instantly. ASAP predicts which Amazon movies and TV episodes you want to watch and buffers them for playback before you even hit play, so there’s no waiting.
- Instantly find out who that actor is—X-Ray for Movies and TV Shows is available directly on the TV screen using Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick—simply click the Fire TV Remote and get instant access to actor biographies in the scene, trivia, soundtracks, and more, on tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes. X-Ray for Movies and TV Shows is exclusive to Amazon Video and powered by IMDb—the #1 movie website in the world.
- Simple to set up and easy to use—Arrives pre-registered so you can simply plug it in and start streaming in minutes.
- Screen sharing and display mirroring—Tap the “fling” icon on your Fire tablet to send video and audio to your big screen, or fling services like YouTube, Spotify and Netflix from your Android phone or iPhone. Or, share whatever is on your small screen—including movies and TV shows, music, and photos—with everyone in your living room using display mirroring, which includes support for Fire OS and Android, and devices from Motorola, LG, and Google.
- Personal photos and videos—Play slideshows and choose a favorite album for the screensaver on Fire TV devices. Photos or videos you take via phone or tablet can be automatically uploaded to Amazon Cloud Drive, making them accessible on Fire TV devices.
- Whispersync—Amazon’s Whispersync technology saves and synchronizes your Amazon video and music library across all Amazon devices. Start watching a movie on an iPhone with the Amazon Video app, or on a Fire tablet, and pick up where you left off on Fire TV.
- Watch on hundreds of devices—Buy a movie or TV show from Amazon Video and watch it on hundreds of devices that are compatible with the Amazon Video app, including iOS, Android, and Fire OS devices.
- 1-Tap Archive—Automatically backs up your Amazon digital content in the cloud so you never need to worry about losing content.
- Top-rated, world-class customer service—When you shop on Amazon, buy a Fire TV device, or buy digital content from Amazon, you are also getting Amazon’s world-class customer service.
- Free month of Amazon Prime—Amazon continues to invest in bringing Prime members new movies, TV shows, songs, and books to enjoy at no additional cost. Prime members enjoy unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV episodes with Prime Video, and unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive. Eligible customers can get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime when they purchase an Amazon Fire TV.
Come comment on this article: Amazon announces new Fire TV Box with 4K video streaming and Alexa digital assistant
Amazon announces new Fire Kids Edition tablet
Joining announcements of a new Fire TV Box and the cut-rate Fire Tablet, Amazon also launched a new tablet oriented to children, the Fire Kids Edition tablet. The Fire Kids Edition is a successor to last year’s Fire HD Kids Edition, but the price has been reduced from $149 to only $99. Amazon has started to accept pre-orders today with units shipping on September 30th.
The Fire Kids Edition comes with an updated “kid-proof” case, a Fire tablet, and one year of access to Amazon FreeTime Unlimited. This gives parents access to 20,000 age-appropriate websites and YouTube videos, access to more than 10,000 books, videos, apps and games, and a 2-year guarantee. The tablet itself comes with a quad-core processor, front and rear-facing cameras, and a microSD slot that supports up to 128GB of storage.
Check out Amazon’s full press release below.
|
|
And it will be the gift that keeps giving, as when my other kids are older, we can get the family subscription instead of the single child. WIN!” – KelseyCome comment on this article: Amazon announces new Fire Kids Edition tablet
Amazon announces new line of Kindle Fire HD tablets with Fire OS 5
Amazon has finally taken the wraps off their latest Kindle Fire HD tablets, complete with extremely high resolution screens, powerful processors, and aggressive price points. Pretty much what everyone expected, right?
The Fire HD tablets come in two sizes, so you’ll be able to pick up either an 8-inch or 10-inch variant. They both sport full HD screens, quad-core processors, and expandable storage, plus Amazon’s latest Fire OS 5.
The tablets have some pretty cool features that make them stand out from previous models, especially for anyone that’s heavily invested in Amazon’s ecosystem. They’re both the first models to feature Amazon Underground, which an app store that includes tons of free apps and games that offer free in-app purchases. This sounds pretty similar to the Amazon Unlocked initiative that we heard about a few months back, although we’ll need to wait for more details before we say anything one way or the other.
Another useful trick for Amazon Prime customers is the On Deck feature, which keeps popular movies and TV shows preloaded on your device’s internal storage. The tablet intelligently keeps these available in case you want to access anything offline, but it erases content if you need space for an app or music or anything. That’s a cool feature on paper, especially if it works well and doesn’t require any micromanaging.
You’ll still get Amazon’s MayDay screen sharing help feature, plus tons of other things that were on older models. Customers get completely free photo backup, access to tons of on-demand video, and everything else you’ve come to expect from Amazon’s Fire lineup.
The smaller 8-inch tablet will run $149.99 while the 10-inch option will cost $229.99. Both tablets come in either white or black and will begin shipping on September 20th.
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon today introduced all-new Fire HD tablets, designed from the ground up for entertainment with a stunning 8” or 10.1” widescreen HD display, an incredibly thin and light design, quad-core processor, stereo speakers with Dolby Audio, front- and rear-facing cameras, and microSD card support providing up to 128GB of expandable storage. Fire HD also introduces Fire OS 5 “Bellini,” which brings the best entertainment experience on any tablet, with an updated user interface, deep integration of Amazon-exclusive services, and hundreds of new and upgraded features and platform updates.
“A beautiful widescreen HD display, fast quad-core processor, expandable storage, Fire OS 5, exclusive features, and the Amazon content ecosystem of more than 38 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, apps, and games.”
With its 8” display, Fire HD 8 is the perfect tablet for web browsing, reading, or gaming. It is available in four color options: black, magenta, blue, and tangerine, and offers an incredible value at only $149.99. Fire HD 10 is Amazon’s largest tablet yet, with a 10.1” display that is perfect for widescreen entertainment. Available in two color options, black and white, it’s only $229.99. Fire HD tablets start shipping September 30.
New Fire HD features:
- Thin and light industrial design—at 7.7mm, Amazon’s thinnest tablets ever.
- Crisp and vivid HD display with over 1 million pixels; with a 16:10 widescreen aspect ratio, Fire HD 8 offers 15% more HD video viewing area and Fire HD 10 offers 22% more HD video viewing area than similarly-sized tablets with a 4:3 aspect ratio.
- Powerful quad-core processor running at up to 1.5 GHz for fast app switching and fluidity.
- As measured in tumble tests, Fire HD is almost 2x more durable than the latest generation iPad Air.
- Up to 128GB of expandable storage via microSD—enjoy even more videos, music, games, and photos while offline.
- Stereo speakers with Dolby Audio, which are custom-tuned for immersive, high-quality sound.
- Powered by the latest version of Fire OS—Fire OS 5 “Bellini”—with an updated user interface that is inspired by the beautiful layouts of high-quality magazines, making it fun to browse for your next movie, song, or book, or easy to pick up where you left off. Plus, Fire OS 5 includes hundreds of new and upgraded features, platform updates, and Amazon-exclusive services.
- First tablet with Amazon Underground, a one-of-a-kind app store experience where over $10,000 in apps, games, and even in-app items are actually free—including extra lives, unlocked levels, unlimited add-on packs, and more.
- Have you ever forgotten to download a movie ahead of a flight? For Prime members, On Deck automatically keeps your Fire tablet current with popular Prime movies and TV shows, as well as Amazon Original Series, so you always have something good to watch. Importantly, On Deck only uses the available storage on your tablet, opportunistically in a special shadow mode. When you download something, On Deck automatically makes room for your selected content—there’s no hassle of needing to clear out space yourself.
- The best reading experience on a tablet gets even better with Word Runner, a new feature designed to help you read faster—one word at a time—by bringing each word to the center of the screen to where your eyes are already focused. Word Runner gradually builds to your preferred reading speed, then algorithmically and automatically slows down for difficult words, punctuation, and paragraph breaks.
- For parents whose kids have outgrown Amazon FreeTime, Activity Center provides an easy way for them to see how their kids are spending time on their Fire tablet—from how much time their kids spend playing games to which websites they visit.
- Mayday Screen Sharing lets an Amazon expert guide you remotely through any feature on your screen, available 24×7, 365 days a year—for free.
- Access to over 38 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, magazines, Android apps and games, and more—with free, unlimited cloud storage for all Amazon content.
- Amazon-exclusive features customers love, including ASAP, X-Ray, Second Screen, Family Library, Amazon FreeTime, Prime Video downloads, and more.
- Video chat with friends and family with the 720p front-facing camera; take photos and capture videos in 1080p full HD with the 5MP rear-facing camera.
- Free, unlimited cloud storage for all photos taken on Fire devices, automatically backed-up wirelessly.
- All-day battery life delivers up to 8 hours of reading, browsing the web, listening to music, and watching video.
“Fire HD combines an incredibly thin and light design with powerful performance to deliver the best entertainment experience available on a tablet,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “A beautiful widescreen HD display, fast quad-core processor, expandable storage, Fire OS 5, exclusive features, and the Amazon content ecosystem of more than 38 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, apps, and games.”
Engineered by Amazon—Designed for Entertainment
Thinnest Fire Tablets Ever and Incredibly Light
Amazon’s thinnest tablets ever at 7.7mm, the new Fire HD tablets are incredibly light—in fact, at 432 grams, Fire HD 10 is lighter than iPad Air—making them easy to hold for hours so you can watch movies, read books, and play games comfortably.Crisp and Vivid HD Display
Constructed using fully laminated HD IPS displays with over 1 million pixels, Fire HD offers vivid image quality with less glare, high luminance, and wide viewing angles. Fire HD 8’s widescreen 16:10 aspect ratio also offers 15% more HD video viewing area than the new iPad mini 4; Fire HD 10 offers 22% more HD video viewing area than the latest generation iPad Air. This means that rather than shrinking a movie to fit the screen, Fire HD presents a widescreen image so you can enjoy the full picture—as it was intended, without compromise.Powerful Processing Performance
Fire HD is powered by a MediaTek quad-core processor running at up to 1.5GHz—resulting in a fast and fluid UI, and HD videos and high frame-rate games that run smoothly.2x More Durable—Stands Up To Everyday Life
With a Gorilla Glass display and a design that is engineered for best-in-class durability, you don’t have to worry about Fire HD breaking. In fact, as measured in lab tumble tests, Fire HD is almost 2x more durable than the latest generation iPad Air.Exceptional Audio
Fire HD is custom-tuned for immersive, high quality sound—it features two stereo speakers with Dolby Audio, including 5.1 virtual surround sound so that you can listen to videos or music at full volume and still hear crisp, clean sound.More Storage
Fire HD now offers expandable storage via a microSD card slot for up to 128GB of additional storage, so you can access even more content, including apps, movies, music, and photos while offline. When combined with free, unlimited cloud storage for Amazon content and for your personal photos taken with Fire devices, you’ll never be without a favorite movie, game, or photo album.Colorful New Accessories
Fire HD offers a new protective cover available in six colors that can stand in both portrait and landscape orientations, starting at $39.99. Also available for Fire HD 10 is a protective Bluetooth keyboard case that stands in three angles and is designed to provide a natural typing experience with full-sized keys, an integrated track pad, and shortcut keys that provide single-click access to email, media controls, and volume. The Fire HD 10 Keyboard Case is $99.99 and is available for pre-order at www.amazon.com/Fire-HD-Keyboard.Introducing Fire OS 5 “Bellini”
Fire HD is powered by the newest version of Fire OS—Fire OS 5 “Bellini”—which introduces hundreds of new and updated features. Fire OS starts with Android Lollipop, and improves upon it by deeply integrating Amazon’s hardware, platform, software, content, and cloud. For developers, if an app runs on Android, it can run on Fire OS with little to no work.Updated User Interface
Fire OS 5 “Bellini” introduces an updated user interface that provides the best entertainment experience on a tablet, making it easy to access your favorite apps or discover new content. The new home screen includes dedicated content pages for books, games and apps, video, music, audiobooks, and periodicals—each page presents an engaging layout akin to the beautiful pages of a magazine and presents your recent content as well as personalized suggestions for new entertainment. If you subscribe to services like Prime, Kindle Unlimited, or Audible, you can easily discover new content that you can access at no additional cost.On Deck—Ensures You’ll Always Have Something Good to Watch
Have you ever forgotten to download a movie ahead of a flight? For Prime members, On Deck automatically keeps your Fire tablet current with popular Prime movies and TV shows, as well as Amazon Original Series, so you always have something good to watch. Importantly, On Deck only uses the available storage on your tablet, opportunistically in a special shadow mode. When you download something, On Deck automatically makes room for your selected content—there’s no hassle of needing to clear out space yourself. This feature will be available via a free, over-the-air Fire OS update in the coming months.Amazon Underground—With Apps That Are Actually Free
Many apps and games that are marked as “free” turn out not to be completely free. They use in-app payments to charge you for special items or to unlock features or levels. Fire HD tablet owners have access to a one-of-a-kind app store experience where over $10,000 in apps, games, and even in-app items are actually free. Experience titles from top developers, including Disney, Rovio Entertainment, Gameloft, Zeptolab, and Sega of America without ever having to pay for the app or in-app purchases.Best Tablet for Reading—Now Even Better with Word Runner
Fire HD offers a crisp HD display, Amazon-exclusive features like the Bookerly reading font and Immersion Reading for audiobooks, and innovative new reading enhancements being introduced with Fire OS 5 “Bellini.” Read Faster—one word at a time—with Word Runner, a new speed reading feature that brings each word to the center of the screen to where your eyes are already focused. Word Runner has Dynamic Pacing so it gradually builds to your preferred reading speed and algorithmically and automatically slows down for difficult words, punctuation, and paragraph breaks. If you miss something, just tap and hold the screen to activate the brake, which instantly pauses Word Runner and lets you easily scroll back and pick up wherever you’d like. See a video: www.amazon.com/wordrunner.Activity Center—More Tools for Parents
For parents with kids who have outgrown Amazon FreeTime but are not yet ready to be without parental controls, Activity Center provides an easy way for parents to see how their kids are spending time on their tablet. When Activity Center is enabled, parents can visit a customized, secure page on their smartphone, tablet, or computer to review how much time their kids spend playing games, watching videos, and reading. Parents can also choose to view browser history via Activity Center in order to understand what sites their kids are visiting on the Internet, or can look at which specific apps, books, or videos their kids accessed. Activity Center will be available via a free, over-the-air Fire OS update in the coming months.Share Even More with Family Library
Family Library now allows families in an Amazon Household to share Prime benefits, including Prime Video, Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, free 2-day shipping on millions of items, and many other benefits. Family Library links your Amazon account to that of your spouse or partner so you can easily share apps, games, audiobooks, books, and Prime Video content within your household without changing accounts. Family Library lets family members share their content while using a single Fire tablet with different profiles, or across multiple devices—including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, and Amazon Fire TV—as well as on all of the other most popular devices and platforms with the free Kindle, Audible, and Amazon Video apps.World-Class Customer Service—For Free
Mayday revolutionized customer service with video chat on Fire HDX. Mayday Screen Sharing now brings Mayday-powered tech support to Fire HD tablets, delivering 24×7, 365 days a year technical assistance—for free. When you call in to customer service by phone, the Amazon expert can share your screen—with your permission—to draw on your screen, talk you through how to do a task, or to do it for you.Best Tablets for Prime
The new Fire HD user interface is perfect for helping Prime members discover the best selection of digital content—available at no additional cost. Prime Video provides streaming access to tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes, including Entourage, Orphan Black, and Downton Abbey, and is the only U.S. online subscription service that enables offline viewing. Plus, get access to award-winning Amazon Original programming like Transparent and Tumble Leaf, as well as new shows coming this fall. With Prime Music, you can listen ad-free to over a million songs, and with the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, you can choose one book per month from more than 800,000 books to borrow for free with no due dates, including current and former best sellers. Included with Prime, you will also receive secure unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive for your entire photo collection.All the Content
In addition to the Prime content, Amazon offers access to over 38 million movies, TV shows, songs, apps, games, books, audiobooks, and magazines—including hundreds of thousands of exclusives:
- Over 300,000 apps and games in the Amazon Appstore, including the most popular titles like Facebook, Netflix, iHeartRadio, Twitter, Angry Birds Stella, Minecraft: Pocket Edition, and more.
- Amazon Video offers hundreds of thousands of titles to buy or rent, including new release movies such as The Divergent Series: Insurgent, The Longest Ride and Hot Pursuit, or the latest TV programming like The Astronaut Wives Club, Pretty Little Liars, How to Get Away With Murder, and many more.
- Millions of songs are available with Amazon Music and purchases are stored for free in the cloud for access anytime, anywhere.
- Hundreds of magazines and newspapers are available for a free trial subscription, including popular titles like People, Vogue, Better Homes & Gardens, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and many more.
- Millions of books, including hundreds of thousands of titles that are exclusive to the Kindle Store. Over a million titles are $2.99 or less, over two million are $9.99 or less.
- With Kindle Unlimited, enjoy unlimited reading of over 1 million books including Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the Wayward Pines trilogy, and the entire Harry Potter series, and unlimited listening to a selection of thousands of audiobooks for just $9.99 a month.
- Over 180,000 professionally-narrated audiobook titles from Audible, with free samples to listen to before buying.
- Amazon FreeTime Unlimited offers more than 10,000 books, videos, and educational apps and games that have been curated for age-appropriateness for kids—starting at $2.99 per month.
- Now you can watch the big game, breaking news, and more live with a subscription to Sling TV—which includes channels such as ESPN, CNN, TBS, HGTV, AMC, and more. Plus with apps like HBO NOW and SHOWTIME, customers no longer need a cable subscription to access their favorite TV shows and movies on Fire tablets.
All the Features Customers Expect from Amazon
Fire HD is not a gadget—it is a seamlessly integrated service that combines all of the features that customers love about Amazon, Prime, and Fire devices, including:
- Instant streaming with ASAP—No more waiting for movies and TV shows to buffer. ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) predicts which Amazon movies and TV episodes you want to watch and has them ready for you before you even hit play, so videos start instantly.
- Easily find out who that actor is—X-Ray for Movies and TV Shows is available directly on Fire HD—simply tap the display and get instant access to actor biographies in the scene, trivia, soundtracks, and more on tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes. X-Ray for Movies and TV Shows is exclusive to Amazon Video and powered by IMDb—the #1 movie website in the world.
- Simple to set-up and easy to use—Arrives pre-registered so you can simply turn it on and start enjoying your entertainment within minutes.
- Screen sharing—Tap the “fling” icon on your Fire tablet to send video and audio to your compatible big-screen TV using Second Screen.
- Personal photos and videos—Play slideshows and choose a favorite album for your home screen image. Photos or videos you take via phone or tablet can be automatically uploaded to Amazon Cloud Drive, making them accessible on all of your Fire devices, and on compatible iOS and Android devices.
- Whispersync—Amazon’s Whispersync technology saves and synchronizes your Amazon video, book, and music library across all Amazon devices. Start watching a movie on an iPhone or a Fire tablet, and pick up where you left off on Amazon Fire TV.
- Enjoy on hundreds of devices—Buy a movie, TV show, book, or song on Amazon once, and enjoy it everywhere—on hundreds of devices, including iOS, Android, and Fire OS devices.
- 1-Tap Archive—Automatically backs up your Amazon digital content in the cloud so you never need to worry about losing content.
- Amazon FreeTime—Available exclusively on Amazon devices, FreeTime provides innovative parental controls that encourage learning before play and that help manage screen time.
- Free month of Amazon Prime—Amazon continues to invest in bringing Prime members new movies, TV shows, songs, and books to enjoy at no additional cost. Prime members enjoy unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV episodes with Prime Video, and unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive. Eligible customers can get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime when they purchase a Fire HD tablet.
The Fire Family
Fire HD 8 is available for pre-order beginning today with 8GB or 16GB of memory starting at $149.99 at www.amazon.com/FireHD8 and comes in four fun color options: black, magenta, blue, and tangerine. Fire HD 8 starts shipping September 30. Fire HD 10 is also available for pre-order beginning today with 16GB or 32GB of memory starting at $229.99 at www.amazon.com/FireHD10. It is available in two color options: black starts shipping September 30, and white starts shipping in the coming weeks.
Customers can also purchase Fire HD protective covers starting at $39.99 and a protective Bluetooth keyboard case for Fire HD 10 for $99.99.
Amazon also today announced the all-new Fire tablet, Fire Kids Edition, and a new Amazon Fire TV. To read the press release about the all-new Fire visit www.amazon.com/fire-pr; to read about the new Fire Kids Edition, visit www.amazon.com/kids-edition-pr; to read about the all-new Amazon Fire TV, visit www.amazon.com/fire-tv-pr.
About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.
Contacts
Amazon.com, Inc.
Media Hotline, 206-266-7180
amazon-pr@amazon.com
www.amazon.com/pr
Come comment on this article: Amazon announces new line of Kindle Fire HD tablets with Fire OS 5
Amazon Debuts New Fire TV with 4K Video & Alexa Voice Assistant
Amazon today announced the follow-up to last year’s Fire TV streaming device, simply dubbed “The New Amazon Fire TV.” The new $99 box is getting a handful of new features, including 4K ultra HD video streaming, the addition of the company’s Alexa voice assistant into the operating system, and a processing boost of 75 percent over last year’s model.
The introduction of Alexa will allow customers to play their music, check on the score of a sporting event, and see how the weather is outside, all while using their voice. Speaking into the Fire TV remote will bring the voice assistant up — who made her debut in the Amazon Echo last fall — and she will eventually become more acclimated to each customer’s speech patterns, vocabulary, and personal preferences.
In addition to 4K ultra HD streaming, the company promises higher quality basic HD video for everyone who doesn’t have a television set that supports 4K settings. Amazon has also introduced expandable storage, allowing customers to increase the 8GB of on-device storage all the way up to 128GB for a variety of apps and games.
“The team has packed an incredible amount of technology and innovation into a tiny package,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “The new Fire TV includes 4K support, more processing power, Alexa integration, the largest selection, and exclusive features—for less than $100. The new Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote brings voice search and Alexa integration for less than $50. These are powerful devices at incredible prices.”
Concerning games specifically, the company also announced an entirely new Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition, which is essentially today’s newly announced Fire TV bundled alongside the new Fire TV Gaming Controller, a 32GB microSD card, and Shovel Knight and Disney’s Ducktales pre-installed. The new gaming controller includes voice commands and search like the traditional Fire TV remote, plus access to Alexa, up to 90 hours of battery life that use AA batteries, and an audio headphone jack.
With a launch date of October 5, both bundles of the new Fire TV can be pre-ordered beginning today, with the traditional Amazon Fire TV retailing at $99 and the Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition going for $139. The company also introduced a new bundle of the Fire TV Stick for $49 that now includes the voice remote, which will begin shipping on October 22.
Amazon’s $50 Fire tablet is available to pre-order in singles or six-packs
September is often the month that Amazon reveals new devices, and it’s certainly proving to be the case in 2015. It was only yesterday that Amazon’s rumoured $50 tablet was spotted being put through its paces on GFXBench, and now all of a sudden it’s official and simply called the Fire tablet. It’s priced at just $49.99 and you can even buy it in a six-pack. Join us after the break to see what this $50 Fire tablet has to offer.
As mentioned above, the Fire tablet can be purchased individually for just $49.99 each, or, if you need one for everyone in the family, you can buy a six-pack for just $250. Basically, it’s a buy-five-get-one-free offer. But let’s have a look at what the Fire tablet brings to the table before we too excited.
Specifications:
- Fire OS 5 Bellini
- 7-Inch IPS display with 1024 x 600 resolution and 171ppi
- Unspecified quad-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz (believed to be a MediaTek processor)
- 1GB RAM
- 8GB Internal storage
- MicroSD card support (up to 128GB)
- WiFi connectivity: Single antenna 802.11 b/g/n
- USB 2.0 charging port
- 3.5mm Audio jack
- VGA Front-facing camera
- 2MP Rear-facing camera
- Dimensions: 191 x 115 x 10.6mm
- Weight: 313 grams
That is not bad for $50. Not bad at all. And if you want to take the six-pack option and buy one for everyone, it’s even cheaper, coming in at around $41. It should be noted that the $50 tablet comes with sponsored screensavers, whereas the non-sponsored Fire tablet is fifteen bucks extra. Just enter the code ‘FIRE6PACK‘ at checkout to get the six-pack offer applied.
Readers in the UK will be slightly bemused to find out that the Fire tablet is priced at £49.99. The six-pack option runs to £250 while removing the sponsored screensaver will cost an extra £10 per device. Still, it’s a pretty decent offering for £50. To get the six-pack offer just enter the same ‘FIRE6PACK’ code at checkout.
The Fire tablet comes with On-device Mayday screen sharing, as well as Amazon’s Underground app, which offers over $10,000 of apps, games and in-app add-ons free-of-charge.
The Fire tablet is available to pre-order right now, with shipping scheduled to begin from September 30.
Full Press Release:
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon today introduced a groundbreaking new tablet for under $50. The new Fire tablet includes a quad-core processor, 7” IPS display, front- and rear-facing cameras, up to 128GB of expandable storage, exclusive Amazon features and services, and access to the world’s best content ecosystem—all for just $49.99. Customers can also choose to buy Fire as a six-pack for less than $250.
“Today, we’re taking another step in our mission to deliver premium products at non-premium prices”
“Today, we’re taking another step in our mission to deliver premium products at non-premium prices,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “The all-new Fire features a quad-core processor, is incredibly durable, and is backed by the Amazon content ecosystem, the new Amazon Underground, and Amazon customer service with Mayday Screen Sharing. Fire sets a new bar for what customers should expect from a low cost tablet.”
Fire delivers a world-class entertainment experience. With access to over 38 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, apps, and games, as well as exclusive features like X-Ray, ASAP, and Second Screen, Fire is great for watching movies, playing games, reading books, listening to music, and more. With expandable storage via MicroSD card and features like On Deck you’ll never worry about running out of entertainment, whether jumping on a plane or heading out on a family road trip.
Fire—High Quality Tablet, Affordable Price
For just $49.99, the new Fire tablet includes:
- Best display of any tablet in its price class—Unlike other low-cost tablets that use TN displays, Fire’s 7” IPS display offers a great viewing experience with vivid and accurate color reproduction that can be seen at all angles.
- Quad-core 1.3 GHz processor—2x more processing power than Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite at less than half the price; quickly and easily switch between apps, stream movies, and browse the web without waiting for your tablet to catch up.
- Durability—As measured in tumble tests, Fire is almost 2x more durable than the latest generation iPad Air.
- Front- and rear-facing cameras—Video chat with friends and family with the front-facing camera; take and share photos, and save them for later with free, unlimited cloud storage for all photos taken on Fire devices.
- Up to 128GB of expandable storage via microSD—Enjoy even more videos, music, games, and photos while offline.
- All-day battery life—Delivers up to 7 hours of reading, browsing the web, listening to music, and watching video.
- Fire OS 5 “Bellini”—Includes an updated user interface that replicates the look and feel of a magazine, making browsing and searching for your content easier than ever—what you want is just one tap away; plus, Fire OS 5 includes hundreds of new and upgraded features and platform updates, plus Amazon-exclusive services.
- Amazon Underground—A one-of-a-kind app store experience where over $10,000 in apps, games and even in-app items are actually free—including extra lives, unlocked levels, unlimited add-on packs, and more.
- Have you ever forgotten to download a movie ahead of a flight? For Prime members, On Deck automatically keeps your Fire tablet current with popular Prime movies and TV shows, as well as Amazon Original Series, so you always have something good to watch. Importantly, On Deck only uses the available storage on your tablet, opportunistically in a special shadow mode. When you download something, On Deck automatically makes room for your selected content—there’s no hassle of needing to clear out space yourself. This feature will be available via a free, over-the-air Fire OS update in the coming months.
- Activity Center—For parents whose kids have outgrown Amazon FreeTime, Activity Center provides an easy way for them to see how their kids are spending time on their Fire tablet—from how much time they spend playing games, to which websites they visit. Activity Center will be available via a free, over-the-air Fire OS update in the coming months.
- World-class customer service and tech support—Mayday Screen Sharing lets an Amazon expert guide you remotely through any feature on your screen, available 24×7, 365 days a year—for free.
- Amazon-exclusive features—ASAP, X-Ray, Second Screen, Amazon FreeTime, Family Library, Word Runner, and more.
- World’s best content ecosystem—Access to over 38 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, magazines, apps, and games—with free, unlimited cloud storage for all Amazon content.
Also available for Fire are new accessories, including a protective cover available in five colors—black, blue, orange, green, and purple—that can stand in both landscape and portrait orientations, for $24.99.
The Fire Family
Fire is $49.99, and will start shipping on September 30—order at www.amazon.com/fire. Fire is also available as a buy five, get one free six-pack for $249.95.In addition to Fire, Amazon also today introduced the new Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 tablets, Fire Kids Edition tablet, and the all-new Amazon Fire TV. To read the press release about the new Fire HD tablets, visit www.amazon.com/fire-hd-pr. To read about the new Fire Kids Edition, visitwww.amazon.com/kids-edition-pr. To read about the new Fire TV, visit www.amazon.com/fire-tv-pr.
About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.
Come comment on this article: Amazon’s $50 Fire tablet is available to pre-order in singles or six-packs
AIVAnet 