Tablets are hot right now. Google just ramped up the 7″ market with the New Nexus 7, offering up one of the most powerful small form factor slates at a market disrupting price. The only game in town right now for that kind of price competition is Amazon, and they’re not sitting idly by.
Dropping the bomb quietly tonight, Amazon took the wraps off their refreshed Kindle Fires. The new HDX line of 7″ and 8.9″ tablets now feature higher resolution screens and faster processors. Featuring a completely redesigned chassis built out of magnesium and a molded glass-nylon alloy, the new tablets have shed a significant amount of weight. The new 8.9″ Kindle weighs in at only 13.2 ounces.
On board now are Qualcomm 800 series CPUs, basically the peak of mobile processing at the moment, and backed up by 2GB of RAM. Storage options now include 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. The 7″ tablet is sporting a 1080p screen while the 8.9″ moves up to a 2560×1600 resolution display. To my knowledge, that’s the smallest screen yet to feature that high a resolution, handily topping the iPad’s Retina screen for pixel density.
Amazon is claiming 12 hours of run time, and there are 4G LTE versions for AT&T and Verizon. Pricing is super competitive. The 7″ Fire HDX starts at $229 and the 8.9″ starts at $379. The older Kindle Fire will remain as a low cost option starting at $139 for the 7″ and $269 for the 8.9″.
Also on tap is a new “Origami” case which looks pretty spiffy.
Pretty exciting stuff for the Kindle ecosystem.
Full press release (and a few more pics) after the jump, or you could just head directly to Amazon and push the button on a pre-order.
Continue reading “Amazon heats up the Tablet Market with Kindle Fire HDX”