The long awaited announcement is finally here. Amazon has announced a brand new line of tablets in a press conference today.
Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, came out on the stage and started to talk about when they first started creating the Kindle they were looking to re-invent the book. I would say they have done an excellent job doing this. He then mentioned that they have continued to improve on the Kindle service since that day.
The Amazon Kindle Touch Announcement
First up in the announcement was the Kindle Touch. This is a new e-ink device that will have an approximately 7 inch screen. This device will use an infrared touch system, so it doesn’t take away from the e-ink display. It will also feature X-Ray, which will let you tap a word and pull up a Wikipedia article about it.
When you download a book on the Touch, it will download a side article with some encyclopedic information already included so you can look up various items without access to the internet. The cost for this device is $99. There is also the Kindle Touch 3G, which is the same but with the added 3G service for $149.
See more detailed coverage of the Kindle Touch here.
The New Kindle
Also announced was an entry level Kindle, that is not touch capable, but has buttons at the bottom for navigation. This device will only be $79, and will be more like the current Kindle’s out today. New features include:
- 30% lighter, less than 6 ounces
- 18% smaller body, same 6″ screen size – Fits in your pocket
- Most advanced E Ink display, reads like paper
- Built in Wi-Fi – Get books in 60 seconds
- Massive book selection, over 800,000 titles are $9.99 or less
- New – Borrow Kindle books from your public library
The New Kindle Fire
Finally they announced the Kindle Fire, which is a 7 inch Android based tablet. The Fire will be sold for a shockingly low price of $199! Check out our article on the Kindle Fire for more information about that specific device.
Included in the Fire is a brand new web browser called Amazon Silk. Amazon didn’t want to just compete in the tablet space, they wanted to innovate. If what they are saying about the Silk browser is true, they will have done their job for sure.
With Silk, Amazon is trying to make mobile Web browsing faster by using Amazon’s web servers and the cloud to do some of the heavy load of the browser on the tablet. Freeing up the tablet’s bandwidth and processor to serve up the final bits for the complete website. The cooperative nature of this new browser will allow tablets to serve up even extremely complicated websites within seconds.
Amazon definitely met, and exceeded, expectations today with their announcements. If anything can be gleaned from the HP TouchPad Fire sales, is that there are a LOT of people that want a tablet for a cheaper price. Amazon is hitting this market at exactly the right time, and I believe they will be extremely successful with their new line up of products.
