Amazon has thrown down the gauntlet in the tablet market and revealed a range of new devices including a high definition Kindle Fire and “Paperwhite” ereaders.
The latest Kindle Fire device has an 8.9-inch full high definition screen with a resolution of 1900 x 1200 and 254 ppi (pixels per inch) and anti-glare technology.
Kindle’s new “paperwhite” ereaders have an all-new higher resolution, higher contrast screen with a built-in light and is available in 3G and wi-fi versions.
Kindle Fire is powered by a 1.5Ghz dual core processor and 3D graphics processor.
The new Kindle Fire HD is just 8.8mm thick and weighs 575g.
On the connectivity side the Fire is available in a 4G or wi-fi version to allow easy access to the huge amount of content – movies, TV shows, music, books, audiobooks, apps – from the Amazon store.
Even the wi-fi works faster than ever before thanks to a dual antenna, dual band set-up which delivers a higher capacity and more reliable connection.
The device has also built-in support for Facebook, Twitter, Gmail along with Exchange email, contacts and calendar.
There are three new Kindle Fire models – the 8.9-inch HD 4G/LTE 32GB ($US499) 64GB ($US599), the 8.9-inch HD wi-fi 16GB ($US299) 32GB ($369) and the 7-inch HD wi-fi 16GB ($US199) 32GB ($US249).
The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD devices will be available from November 20 while the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD will be released on September 14.
The 7-inch Kindle Fire has also been updated with a faster processor and a new user interface will be priced at $159 when it ships on September 14.
The Kindle Paperwhite ereaders have the same sized 6-inch touchscreen as its predecessor but it now has a whiter hue but with 62 per cent more pixels and 25 per cent better contrast so text looks sharp and clear.
But one of the biggest changes is the new patented built-in light which guides the light down to the surface of the e-ink display using a nano imprinted light guide and not outwards towards your eyes like a backlit display.
This means a reader can easily read the display in the dark without lighting up half the room and disturbing their partner if they are reading in bed.
And, of course, it’s still easy to read even in bright sunlight through the Kindle’s matte screen that reflects light just like real paper.
The new Kindle Paperwhite ereaders are priced at $US199 for the 3G version and $US139 for the wi-fi only model and will be available to purchase from October 1.
They can be pre-ordered from the Amazon website.
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