[Eug]

That's some aggressive pricing.

7" new Kindle Fire - $159

7" Kindle Fire HD - $199

8.9" Kindle Fire HD - $299

8.9" Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE - $499

Also, it looks like Amazon timed its production runs perfectly. The old Kindle Fire is sold out, and the new 7" models ship next week.

They also get multiple user accounts. That's what both iOS and Android proper need.

[Eug]

Amazon press release

7" model is 1280x800, which is a very good rez for this size.

IPS and Gorilla glass, too.

[mattyb]

9" screen but the border must be an inch all around. Fugly.

Price point is good, but I don't want everything in the cloud. Some of my mates with the new iPad have said that 32G is not enough.

[Eug]

Looks fine to me:



Yeah the bezel is bigger than the iPad, but it's not ugly IMO. My main complaint is its lack of volume buttons. Also, the weight at 567 g is significantly less than the iPad (652 g), although ideally I think is should be even lighter, which I suppose could be accomplished if it had a smaller bezel.

As for not wanting everything in the cloud, the best solution to that is to get a tablet with a microSD port. 32 GB microSD cards go for $20 these days. I personally went the less common route of unlocking and rooting my (microSD-slotless) tablet to allow USB flash drive attachments, and I just bought a small 64 GB USB drive for it, for $35.



[EDIT]

I just did the calculations:

The Kindle Fire HD 8.9" is 240 x 160 x 8.8 mm.
The 16:10 screen at 8.9" would be 192 x 120 mm. BTW, curiously, that works out to exactly 10 pixels per mm.

That means the bezels are likely 24 mm (0.95") and 20 mm (0.79") respectively.

[/EDIT]

[ort888]

Have they improved the software? That's the Fire's big weakness.

This is some aggressive pricing though. I like it. Puts a "fire" under everyone's ass.

I wish I could get that $50 per year data plan on an iPad. I don't use it all the time so 250 mbs would be great for me.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by ort888 

Have they improved the software? That's the Fire's big weakness.
This is some aggressive pricing though. I like it. Puts a "fire" under everyone's ass.
I wish I could get that $50 per year data plan on an iPad. I don't use it all the time so 250 mbs would be great for me.

This is my biggest complaint, too. The Fire is fine for technophobes who want to read books, surf the web, and maybe play some casual games, but it's too limited for people who want real functionality out of the device.

That said, even the 4G LTE model is a pretty decent price for the specs, especially when you factor in the $50/year service plan - that's just over $4 a month, which blows the pants off the iPad's 3G plans.

Unfortunately, the service plan only provides for 250MB/mo in bandwidth. That's not very much at all if you're doing anything beyond the most basic tasks - it's definitely useless if you plan on doing any media streaming, netflix, etc...

[Eug]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

That said, even the 4G LTE model is a pretty decent price for the specs, especially when you factor in the $50/year service plan - that's just over $4 a month, which blows the pants off the iPad's 3G plans.

Unfortunately, the service plan only provides for 250MB/mo in bandwidth. That's not very much at all if you're doing anything beyond the most basic tasks - it's definitely useless if you plan on doing any media streaming, netflix, etc...

Depends on how much WiFi you have access to.

I'm a geek and I use between 200 MB and 1.5 GB per month, with the latter being only when I need to tether my laptop. 250 MB is enough for many users who have WiFi at home and at work.

[mduell]

Wow. Apple has been telling us how important resolution is for a year and Amazon just took a great shot at the rumored iPad mini:

The Fire HD 7 is 29% higher resolution than the rumored iPad mini, giving it 65% more pixels in every square inch of the display.

The Fire HD 8.9" is within 6% of the retina iPad: 248ppi vs 264ppi.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Wow. Apple has been telling us how important resolution is for a year and Amazon just took a great shot at the rumored iPad mini:
The Fire HD 7 is 29% higher resolution than the rumored iPad mini, giving it 65% more pixels in every square inch of the display.

Plus it's a true 1920x1200 screen, not a screen doubled (quadrupled) 1024x768 screen. Not sure if that makes much real-world difference, but it's a difference nonetheless.

The Fire HD 8.9" is within 6% of the retina iPad: 248ppi vs 264ppi.

See calculations above. It's a 192x120 mm screen, which works out to 10 ppmm or 254 ppi, less than a 4% difference.

Unfortunately, people say the OS is a bit laggy on that machine, which isn't surprising because it's running 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich, not 4.1 Jelly Bean.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Unfortunately, people say the OS is a bit laggy on that machine, which isn't surprising because it's running 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich, not 4.1 Jelly Bean.

I suspect Amazon will release a 4.1 update as soon as they can. IIRC 4.1 is not yet available for any device other than the N7.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

I suspect Amazon will release a 4.1 update as soon as they can. IIRC 4.1 is not yet available for any device other than the N7.

4.1 is on several devices now.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Samsung Nexus S
Motorola Xoom
Asus Transformer Pad
Others?

[Phileas]

A great consumption device at a great price.

While I use my iPad for reading, browsing etc, at least 50% of my time is spent creating.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by Eug 

4.1 is on several devices now.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Samsung Nexus S
Motorola Xoom
Asus Transformer Pad
Others?

Dammit.

I hate being wrong.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by Phileas 

A great consumption device at a great price.
While I use my iPad for reading, browsing etc, at least 50% of my time is spent creating.

Creating what? Text? Drawing? Photo editting? Audio editing? Video editing?

[Shaddim]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

9" screen but the border must be an inch all around. Fugly.

My first thought too, eww.

[ajprice]

They were going to be locked into being ad supported, now you can remove this for another $15 http://m.engadget.com/2012/09/08/amazon-has-change-of-heart-will-allow-opt-out-of-kindle-fire-hd-ads/

Still wouldn't get one.

[Salty]

i'm impressed Amazon managed to come out with some pretty impressive specs at a break even price. The nice part is this'll put even more pressure on Apple to deliver with their new devices.

[Shaddim]

The 10k pound elephant in the room is still Amazon's closed system, their walled garden makes Apple's look like a speed bump.

[Eug]

Engadget gives the 7 inch Kindle Fire HD a very good review.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/11/amazon-kindle-fire-hd-review-7-inch/