Whilst Amazon may be one of the biggest online commerce sites in the world with a lot of spending power, they’ve still got a long way to go before they can capture a decently sized market space with their own hardware lineup. However, they are still putting effort in, and today Amazon has released four new devices to refresh their hardware brand, including two new Amazon Kindles and two new Fire tablets.
The two new Amazon Kindles are priced at $79 and $119 – the first device, simply dubbed the Kindle, is an upgrade from the original Amazon E-reader, and comes with a new touch screen display, increased performance thanks to new hardware, and new software features.
The $119 Kindle Voyage pretty much offers the same package as the standard device, however it has a better screen out of the two new Amazon kindles thanks to it’s bright paper-white 300PPI display.
As for new tablets, Amazon has announced a brand new $100 entry level device, and a $379 top end 8.9 incher. The $100 device is Amazon’s new Fire HD, and it comes with a quad core processor, of which two cores are 1.5GHz and the other two are oddly 1.2GHz. Other specs include 1GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB internal storage and either a 6 inch 252ppi display or a 7 inch 216PPI display for an increased price.
The larger Amazon tablet, which has been dubbed the Fire HDX, includes improved specs. For $379, buyers can bag an 8.9 inch device with a Snapdragon 801 chipset and 2GB of RAM, so the device certainly has enough oomph to deal with whatever Fire OS can throw at it. I personally think this tablet is a nice buy, but it’s a shame as the HDX does not have a larger variant.
Amazon have also provided a sturdier kids version of the Fire HD that can come in 6 inch and 7 inch versions – both variants have the same specs as the original Fire HD, although with added parental control features, extended warranty and an increased price range.
I think the new Amazon kindles are a nice addition to the family, and the HD and HDX tablets offer a great entry level selection for new buyers – I’m sure hosting these two devices on the front page will bring in a great number of sales over the holiday period, but it’s almost a shame Amazon don’t offer higher end devices. However, if you’re looking for a brand new budget tablet, I think the new Fire range could appeal to you.
