Regular dispatches from AccountingWEB.co.uk's Tech Team and gadget devotees including executive peripherals editor Nigel Harris and Accountants Power Tools publisher Kevin Salter.
New Amazon Kindle to set tablet world on Fire
The patent war that’s enveloped the tablet PC market in recent months has taken a backseat this week, as online marketplace Amazon finally lifted the lid on its long-rumoured tablet device, the Kindle Fire.
The company launched its first tablet among a small plethora of new Kindle e-books at an event in New York City, but despite the joint unveiling of touch-based and entry-level Kindles there was little doubt the Fire was the star of the show.
Here’s what the Kindle Fire will have on offer:
- Display: 7" multi-touch display, 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, 16 million colours
- Size: 19cm x 12cm x 1.1cm
- Weight: 413 grams
- Storage: 8GB
- Free cloud storage for all Amazon content
- Battery Life: Up to 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback, with wireless off
- Wi-Fi Connectivity
- USB Port USB 2.0 (micro-B connector)
- Audio 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, top-mounted stereo speakers.
- Content Formats Supported: Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8.
The Kindle Fire also comes with one month free access to Amazon Prime.
Amazon’s tablet naturally stokes the question of whether the Fire is an ‘iPad-killer’. Judging by the technical specifications of the device, its software offerings, and its very attractive price point (US$199, half the cost of the entry-level iPad) the Kindle Fire at the very least appears to be robust and solid enough to provide a platform for Amazon to build on in the future.
There’s no word on when the Kindle Fire will arrive here in Blighty (the device is set to hit Stateside on 15 November). Amazon.co.uk is currently only pitching its new entry-level Kindle e-book on site, so it’s unclear if the Fire will make it to this side of the Atlantic in time for Christmas.
Comments
No 3G - for now! 1 thanks
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Thu, 29/09/2011 - 16:29 |
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Hi both,
Thanks for your comments on the Kindle Fire. Just to clarify, the 1st generation Fire does not feature 3G functionality, though is does have Amazon's WhisperSync so it bookmarks your page and video. This will enable you to continue viewing and reading the media from where you left off, regardless of which Kindle-enabled device (PC, Mac, Android, Kindle, etc) you use.
There are suggestions a 2nd gen Kindle Fire is coming in the first couple of quarters next year, which I won't be surprised to here will be the first model of Fire to leave the US and arrive on our shores. The questions is, at what price? $199 = £128, but with the Kindle Keyboard retailing for about £149, I am speculating the Fire will be sold for around £179-£189 here in Blighty.
Best,
Jon
Contributing Editor
AccountingWEB.co.uk
Colour at last 1 thanks
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Fri, 30/09/2011 - 13:42 |
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The colour screen will really sell these. I have clients in publishing who are getting into e-books, but glossy photo books just don't work on the old Kindles, so their main focus has been on Apple iBooks. This now opens up the Kindle for all types of books and magazines. I expect this to be BIG - it just remains to be seen if Amazon can do a deal on digital newspaper and mag subscriptions!
Correction and I think it's like a new category
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Fri, 30/09/2011 - 19:56 |
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Hi chatman
Actually the first iPad was announced with both WiFi and WiFi + 3G options. The WiFi models were available first, and the 3G models followed about 3 or 4 weeks afterwards, both in April 2010 in the US.
I think Amazon have done a very smart thing with the Kindle Fire, and almost created a new category of "consumption only, low cost" tablet. It's kind of a flanking move on Apple and I reckon it will be a huge success. They'll sell loads, and it will hardly impact Apple sales, although it will be very damaging to the likes of Samsung, HTC and Motorola. In their whole hour long announcement Android wasn't even mentioned.... what Kindle Fire actually does and their Amazon ecosystem is much more important than the underlying technology.
David Terrar
Featured bloggers
This looks like a fantastic
This looks like a fantastic piece of kit for the price. The only problem I can see (from the spec in the OP) is that there isn't 3G connectivity.