To paraphrase Robert Duvall in the 1979 classic Apocalypse Now: “We love the smell of Kindle Fire in the morning.” Yes, Amazon’s seven-inch tablet is real, and it’s cheaper than even the analysts had predicted -- and its arrival has further pushed down the price of the standard Kindle, which is now a mere $79.
Bloomberg got the jump on Amazon’s announcement in New York City on Wednesday morning by confirming the e-tailer’s Kindle Fire, a seven-inch Android-based tablet that will sell for a mere $199. That price also includes a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, the company’s $79 per year service which provides free two-day shipping as well as over 11,000 movie and TV show titles (that number includes the recently enlisted FOX, which will kick in this fall).
At its heart, Kindle Fire is simply seven-inch tablet running Google’s Android operating system, but Amazon claims to have “painted over the rough surfaces” with a “fresh and easy-to-use interface and tied the device closely to its own large and growing content library of movies, magazines and music,” Bloomberg reports. Coupled with a spectacularly low price, Amazon’s tablet could be the first real contender to Apple’s own iPad, which has handily swatted aside all competition prior to now.
Amazon was able to keep the price at $199 by losing some of the typical tablet amenities, such as cameras and microphones. While the Kindle Fire includes Wi-Fi connectivity, there’s no 3G data on board which has been a staple of the traditional Kindle e-readers.
Speaking of the classic Kindle, Amazon has a second surprise for book lovers on Wednesday with the announcement of the $99 Kindle Touch, a touchscreen-based model of the E-Ink model. A Kindle Touch 3G model will also be available for $149, which works in 100 countries with no annual contract. Preorders begin today and the Kindle Touch model ships on November 21.
Last but not least, Amazon announced a $79 version of the standard Kindle with buttons but no touchscreen or keyboard, smaller and lighter than the Kindle 3 which begins shipping today.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
(Image courtesy of Bloomberg)
jack jack jack
September 29, 2011 at 3:49pm
I am especially interested in the $80 kindle, and I asked for it for my birthday
mgajhar
September 28, 2011 at 4:45pm
I suppose Apple will be interested to see how a stripped down iPad Lite will fare in the marketplace. But as an enthusiastic iPad user, its limitations would frustrate the hell out of me. I suspect there will be a market for those who find the price of even the $499 iPad prohibitive and that's a sort of market democracy, I guess. Still, I would rather save my money to buy all the bells and whistles than settle for second best. At most, the Kindle Fire (why "fire"?) is second best, or less. Yes, Steve, you had me at "one more thing"...
Rumple
September 28, 2011 at 12:15pm
This will be a massive hit. I will stick with my iPad, but this is great news. This will make apple step up there game. Keep them on there toes. You got no where to go but down when your at the top.
MacMike
September 28, 2011 at 10:49am
This is an underpowered, underwhelming piece of technology. They're priced so low because otherwise they'll be shelf warmers in Amazon's warehouse. Pretty soon they'll be offering these things free to anyone that opens a savings account just like they used to do with toasters.
CCardarelli
September 28, 2011 at 8:17am
As unthrilled as I am, that's actually priced appropriately.
