Amazon unveils Kindle Fire tablet for $199

In Cnet

Amazon unveiled the Kindle Fire, anAndroid-poweredtablet that acts more like a color e-reader on steroids and will retail for $199.

The Amazon Kindle Fire.

(Credit: Amazon via Bloomberg)

"We're building premium products at non-premium prices," said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos during the presentation.

The Kindle Fire will be available on November 15 and is available for preorder now. Bloomberg earlier reported the $199 price point and details on the device.

The Kindle Fire marks Amazon's first foray into the tablet market, which has so far been dominated byApple's iPad. But with its low price--most tablets retail for around $500--and the established Kindle brand, analysts believe Amazon's product could represent the first legitimate competitor in an area where many other high-end Android tablets have missed the mark.

"We believe that the launch of an Amazon tablet will significantly boost the tablet market and inject a much needed competitor to Apple's iPad," Adam Leach, an analyst at research firm Ovum, said ahead of the event.

The specifications, however, are lower than other comparable high-end tablets. While it has a dual-core processor, it lacks many of the other typical features found in a tablet, such as a camera, microphone, and 3G wireless access. It also only has 8 gigabytes of storage space. The device is more intended to compete with Barnes & Noble's Nook Color, which is essentially a stripped down Android tablet.

The Kindle Fire will also use an older version of Android intended for smartphones, but Amazon remade the user interface, giving it a completely different feel from rival tablets. It can also play games and can surf the Internet using its own custom Amazon Silk browser that uses a combination of cached content on the device and on the Web. The company claims it can predict your browsing habits and preload favorite websites for faster browsing.

Bezos said that most of the content is backed up in the cloud and that the device features wireless synching. The company's Whispersync technology, which delivers digital books to the Kindle, will also work with movies and television shows.

The Kindle Fire comes with a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime, the company's premium service that offers free two-day shipping and streaming video. The service normally costs $79 a year.

Amazon has slowly been building up its online content, adding new shows and movies. Amazon recently signed a new licensing deal with 20th Century Fox to bring in its library of shows and movies for streaming.

Amazon has also reportedly signed agreements with several publishers, including Conde Nast, Hearst, and Meredith, to have digital versions of magazines ready at launch.

Amazon is attempting to go where other tablet makers have failed. The past few months have seen a number of companies stumble out of the gate with their supposed iPad-killer. Hewlett-Packard scrapped its WebOS hardware business after the lackluster sale of the TouchPad, only to revive interest by holding a fire sale at $99 a unit. Research In Motion flopped badly with its PlayBook and is similarly trying to spark sales through a number of discount programs with its retail partners. Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha acknowledged initials problems selling its Xoom tablet when it was priced higher than the iPad.

As an e-reader, the Kindle has been instrumental in driving sales of digital books for Amazon and bringing that category of device into the mainstream despite earlier efforts by Sony. The catalyst for its success has been its low-powered e-ink technology, which enables users to read the device from anywhere, as well as the ease in which a person can buy a digital book over the air.

Another smart move: Amazon's decision to create apps on other devices such as the iPad and Android phones, allowing people to read their books on any device but still stick with the Kindle library.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20112714-94/amazon-unveils-kindle-fire-tablet-for-$199/#ixzz1ZQSi7jia

Amazon Kindle Fire 2 set for January 2012 release?

In techradar

Amazon may be yet to announce its tablet product, the Amazon Kindle Fire, but already the rumour mill has started cranking out tit bits about its successor and a possible release date of January 2012.

A source talking to Gdgt has claimed that the second generation Kindle Tablet will be released in the new year, with today's announcement merely a stop-gap product to mop up all those early-adopting Christmas shoppers.

The first tablet is set to be a white-labelled device taken directly from a third-party manufacturer, whereas the Kindle Fire 2 "seems to be the device Amazon really believes in," according to Gdgt guru Ryan Block.

Fire in the hole

This messed up cycle is all down to a delay to the tablet, apparently; the second version of the Fire was always intended to land in early 2012, but the first version should have been out earlier this year.

Although it'll be really annoying for Fire 1 buyers if a quick upgrade comes to pass, but it won't be entirely surprising if Amazon's Kindle track record is anything to go by – new generations of the ereader have always followed hot on the heels of their predecessors.

Amazon tablet announcement pegged for 28 September?

In Techradar

Amazon looks set to unveil its first foray into the tablet market this week, with a press conference pencilled in for Wednesday that's likely to include an Amazon tablet announcement.

There's been much rumour and speculation that the e-shopping site is set to reveal a rival to the iPad, which will clock in at a much cheaper price and run Android.

It is reported that the Amazon tablet is likely to have a 7-inch screen and link into Amazon's many web properties, including its Kindle service and the Amazon App Store.

Tablet talk

Because of this, it is unlikely that an Amazon tablet UK release date will be announced. For a start, we still don't have access to the App Store – although a loophole last week saw the store open up to non-US customers.

There have been plenty of rivals to the Apple iPad, including the Samsung Galaxy Tab and more recently the Sony Tablet S, but if Amazon can deliver on the price point and monopolise on its already decent web store, then we could have a proper tablet fight on our hands come Christmas.

There's been too many rumours not to make an announcement this week a dead cert.