Amazon unveils the new Kindle Fire HDX tablets
Amazon has finally unveiled their new set of tablets. There are two to choose from – the 7.9-inch and 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDX tablets – and these are the follows-ups from the 2012 Kindle Fire HD’s. Both tablets are the first to have Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 chips clocked at 2.2Ghz, and if anyone remembers at the CES 2012 Keynote, these chips can power 4K HD video to mobile devices.
Specs:
. 1920×1200, 323ppi (7.9-inch model)
. 2560×1600 Gorilla glass display, 339 ppi (8.9inch model)
. 2.2Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU
. 2GB of RAM
. Front facing camera (7-inch model unknown of size)
. Front facing camera (8.9-inch model 8MP)
. No backside camera
. OS 3.0 “Mojito”
. LTE models on Verizon and At&t, additional $100 over Wi-Fi models
Mayday feature:
Amazon has added a new feature to the OS which can be found in the quick settings menu. The Mayday button is used to call upon live Amazon tech support that can guide a user by drawing on the tablets screen. This allows the tech support rep to show the users how to perform tasks or any functions on the device. The button can be accessed 24/7, 365 days a year, and the company claims to aim for a 15 second response time.
Pricing and release dates:
Amazon states that the 7.9-inch model will be on pre-order today and will ship out on October 18th. This model comes with “Specials Offers” that displays ads on the devices lock-screen and will be priced at $229 for the 16GB model, $269 for 32GB, and $309 for 64GB model.
The 8.9-inch HDX is also on pre-order today and will be shipped out on November 7th. Prices start at $379 for 16GB, $429 for 32GB, and $479 for the 64GB model. This model will also have the “Specials offer” display ads. If you want to avoid the Specials offer ads, the customer will need to pay an extra $15 on either model.
As we mentioned earlier, there will be 4G LTE models but they will cost a little extra.
Battery life:
Even though these new tablets have powerful chipsets, Amazon promised that both HDX tablets will get roughly about 11 hours of use per charge. The HDX tablet can detect if you are reading and so the tablet switches to a low-powered processing mode that can get you 17 hours of use according to Amazon. This does not apply to magazine reading though.
OS 3.0:
Dubbed Fire OS 3.0 “Mojito”, the software already includes the new Mayday button as well as X-Ray for music, device messaging for communicating to other Kindle Fire owners, enhanced email support, better touch responsiveness, and in-app purchasing. The new OS also includes native Android app compatibility. This means that regular Android apps can run on OS 3.0 with minimal effort. Support for HTML5 apps are also part of the new OS.
Final thoughts:
We covered specs, price, OS, and battery life. Since Amazon seems to be hanging on tight in the tablet game, we wonder if this will be good competition for any other mid-range tablet out now. One eye sore we noticed was that customers would need to pay an additional $15 dollars to opt out of the “Special offers” ads.
We are pretty happy with Amazons new additions, we love the new specs, and no other tablet out now is rocking the new 800 Snapdragon chip.
What do you guys think?
Would you consider buying one now that it has a new SoC?
Does LTE on a tablet help you make a decision ?
