Sep 28 2011
New Kindles: Basic Kindle, Kindle Touch, and Kindle Fire
Amazon held its press conference today to launch a new line of Kindles.
Kindle Touch 3G $189/$149
The $149 is with special offers that appear as screensavers.
- Free 3G wireless, no annual contracts or monthly fees. Learn more
- Download books anywhere, no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots
- 3G wireless works globally
- Most-advanced E Ink display, now with multi-touch
- New sleek design – 8% lighter, 11% smaller, holds 3,000 books
- Text-to-speech, plus audio books and mp3s
- Massive book selection, over 800,000 titles are $9.99 or less
- New – Borrow Kindle books from your public library
preorder today, delivery on Nov. 21
Kindle Touch WIFI $139/$99
The $99 is with special offers that appear as screensavers.
- Most-advanced E Ink display, now with multi-touch
- New sleek design – 8% lighter, 11% smaller, holds 3,000 books
- Text-to-speech, plus audio books and mp3s
- Built in Wi-Fi – Get books in 60 seconds
- Massive book selection, over 800,000 titles are $9.99 or less
- New – Borrow Kindle books from your public library
preorder today
Kindle Basic $109/$79
The $79 is with special offers that appear as screensavers.
- The all-new Kindle – Lighter, smaller, faster
- 30% lighter, less than 6 ounces
- 18% smaller body, same 6″ screen size – Fits in your pocket
- Most advanced E Ink display, reads like paper
- Built in Wi-Fi – Get books in 60 seconds
- Massive book selection, over 800,000 titles are $9.99 or less
- New – Borrow Kindle books from your public library
Kindle Fire, $199
- 7″ multi-touch display with IPS (in-plane switching) technology and anti-reflective treatment, 1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi, 16 million colors.
- Size (in inches) 7.5″ x 4.7″ x 0.45″ (190 mm x 120 mm x 11.4 mm).
- Weight 14.6 ounces (413 grams).
- On-device Storage 8GB internal. That’s enough for 80 apps, plus either 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books.
- Cloud Storage 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. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as web browsing and downloading content.
- Charge Time Fully charges in approximately 4 hours via included U.S. power adapter. Also supports charging from your computer via USB.
- Wi-Fi Connectivity Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or 802.1X standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks.
- USB Port USB 2.0 (micro-B connector)
- Audio 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, top-mounted stereo speakers.
- Supported Formats: 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.
Send to Kindle
Sep 28, 2011 @ 10:25:58
The Kindle Fire doesn’t support EPUB? Darn…
Sep 28, 2011 @ 10:34:27
If any of the Kindles supported ePub, I’d move from Sony….but no.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 10:44:43
@LG: I’m not certain. Amazon Fire is supposed to access the Amazon Appstore. In the Amazon appstore are the Kobo and Aldiko apps, both of which support DRM’ed epubs.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 11:03:48
I’ve pre-ordered the Kindle Fire! I already have an iPad but I’ve used the excuse that I design websites for a living and need to see how my sites look in the Silk browser as a reason :)
Sep 28, 2011 @ 11:14:40
Oh, if only my original Kindle could have held out another half a year. I just replaced it about 6 months ago…and this is so tempting.
I always thought I’d go for the color touch when Amazon came out with it, because I do like to read graphic novels at times. But I mostly just read regular books, and the touch Kindle price is very, very tempting.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 12:01:58
The price is really good for that Kindle Fire. Now waiting for what B&N will come out with… but I am SO tempted, as I have been an Amazon Prime customer for well over two years now, and it has more than paid off to keep that membership. Oh my … and I need a new gaming rig… I better win the Lotto… like right NOW…
Sep 28, 2011 @ 12:23:12
The Fire looks nice, but there’s a lot of rumours that it’s a holding device, and they’re planning a ten inch.
The only one we have on offer in the UK on launch day is the non-ad basic model for £89.
But for publishers and for writers? This is a game changer. The sub $100 ereader has arrived.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 12:35:11
@Mireya:I’m with you on the need for a new gaming rig *cry*
Wow my first thought when I saw the pricing on the Fire was your move Barnes and Noble. With all the rumors of higher pricing seeing $199 was a surprise. No camera or mic though =/
I’d need to see one in action though and it would have to be rootable before I’d consider it. As a nook user I will wait to see what BN produces but I’m in the market for a tablet. My last trip made me realize that I’m done hauling my laptop around just for internet.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 12:36:04
If Kindle Fire had 3G, I would be on it today!!! I am tempted just to support Amazon.
“There are two types of companies: those that work hard to charge customers more, and those that work hard to charge customers less. Both approaches can work. We are firmly in the second camp.”
Preach it, Jeff Bezos! Preach it! All publishers (of books, movies, music, etc) should post this quote in their offices and get in the second camp.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 12:44:12
Wow! so many options to choose from. And i love the sub 100$ pricing.Since i don’t own a e-reader, this seems the perfect time and the price to buy one.
I am curious, has anyone ever bought the kindle with special offers as screensavers ? Does it somehow hamper your reading experience ? Are they annoying?
Sep 28, 2011 @ 12:47:04
@swati: I sold my non ad saver kindle on craigslist and bought a kindle with special offers. It’s not obtrusive but I do find it boring. I would like a different ad every day or at least every other day.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 12:56:43
I pre-order the Kindle Touch w/Special Offers because I’ve been jealous of all the offers that I missed. On my K3 home screen, I see 10 books/periodicals/collections/etc.; and inside my collections I see 9 listed. Do you see the same amount of the Special Offers Kindle? Or is it 1-less because of the offer at the bottom?
Sep 28, 2011 @ 12:57:22
As tempting as the new Kindles are,I’m not altogether comfortable being that tied in to Amazon. Is there any other type of storage besides the Amazon Cloud? I’m a re-reader and have thousands of e-books from various sources(most of them epubs).Will I be able to load them on any of the new Kindles? Guess I’ll just wait until someone roots the bugger and then decide.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 13:16:00
No SD/microSD on the Fire? I think that’s a mistake. Maybe not if you’re using it for reading, but video/music can take up considerable space quickly and the device is WiFi only so it’d be nice to store some stuff locally. Other than that, it looks like a pretty nice dual core tablet. It’ll be interesting to see the new Nook Color and how it compares.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 13:18:16
@Robin: All the Kindles have internal storage as well as cloud and you can transfer your own content via USB or by emailing it to the devices email address. You would need to convert your ePubs (using Calibre or KindleGen/Previewer) to Mobi files.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 13:34:03
I’m surprised the DX is more expensive than the Fire. Anybody know why?
I like the 7″ aspect. I’ve been wishing for something bigger than my iPod Touch and smaller than a tablet. I’m disappointed it doesn’t have some kind of memory expansion slot, though. The 8GB on my Touch has been limiting me; I’m going to have to upgrade soon just because of storage space.
There’s a demo video on Engadget that shows the difference in content between the cloud and device storage, but if they don’t see a demo, I wonder how many people are going to be surprised when they leave their wifi connection. It’s nice not to need a data plan contract but on a tablet device I’d want more storage.
I wonder if a micro USB drive would work on it.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 13:35:11
Know what? Nobody is really thinking much about that 80 dollar miracle. But a family with very low income can buy an 80 dollar device and provide all the classics for free in a forever-library… and use the library lending to read the best sellers.
For 80 bucks, strapped families can read for free until the thing falls apart… and even then, all their downloads are still stored at amazon.
In this economy? That kicks hiney.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 13:46:54
I… can’t get excited about any of these. I have a Kindle and I love it. I’m glad mine has a keyboard and I wouldn’t think that saving a couple of ounces in weight is worth sacrificing one. As for the Kindle Fire, if I wanted an iPad, I’d save up for one. It’s not a reading device and I can’t see the attraction of watching films on something that size. There obviously is a market for tablets but I am not it. I just bought a new netbook at the weekend and I’m happily typing on it right now. Much better value for money, as far as I’m concerned.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 14:01:00
@MaryK: The DX is more expensive because of the cost of 9.7″ eInk screens.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 14:43:31
@Tiffany: I agree. No 3G on the Fire? I’ll wait. My first Kindle 3 was wifi only, and I returned it after just three weeks to upgrade to the 3G model. I travel too much to rely only on wifi. It was frustrating to say the least. I can’t imagine a web browsing device that doesn’t have 3G!! No way, wifi only is too limited.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 14:54:09
I was excited at first, until I realized that for international readers, not much has changed. Since special offers are only available for purchase in the US, everyone else has to pay for the more expensive version. And many of us continue to pay extra charges for our books, supposedly for whispernet charges (even when you sideload a book rather than deliver it wirelessly). $2 added to the cost of a book may not be much, but it adds up, and it means a Kindle version often costs more than mass market. Also, there’s a huge difference between dealing with Amazon customer service with an international address vs. a US one, as I recently found out. They still do a good job, but it’s a much less efficient process.
I love the convenience of a Kindle, but wish Amazon would make more of an effort for those of us outside the US. It might do their bottom line some good.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 15:02:45
@Ros: I don’t have a smartphone so I use my iTouch for on-the-go email and feedreading. I have wifi access at home, work, and school so I don’t really need a 3G tablet. But I find “typing” on the little iTouch screen frustrating. I really can’t justify to myself buying a $500 tablet that’s basically a toy. A $200 mini tablet, on the other hand, could work especially if it could potentially replace my iTouch.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 15:04:57
I think probably a lot of people are going to end up going for the Kindle Fire, but if I were looking for a color tablet in that price range, I’d just go for the $199 8GB Lenovo Ideapad–it runs Android, doesn’t need to be rooted, and has a camera and SD and microSD expansion slots. If you want the close integration with the Amazon Cloud and the Amazon streaming, the Kindle might be worth the less impressive hardware and software, but I have to admit that I’m put off by the idea of Amazon owning the entire world. I’m also really opposed to the MOBI format. I realize that conversion to EPUB is easy (and I’ve done it, for books that are cheaper at Amazon or only available there), but I’m still philosophically opposed to closed publication standards. The only reason for MOBI is an attempt to make it harder for customers to switch ereaders.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 15:41:46
@Mely:
I was looking at the Lenovo Ideapad, but the price is totally out of my range. The cheapest one I’ve seen is around $400. I have to look further, Jane reported about it here and I think the price range she gave was reasonable. So many choices now =)
Sep 28, 2011 @ 15:52:57
Ideapad does have the microSD which is a plus and many will want the camera. Too bad it’s not a dual core processor though.
I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more nice budget tablets soon and price drops on the current 10″ ones as Kal-El based tablets start coming out.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 16:56:34
I had enough Amazon points from my credit card to order the Fire without any outlay. I had been saving them until I saw something I wanted and it looks like this is it.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 17:00:36
@MaryK: “I wonder if a micro USB drive would work on it.”
Hmph. Apparently what I was thinking of is an SD card mounted on a USB plug(?) and my dad says it’s highly unlikely to work on the Fire.
Well, I wasn’t going to rush out and buy it right away so I guess I’ll keep biding my time. I did get a $90 eDGe Dual Book off Woot the other day so I have something to play with.
@Brian: Kal-El! LOL.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 17:44:03
@MaryK: That’s an excellent price on the Edge. I hope you like it. Did you get the Pocket or the 10 inch one?
Sep 28, 2011 @ 19:17:31
Eh. I’m sure they’ll dominate the market as usual, but I’m just not interested in having such a company-exclusive device. Call me weird – I’m the same way about iProducts. Don’t own one, probably never will. I like being able to *own* my files in my own fashion, and it just seems like you have to jump through so many hoops to do that with the Kindle line. Even if it’s not *that* many hoops, at that point it all comes down to aesthetics. (Especially since I’m absolutely not interested in advertising pushed on my devices.) Factor all of that in, and I’ll stick with my Nook.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 20:11:47
I heard that the Kindle Fire won’t be available outside the US (or in particular, in Australia). Is that right? If so, I haz a sad :(
Sep 28, 2011 @ 21:10:59
I’m still buying the new Sony wifi next week.
Only $10 more than the Kindle touch, no ads, supports epub, has better technology, is prettier and sexier, accepts my tags from Calibre and is outside the Amazon Empire.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 21:20:20
@DS: It’s the Pocket. I bought one as a gift for my dad when Woot first had them for $125-ish and promptly started drooling over it. I really liked how the screens work together – you can choose something from one side and it opens on the other. It gives an overall view that I like. I haven’t had a chance to do anything yet with mine except charge it.
Sep 28, 2011 @ 22:18:15
The kindle fire would be a no purchase for me because of the short battery life and lack of eInk screen, which are the very things that make reading on a kindle so good. OTOH, I’m glad they came out with it, because it pushes the price for the ‘vanilla’ readers down to a lower price point.
I think Chrissy is exactly right: the big news for readers isn’t that there’s yet another tablet available for multi-purpose use. The big news is that for less than a hundred bucks, you can now get an ereader with a good sized library on it. How good is that?
Sep 29, 2011 @ 07:12:54
@MaryK: Guard your stylus if you want to use it for note taking on the eink side. It is the expensive kind, well about $30 when first I checked about trying to find one more comfortable to write with. Any stylus works on the LCD side. I also did the 2.2 upgrade but things seem to be getting a bit flakey on me (unexpected browser closures) when I’m using the web with it so I may downgrade again.
Sep 29, 2011 @ 18:17:54
@DS: I’ll keep this in mind!
Sep 30, 2011 @ 09:15:21
Can’t say i’m impress with the new offerings. The only attractive part is the price.