Amazon Unveils Kindle Fire HD To Rival iPad

By Kristin Bent
September 06, 2012 4:21 PM ET

Page 1 of 2

Amazon grew its Kindle family of e-readers Thursday with the launch its new 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD that will take direct aim at Apple's iPad.

The new device, which was unveiled by Amazon at a press event in Santa Monica, Calif., looks more like a full-fledged tablet than any other e-reader in the Kindle lineup, with an 8.9-inch display that boasts a 1,920-by-1,200 resolution. Its screen specs fall slightly short compared to the new iPad's 2,048-by-1,536 Retina display, but they beat out the iPad 2, which has a resolution of 1,024 by 768.

The Kindle Fire HD also features dual stereo speakers, compared to the single speaker found within the first-generation Fire, and is said by Amazon to be the market's first tablet to feature Dolby Digital Plus audio. It comes with two antennas, while competing tablets, including the iPad, only have one. As a result, Amazon said the Kindle Fire HD can outperform the iPad by up to 41 percent when it comes to Wi-Fi speeds.

The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD will be available in a 16-GB version for $299 and 32 GB with 4G LTE version for $499.

Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, the new Kindle Fire HD will also be available in a 7-inch version. This new model is said by Amazon to be 40 percent faster than the first-generation version while offering longer battery and a higher resolution. It's priced at $199.

If history repeats itself, the two new Kindle Fire HD models could become serious contenders to both Apple's iPad and Google's Nexus 7 tablet. Even as a latecomer to the super-competitive tablet market, the first-generation Kindle Fire managed to hold its weight against the almighty iPad, and now it accounts for nearly 22 percent of all U.S. tablet sales, according to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

Amazon has already managed to outdo other tablet rookies, including HP and Research In Motion, which have tried and failed with designs of their own.

NEXT: Kindle Paperwhite, A Revamped Version Of Kindle Touch

1 | 2 | Next >>

To continue reading this article, please download the free CRN Tech News app for your iPad or Windows 8 device.

Related: Videos | Slide Shows | Comments

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

More Mobility

Comments by Vanilla

	Extreme Tech: 10 Hot Rugged Tech Devices To Go Off The Grid Tech that can take a beating is catching on as the world becomes more mobile. Check out the 10 latest tech products designed to go the distance -- you may be surprised what these devices can handle.
	Head-To-Head: Google Nexus 4 Vs. Apple iPhone 5 There's a new nexus between Apple and Google. The CRN Test Center compares smartphones from the world's leading companies.
	Head-To-Head: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Vs. Apple iPad Mini Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 is just as capable as the larger Galaxy Note 10.1. But how does it stack up against the similarly sized iPad Mini?
	More Slide Shows