Amazon Updates 2013 Kindle Fire Lineup But is it Enough to Compete?

Last week, Amazon updated their Kindle Fire line of tablets, but do they have enough to compete in the tablet market?

The three new tablets are dubbed the Kindle Fire HDX (8.3), the Kindle Fire HDX 7, and the Kindle Fire HD (2013).

Preorders for all these brand-spanking new tablets are up. The Wi-Fi only variant of the HDX 7 will be available on October 18, while the 4G version of the tablet is set to roll out on November 19. The Wi-Fi only version of the HDX 8.9 ships November 7, and the 4G model on December 10. Lastly, the second successor of the OG Fire that many claimed sparked the affordable 7-inch tablet game, the Kindle Fire HD 7 will be available for purchase on October 2.

Only a few of these new Fires have pricing available and are directly below. Potential buyers should keep in mind that the new Fires will show full-screened ads on the lock screen. To turn them off, pitch in an extra $15.

Pricing & Availability 

• Kindle Fire HD (Wi-Fi 8GB): $139
• Kindle Fire HD (Wi-Fi 16GB): $169
• Kindle Fire HDX 7 (Wi-Fi 16 GB): $229
• Kindle Fire HDX 7 (Wi-Fi 32 GB): $269
• Kindle Fire HDX 7 (Wi-Fi 64 GB): $309
• Kindle Fire HDX 7 (4G/Wi-Fi 16 GB): $329
• Kindle Fire HDX 7 (4G/Wi-Fi 32 GB): $369
• Kindle Fire HDX 7 (4G/Wi-Fi 64 GB): $409
• Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 (Wi-Fi 16GB): $379
• Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 (Wi-Fi 32 GB): $429
• Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 (Wi-Fi 64 GB): $479
• Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 (4G/Wi-Fi 16 GB): $479
• Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 (4G/Wi-Fi 32 GB): $529
• Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 (4G/Wi-Fi 64 GB): $579

The new Fires run on a variation of Google’s Android software, Fire OS 3.0 “Mojito”. An innovative service called Mayday is the highlight of Amazon’s proprietary software. Mayday is available for the HDX variants of the new Kindles, and is tech support to the next level. There is a Mayday button on each device and with a single tap, an Amazon expert with appear on the display and can co-pilot the user through any feature by drawing on the screen.

Best of all, Mayday is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and is one-hundred percent free. Mayday is a really practical and innovative way of showing that Amazon cares about the experience the user has when using one of their tablet. “Mojito” also brings some other noteworthy software enhancements. Examples include X-Ray support for music, screen-mirroring capabilities, and Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook integration baked right into the OS.

Amazon updated the designs for their new tablets. The subtle curvature of models from last year has vanished and is replaced by a more angular backside. The HDX 8.9 is extremely light, coming in at a feather-like 0.82 pounds. Last year’s Fires had very flush and, quite frankly, hard to press volume and power keys, and Amazon has taken care of this issue. Thankfully, the power and volume rocker buttons are now much more depressible.

Specs-wise the new tabs look very promising and are on par, if not better, with other luxurious 2013 tablets.

The Kindle Fire HDX 7 features a 1,920×1200 resolution display with 323 PPI and the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 highlights an even more impressive 2,560×1,600 resolution screen with a respectable 339 PPI. Amazon also says to expect increased color accuracy, reduced glare, higher max brightness levels, and an industry-first dynamic image contrast.

Each of the HDX models house a screaming 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU, QUALCOMM’s leading processor, paired with an Adreno 330 GPU. These specs open the door for being the best gaming tablets available to this date. The devices also feature 2 GB of RAM and Amazon says to expect 17 hours of juice while reading and 11 with mixed usage. Interestingly, the CPU goes into a lower power state to preserve juice while reading. Each HDX features a front-facing camera while only the HDX 8.9 has a rear-facing 8-megapixel sensor.

Amazon will also begin to sell new and unique Origami type covers that allow the device to stand up at portrait or landscape modes.

Amazon’s new tablet trio seems to be very promising. Loaded with new software features, top-notch hardware, and acceptable pricing, the tablets have a lot going for them. From what we can see, the trio will be more than capable to compete with an upcoming successor to Apple’s iPad Mini and the current industry-best, the Google Nexus 7 (2013).

Source: Amazon