This morning, Amazon’s chief executive, Jeff Bezos, introduced the Kindle Fire. The brand new Android-based tablet weighs only 14.6 ounces and features a dual-core processor and seven-inch screen.
Although the Kindle Fire has the attractive price of $199, it is missing some of the features that made the iPad popular. For example, it does not have a camera or the option for 3G, which are useful for both taking pictures and web conferencing. In addition, the Kindle Fire’s seven inch screen is considerably smaller than the iPad’s 9.7 inch high resolution screen. However, when compared to the entry-level $499 price of the iPad, the Kindle Fire includes innovative options with an extremely affordable price tag.
The Kindle Fire will have a brand new browser, named Amazon Silk, that will use a combination of cloud computing and the locally installed browser to speed up mobile web browsing on the device.
Another exciting feature of the Kindle Fire cloud-based storage means syncing will not be necessary. The tablet will store content, such as movies, music, and pictures, on the Amazon cloud. Bezos said the following of this feature:
“That model that you are responsible for backing up your own content is a broken model.”
The cloud-based storage and Whispersync will do away with the syncing that Apple devices currently require. One application of these features is that people will be able to start watching a movie on the Kindle Fire and pick up where they left off on their home television.
Although Kindle Fire will not begin shipping until November 15, just in time for the holidays, Bezos is recommending that consumers pre-order the tablet today. Now, it is up to consumers to decide if Steve Jobs was wrong when he stated that they did not want a “tweener” tablet. Amazon is confident that people will want a “premium product at a non-premium price.”
[Sources Include: Amazon, ZDNet, & The New York Times]
