Shares went as high as $289, bouncing up from $261 before the release. For the quarter, revenue was up substantially to $21.27 billion, a 22 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2011, but revenue decreased 45 percent to $97 million.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos largely credited the strong earnings increase to ebooks, which he said is now a multi-billion dollar category for Amazon — and growing at 70 percent annually. Physical books, in contrast, are slowing. While still growing, Bezos said the growth rate is down to 5 percent, which Bezos said is the lowest growth rate in Amazon’s 17 years of existence.

And one which seems likely to reverse into a decline in 2013, given the growth of ebooks and Amazon’s tablet sales.

Amazon said that its tablets have held the top four spots on the retailer’s sales charts ever since they’ve launched, and that its flagship device, the Kindle Fire HD, is the most popular item in the store. While the reality is that there’s a lot a retailer can do to influence what is most popular and what sells well — and Amazon certain has done that, positioning the Kindle Fire HD front and center on its home page even today — the reality is that the Kindle family, with price points from $119 to $299, is a pretty solid entry-level tablet device.

Source: Amazon

Digital sales at Amazon

However, the company still refuses to release actual sales data on the Android-based tablets — although third-party data suggests Kindle market share is growing fast and total device sales were likely between 10 and 12 million as of the end of 2012.

Digital media seems to be the future at Amazon, and the company reported increases in the amount of content available as Prime Instant Video now has 36,000 titles for viewers to choose from, and 23 million movies, TV shows, apps, books, and more in Amazon’s overall catalog. Amazon recently released a new mobile web store for digital music specifically for iPod and iPhone, clearly competing with digital music incumbent Apple.

Those popular Kindles have helped 23 authors who publish on Kindle to sales exceeding 250,000 in 2012 alone, and 500 books published on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform have reached the top 100 Kindle books bestseller list.

Image credit: Jennifer Van Grove

Kindle Fire tablets can get viruses, too. That’s why the team at Lookout Mobile just launched its first app for the Amazon-made tablet today.

Lookout has existed since its beginning as an Android application, the same operating system the Kindle Fire runs on, but Amazon’s tablet does not support Google Play. The app is the same as the standard Android version, tweaked to fit the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD screens.

Lookout was founded in 2007 and competes with big-name security companies such as McAfee and Symantec’s Norton to protect mobile devices from malware, malicious links, and other threats. Once you install the app, it will alert you to hidden viruses, track the location of your phone, and let you remotely turn on a “scream ringtone” if it’s lost. It also acts as a backup measure, saving your contacts to your Lookout account accessible online.

Recently, the company has been expanding its reach to new devices and through new partnerships. T-Mobile will be pre-loading Lookout onto a number of its Android phones prior to distribution, as will French telecommunications provider Orange.

The company is based in San Francisco and has thus far raised $76.5 million from investors including Andreessen-Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, Trilogy Equity Partners, Accel Partners, Index Ventures, Chris Sacca, and others. Lookout also has a version of its app for iOS devices.

Kindle Fire image via Amazon, Lookout Mobile image via Lookout

Amazon’s line of Kindle readers are undoubtedly popular among consumers this holiday season, but it’s difficult to determine exactly how many have sold.

Today the company released new information about Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales data that vaguely indicate that Kindles are selling well — without actually stating any hard sales numbers.

For instance, Amazon stated that Cyber Monday was “the biggest day ever for Kindle sales worldwide” and “Kindle Fire HD is the most gifted and most wished for product on Amazon worldwide since launch.” (See the full list of “milestones” below.)

It’s really hard to tell whether Amazon is actually breaking sales records with its refreshed line of Kindles, or if the company is once again playing cheerleader for its own products as a way to avoid disclosing possibly lackluster results. Unlike last year, Amazon doesn’t have the benefit of selling its Kindle devices inside two of the largest physical retailers, Walmart and Target.

Amazon was a little more forthcoming with sales data last holiday season, and released enough data that suggested it sold about 5 million Kindle Fires. Yet overall, Amazon has been notoriously vague about its Kindle sales.

It’ll be interesting to see how shareholders will react if Amazon once again decides to stay silent about Kindle sales (broken down by tablets and e-readers), digital sales, and digital sales through Kindle devices.

Amazon’s Kindle “milestones”:

• Cyber Monday 2012 was the biggest day ever for Kindle sales worldwide.
• The top 4 spots on the worldwide Amazon best sellers list since launch nearly three months ago are Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fires.
• To celebrate Cyber Monday, Amazon.com offered a special deal—just $129 for the Kindle Fire. Customers flocked to the deal, making this the biggest Cyber Monday deal ever for Amazon.com.
• Kindle Fire HD is the most gifted and most wished for product on Amazon worldwide since launch.
• 9 out of the top 10 best-selling products on Amazon worldwide since 9/6 are Kindles, Kindle accessories and digital content.

Photo by Jennifer Van Grove/VentureBeat

Amazon has launched a full frontal assault on Apple’s new iPad mini.

The massive online retailer is not just comparing the Kindle Fire HD with Cupertino’s latest. It’s not just saying ours is better than yours. And it’s not just hiding its message under the proverbial bushel. Amazon is using its home page — perhaps the most valuable digital real estate on the planet — to absolutely ambush the iPad mini.

Source: Amazon

Amazon’s front-page attack on Apple’s iPad mini

This is not just trash talking. This is in-your-face dialed up to 11, fist in the face, calling Apple out, dropping the gloves and saying “let’s go.” And gadget blog Gizmodo is helping, in a way.

Amazon is using a quote from Gizmodo to help drive home the point:

” … your [Apple's] 7.9-inch tablet has far fewer pixels that the competing 7-inch tablets! You’re cramming a worse screen in there, charging more, and accusing others of compromise? Ballsy.”

Amazon is hitting Apple where it hurts: the display, the dual speakers, and yes, most of all, the price, the price, the price. It’s what we said when we first saw the iPad mini: light, portable, awesome, expensive. And it’s the difference between a company that makes money on the device — no points for guessing Apple, people — and a company that sells hardware at cost so that it can make money on content sales.

Razor, meet blades.

Truthfully, it is also the tale of a company that makes money hand-over-fist – still no points — and a company that makes less than nothing on $14 billion in sales.

The issue is perhaps not so much whether Amazon is freaked out by the iPad mini as whether it is freaking out with joy, amazed to be handed a potential marketing coup on a platter. And it’s one that, if Apple had started its pricing at $250, as the rumors had at one point indicated, would be a tougher sell.

The real question, if you’re an Amazon shareholder, is whether Jeff Bezos can ever turn the biggest digital marketing platform on the planet into a content cash cow. Or, when he wants to.

For Apple shareholders, of course, the question is whether Apple’s legendary brand, its content and apps ecosystem, and its industry-best quality, fit, and finish are enough to overcome a $130 price gap.

photo credit: Dunechaser via photopin cc

Amazon’s third quarter earnings just hit, and weirdly enough, the online retailer/hardware manufacturer reserved a decent chunk of its report to rail on the just-announced iPad mini and explain why its Kindle Fire is better.

Clearly, Amazon is a bit freaked out by Apple’s latest product, which starts at $330 and might be more palatable to average consumers than the $500 base price of the full-size iPad.

Both of Amazon’s newest Kindle Fire units cost even less. Amazon writes:

Highlights

• Compared to the iPad mini, Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ has: 193% more pixels (2,304,000 pixels vs. 786,432 pixels)
• 56% more pixels-per-inch (254 vs. 163)
• Watch HD movies and TV – cannot on iPad mini (iPad mini is an SD device)
• Better audio with dual stereo speakers and Dolby Digital Plus
• Wi-Fi with dual band, dual antennas + MIMO
• Costs $30 less
• Compared to the iPad mini, Kindle Fire HD 7″ has: 30% more pixels (1,024,000 vs. 786,432 pixels)
• 33% more pixels per inch (216 vs. 163)
• Watch HD movies and TV – cannot on iPad mini (iPad mini is an SD device)
• Better audio with dual stereo speakers and Dolby Digital Plus
• Wi-Fi with dual band, dual antennas + MIMO
• Costs $130 less

Shareholders were not impressed with Amazon’s results or its pleas about how much better the Kindle Fire HD is than the iPad mini. Its stock was trading down about 9 percent in after-hours trading, but it is now down about 2 percent.

Jeff Bezos photo: Jennifer Van Grove/VentureBeat

Today Apple announced its 7.9-inch iPad mini tablet. Right on stage, the company compared it to the Nexus 7 (Google’s flagship Android tablet) to show the wealth of differences between the two. But Apple skipped a few key comparisons that you might want to be aware of.

Here’s a closer look at those differences, as well as how Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD tablet compares to both:

The iPad mini is without a doubt the thinnest tablet ever produced. It’s thinner than most smartphones today at just 7.2 millimeters thick. It’s slightly taller and wider than most competing 7-inch tablets, though not the Kindle Fire HD.

From my time with the Fire HD, I’ve found that holding it from edge to edge with one hand is possible, though not comfortable — so the iPad mini should be comparable.

The iPad mini is also the lightest tablet available, although the upcoming Barnes & Noble Nook HD tablet will weigh just seven grams more at 315 grams.

Processing power, based on the specs alone, appears fairly similar, but specs don’t tell the whole story. The A5 processor inside the iPad mini is identical to the one inside the iPad 2 — which is now one and a half years old — compared to the newer processors inside both the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD. On the other hand, the Android tablets may be faster and offer double the RAM, but Apple’s current operating system (iOS 6) is better suited for the included components, which makes it better at processing data more quickly and more efficiently. Google constantly updates its operating system to improve speed and efficiency; Amazon historically has not.

At the iPad mini’s unveiling in San Jose today, Apple’s Phil Schiller (Senior VP of Marketing) also mentioned how it feels much better than the Nexus 7, primarily because the Android tablet is made of plastic and feels cheap. I haven’t found that to be the case. The Nexus 7 is the best 7-inch tablet to hold because of a well-designed case that is easy to grip and feels warm in the hand. The Kindle Fire HD has a rubber-like back, which is also comfortable and warm. The iPad mini has a metallic back panel. I expect that it will be similar to the current iPad, which feels cold in the hand but provides good grip. I prefer the warm Nexus 7 to the iPad, though size and weight have to be considered as well.

The iPad mini is available in three capacity variations: 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. The Nexus 7 starts with just 8GB, which in my use is completely inadequate. A 16GB model is also available, and 32GB models have been found in stores across the US. The Kindle Fire HD comes in 16GB and 32GB capacities.

All of the tablets use a 1.2 megapixel (MP) front-facing camera that can record video in 720p, but the iPad mini is the only tablet here that includes a rear-facing camera. That 5MP camera is likely the same found in the latest iPod Touch and the iPhone 4. Tablet cameras have traditionally offered mediocre to poor still photography and video recording, but larger 10-inch tablets have shipped with significantly improved cameras this year.

Most 7-inch tablets feature widescreen (16:9) displays, but the iPad mini has the same 4:3 aspect ratio as the full-sized iPad. This means all HD video on the iPad mini will be letterboxed with black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD both have denser displays at significantly higher 720p resolutions, which will make HD media appear clearer and without letterboxing.

All of the tablets use high-quality IPS displays, but the iPad’s lower resolution and larger screen will make pictures appear blurrier and more pixelated. It’s surprising Apple didn’t include a Retina display on the iPad mini for exactly this reason.

Apple boasts the same 10-hour battery life on the iPad mini as on the iPad, though the Kindle Fire HD promises 11 hours of continuous use. As with any manufacturer’s promised battery life, take these numbers with a big grain of salt.

The iPad mini is also the only small tablet that can access fast LTE 4G cellular data. LTE will be available on the iPad mini in the US through Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint, for an extra $130 over the comparable Wi-Fi models.

The biggest difference between the iPad mini and all competing Android tablets is the price. The starting price for the iPad mini is $330, $130 more than both the starting Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire HD. The iPad mini also increases the price in $100 increments for doubling the memory, compared to Amazon, which only charges $50 more for the 32GB  model.

Additionally, other tablets like the Nook HD offer expandable memory through user-purchased memory cards; the iPad mini doesn’t.

In short, the iPad mini is far more expensive than the competition at equivalent capacities, and only gets more expensive as the capacity increases. In fact, the iPad mini is expensive even compared to the latest iPod Touch, which has all of the same internal components as the iPad mini.

Will you buy an iPad mini? Tell us what you think about it in the comments section below.

Amazon is rolling out an update today for the Kindle Fire HD that will enable Kindle Freetime, a previously announced feature that gives kids a safe environment to read, watch, and play.

With today’s announcement, Amazon also boasted that the Kindle Fire HD was its best-selling product worldwide (continuing the trend of the original Kindle Fire).

So what exactly does Kindle Freetime offer? Using the new feature, parents will be able to pick and choose the content their child interacts with, or limit available media by content type. Kids won’t be able to leave the restricted interface without a password. Parents can also enforce a time limit, after which the Kindle Fire HD’s interface goes blue.

The update comes after criticism over a lack of parental controls in the original Kindle Fire — not exactly a smart move, since kids are quick to grab shiny new devices and parents are probably less concerned with kids handling it since it only costs $199. Amazon eventually updated the original Kindle Fire in May to add some basic parental controls.

Amazon will begin shipping its larger tablet, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, for $299 on November 20.

Photo via Jennifer Van Grove/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Looking for a Kindle? Well, you won’t find one in the country’s largest retail store chain anymore.

Walmart will stop sales of Amazon’s entire line of Kindle devices. This is effective immediately, reports Reuters. That includes all Kindle e-readers as well as the Kindle Fire and new Kindle Fire HDs. This move not only includes the big box Walmart stores but also its membership-only chain, Sam’s Club.

“We have recently made the business decision to not carry Amazon tablets and eReaders beyond our existing inventory and purchase commitments,” Wamart stated in a memo to store managers yesterday.

Searching for Kindle on both Walmart and Sam’s Club official websites is currently returning zero results, which could indicate that the online store fronts are also halting sales.

The move is not at all surprising, considering that Amazon’s online store sells a variety of items you can typically find in Walmart. The Kindle Fire itself acted as a “trojan horse” of sorts for Amazon by enticing people to shop online via tablet rather than go into a brick and mortar store to make a purchase. I’d imagine Walmart wasn’t making any money off of Kindle sales, either.

Walmart is the second big box retailer to boot Amazon’s Kindles out of its stores, with the first being discount-chain competitor Target back in May.

I’m curious to find out if the lack of retail presence on retail shelves will affect Kindle sales heading into the 2012 holiday season. (Coincidentally, I purchased a Kindle for my Dad last Christmas, but only after waiting in a substantial line of people who typically wouldn’t make it into an electronics store. Walmart employees actually had to explain each product and offer a short demo before the three people ahead of me ended up purchasing something.)

Photo via Walmart Corp./Flickr

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Whether Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD will topple the iPad this holiday season remains to be seen, but at least it’s easier to repair the Apple tablet.

So says the team at iFixit, which gave the 7-inch version of Amazon’s latest tablet the teardown treatment and found it fairly simple to take apart.

The Kindle Fire HD’s rear case is easy to open, its battery has no adhesive, and its interior features mostly run-of-the-mill Phillips-head screws. All of these things together should make it pretty easy for owners to disassemble and repair the tablet.

One problem, though, is that because the LCD display and front glass are fused together, breaking one means having to replace them both. So don’t drop this one.

Display issues aside, the team gave Amazon’s latest tablet 7 out of 10 points on the repairability scale. This makes it about as repairable as the Nexus 7 and far easier to the repair than the latest iPad (which got a 2). Amazon’s latest tablet is, however, a tad less repairable than the original Kindle Fire, which received an 8 of 10.

While iFixit hasn’t gotten its hands on the 8.9-inch Kindle HD yet, chances are its internals will tell a similar tale to those of its smaller counterpart.

Photo: iFixit

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Amazon’s slick new 7-inch Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD tablets are now available to purchase online.

Just last week, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took the stage in Santa Monica, Calif. to debut new Kindles, including a Kindle Paperwhite e-reader, a refreshed Kindle Fire, a 7-inch Kindle Fire HD, and an 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD.

While we’ll have to wait until Nov. 20 for the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire to ship, Amazon’s 7-inch tablets and new $69 Kindle e-reader are here today. If you want the absolute lowest price for a decent color tablet, the $159 Kindle Fire is worth a look. But if you’re willing to pay up just a bit more, the $199 Kindle Fire HD and Google’s Nexus 7 are the two best 7-inch tablets we’ve seen yet.

Let us know in the comments if you plan to buy a Kindle from Amazon’s new lineup.

Kindle Fire HD photo: Jennifer Van Grove/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

After many rumors and leaks, we thought Apple might launch its supposed “iPad mini” today alongside the iPhone 5. But today’s event was crowded with the new iPhone, updated iPods, and a new version of iTunes. So when can we expect the iPad mini?

All signs so far point to an October debut by Apple. If it does launch at that time, it sets up the iPad Mini for holiday sales, and it gives consumers enough time to look at and start buying the iPhone 5. Heck, if Apple has the iPad mini and iPhone 5 in stores by October’s end, the amount of foot traffic in Apple stores during November and December will be enormous.

When it does launch, the iPad mini will land in a crowded marketplace of powerful and inexpensive 7-inch tablets, including the Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD and Google’s Nexus 7. These devices are less expensive at between $159 and $249 and offer their own strengths. The Kindle Fires have Amazon’s impressive ecosystem backing them, while the Nexus 7 offers Google’s latest Android software and Google Play apps and content.

It’s unclear if the new iPad mini will be as successful as Apple’s 10-inch iPad, which has now sold more than 84 million units with little serious competition in the 10-inch category. In its last quarter alone, Apple sold 17 million iPads.

“The iPad is driving the post-PC revolution at a breathtaking pace,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier during today’s iPhone 5 press conference.

The iPad mini’s biggest hooks will likely be a lower price (we’d guess $299) and a smaller form factor for people who think the 10-inch display is a bit large. It will offer a more comfortable option for people with smaller hands (Tyrion Lannister, perhaps?) and women who want to carry a tablet around in purses.

Another big hook will be access to all those apps. The App Store now has 700,000 apps, with 250,000 of those tailored for the iPad.

We’ll just have to wait patiently for Apple to announce another big press conference to get the iPad mini in our lives. For now, here are some “leaked” photos of an iPad mini. (They look a little fake to us, but hey, why not?)

Photo credit: Dean Takahashi/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

After numerous complaints, Amazon has confirmed that it will indeed let customers opt out of “Special Offers” advertising on the new Kindle Fire HD for $15. It’s a show of goodwill on Amazon’s part, but what was with the mixed messages?

“With Kindle Fire HD, there will be a special offers opt-out option for $15,” Amazon said in a widely circulated statement. “We know from our Kindle reader line that customers love our special offers and very few people choose to opt out. We’re happy to offer customers the choice.”

From the looks of it, Amazon didn’t think it would be a big deal if its Kindle Fire HD served ads because “very few” Kindle owners opt out of Special Offers. However, with the confusion and mixed messages, it’s almost as if Amazon decided to test if there would be a freak out over not offering an opt out. Once angry customers and tech pundits spoke up, Amazon caved to their requests.

To be fair, the reason many folks (including me) haven’t opted out is that Special Offers aren’t that obtrusive and only show up on the lock screen. Unlocking the screen takes a split second, so I don’t even have to look at the ad.

But it’s always better to give customers the option to ditch advertising, so Amazon is doing the right thing and giving customers a way out by paying $15 — just like it did with the first Kindle Fire. Advertising is included to subsidize the price of the tablets, and Amazon could eventually make a lot of money advertising on millions of large, colorful home screens. But it’s better to keep customers happy by giving them an option they probably won’t take.

The Kindle Fire HD will be released on Sept. 14, while the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ Wi-Fi and 4G models are expected to ship on Nov. 20.

Kindle Fire HD photo: Jennifer Van Grove/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Update 9/10/2012 (11:1o a.m. PT): Amazon is now allowing Kindle Fire HD owners to opt out of ads for $15. Check out the full store here.

You’ll love many things about Amazon’s new Kindle Fire HD, but viewing ads probably isn’t one of them.

Amazon is placing an ad on the lock screen of the new tablets, which people will see whenever they wake the device from slumber or banish the home screen by clicking the power button. The ads apparently come from the “special offers” widget featured on all devices. Initially, this caused some people to criticize Amazon’s move, especially because the company didn’t give users the option to “upgrade” to an ad-free version.

However, now the company has confirmed Kindle owners will be able to opt out of the default ad settings, according to an Engadget report based on a tip from an anonymous source.

According to the source, Amazon sent the following response in response to a complaint regarding the lock screen ads:

“Special Offers appear directly on your Kindle Fire. Offers appear on your lock screen, and you can also view offers from the Home screen by tapping Offers. By delivering these offers to your Kindle Fire, Amazon is able to sell it for a lower price.

I understand that you would like to opt out of the special offer and willing to pay extra for opting out special offer. Options for unsubscribing special offer will be announced soon.

To ensure the utmost attention, I’ve also passed your message on to the appropriate people in our company. We value customer feedback such as yours as it helps us continue to improve the service and selection we provide.”

The obvious typos in the note do cast doubt on the idea that this is a new company policy: If the note did come indeed from Amazon, it doesn’t appear to be a prepared response but an improvised note from a customer rep.

We’re reaching out to Amazon for confirmation and more details and will update the post with any new information.

Update 9/7/2012 (1:35 p.m. PT): Amazon is apparently not willing to let people opt out of lock screen advertisements on the new line of Kindle Fire devices, reports Cnet. This contradicts information from the Amazon support contact’s response (above), which states that owners would have a way to banish the ads if they didn’t want them.

In the case of the Ad-supported Kindle readers, owners could pay to remove the ads when they redeemed a special offer. Presumably this fee would cover the lost revenue Amazon was bringing in for the advertising. However, this option won’t be available to new Kindle HD owners ( 7-inch, 8.9-inch, and 4G LTE versions).

Update 9/10/2012 (11:1o a.m. PT): Amazon is now allowing Kindle Fire HD owners to opt out of ads for $15. Check out the full store here.

Photo by Jennifer Van Grove/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Amazon shook up the tablet computing industry by entering a new device into the category: a glossy Kindle Fire HD that comes in a familiar 7-inch model or a supersized 8.9-inch variety. Amazon also introduced a fifth generation Kindle e-reader called the Kindle Paperwhite.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos featured the devices in a press event held in Santa Monica, Calif. today. Bezos also showed off a refreshed Kindle Fire tablet, but the clear star of the show was the all-new Fire HD.

The $199 7-inch Kinde Fire HD will feel familiar to existing Fire owners when it comes to its size, but the device packs a faster, louder punch with an HD display, faster processor, Dolby audio, and 11 hours of battery life.

The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD is bigger and brighter, though it’s not quite as ready for production as its smaller kin (it won’t ship until November 20). The $299 device has a 1,920 by 1,200 HD display and an OMAP4 4470 processor to speed things up. Both models come with front-facing cameras, Bluetooth support, HDMI out, and 16GB of storage.

Big spenders can plunk down an additional $200 to get 4G LTE connectivity, courtesy of AT&T, on the Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch. This $499 model includes 32 GB of storage.

See also: Amazon unveils Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Paperwhite

I chatted up Dave Limp (pictured above), the vice president of Amazon Kindle, after the event to get a better idea of the company’s intentions behind its expanded lineup of devices.

“Customers are smart, and Amazon is founded on selection,” Limp said. “I think we’re hitting some key price points that consumers have told us … are important to them.”

Limp, of course, didn’t directly answer my question on whether the company priced its Kindle Fire HD to compete with the Google Nexus 7 or an Apple device — “$199 for what’s in this product — I hope somebody comes and tries to do it. It’s incredible. It’s the best value you’re going to see.”

But as to whether Amazon can successfully sell a $499 tablet to consumers, Limp really couldn’t say.

See also: Why the Kindle Paperwhite blows away previous Kindles

“It’s been proven that it’s a very large market,” he said. “I think we’re going to give it a shot and see how we can do with customers in that very big market. Now, we’re new and we probably have lots to learn … but having used this for the past month in and around Amazon, I think it’s a great product.”

So Amazon is extremely proud of its newest machinations, but what should you think of them?

Here’s my advice for you: Don’t order a Kindle Fire HD until you can spend more than a few minutes playing with one. It’s not that the 7-inch Fire HD (the 8.9-inch wasn’t out for display) was underwhelming, it’s just that I didn’t get enough time playing with it to say that it’s any better (or worse) than the Google Nexus 7, which I find to be a fantastic little device. Overall, the touchscreen was pretty responsive, but the browsing speed over Wi-Fi wasn’t all that impressive (maybe two antennae aren’t enough?), and the virtual keyboard felt pretty sticky.

The Kindle Fire HD is also different enough from the iPad and the Nexus 7 in how it operates, largely because of the Android fork that Amazon employs, that you’ll want to find the device that perfectly fits your fingers’ mojo.

The Kindle Paperwhite is a far easier sell. Amazon knows e-readers (it’s number one in the category), and this one’s design has serious readers in mind. Considering that the cheapest Paperwhite version (sans 3G connectivity) sells for a why-wouldn’t-you-buy-it? price of $119, any book lover will find the Paperwhite almost impossible to say no to.

Anyway, why don’t you have a look for yourself.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Even though it sounded like Amazon’s plans for a larger tablet were on the back-burner leading up to today’s event, the company surprised us by announcing the Kindle Fire HD, an 8.9-inch tablet with a bevy of drool-worthy features.

More than just a bigger Kindle Fire, which was criticized for its cheap build quality (it was basically a rebadged BlackBerry PlayBook), the $499 Kindle Fire HD appears to be the result of great care from Amazon. Here are a few of the reasons we’re amped for this new tablet:

The screen: The Kindle Fire HD features an 8.9-inch IPS display running at a whopping 1,920 by 1,200 resolution. That means it can play 1080p HD movies at full resolution. The screen also sports a pixel density of 254 ppi, only slightly lower than the iPad HD’s 264 ppi display. (In this case, having a smaller display works in the Kindle Fire HD’s favor.)

The tablet’s screen also features an “Advanced True Wide Polarizing Filter,” which allows it to show the full color spectrum from any angle.

The processor: Instead of relying on Nvidia’s Tegra 3, like so many Android tablets this year, Amazon opted for Texas Instruments’ OMAP 4470 processor. The company says it performs 50 percent more floating point operations per second than the Tegra 3 — 12 billion compared to the Tegra’s 8 billion. The OMAP chip also has 40 percent better memory bandwidth.

In short, this thing will scream.

The data plan: Amazon shocked everyone today with it’s pricing of the Kindle Fire HD’s 4G LTE data: $49.99 for the first year (presumably, you’ll have to sign up for a normal data plan for subsequent years). That nets you 250 megabytes of wireless data a month, 20 gigabytes of cloud storage, and a $10 Amazon credit (gee, thanks!). In comparison, Apple’s new iPad will cost you $230 annually for the same amount of wireless data.

The sound: The Kindle Fire HD comes equipped with two speakers as well as Dolby Digital Plus technology. I had a chance to test out Dolby Digital Plus in tablets a few weeks ago, and I found that it makes a dramatic difference in sound quality. It lets tablets make the most of their speakers by making dialog easier to hear in movies, as well as by virtualizing surround sound. You wouldn’t mistake it for a home theater, but it sounds better than the iPad’s single speaker by a mile.

The wireless tech: Amazon’s new tablet comes with support for 5 gigahertz 802.11N wireless, which the iPad and other tablets already support. But the company went the extra mile by including two radio antennas and MIMO wireless technology, which can give you a strong wireless signal even if there are objects between you and the Wi-Fi router.

Amazon says the Kindle Fire HD’s Wi-Fi is 41 percent faster than the new iPad and 54 percent faster than the Nexus 7.

Photo by Jennifer Van Grove/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

FROM AN AIRPORT HANGER IN SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Amazon today lifted the veil on the newest additions to its lineup of tablet devices and e-readers. Clearly, in an attempt to convince consumers ahead of the holiday shopping season that its hardware can be both cheap and sexy.

Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos took the stage and showed off the brand new Kindle Paperwhite e-reader and the Kindle Fire HD device. He also introduced a refreshed Kindle Fire tablet.

“People don’t want gadgets anymore, they want services,” Jeff Bezos said on stage. “The Kindle Fire is a service.”

The Kindle Paperwhite was the first device to make its official debut. The fancy e-reader is 9.1 mm thick and weighs in at 7.5 ounces. It gets eight weeks of battery life (even with the light on). Unlike previous Kindles, it does have a light in the front, which Amazon says “guides light underneath an anti-glare layer and down toward the display, away from the reader’s eyes.” In other words, it’s not a backlight, but it’s not quite your usual Itty Bitty Booklight either. The new “Paperwhite” display is meant to be exactly like ambient light, perfect for reading in the bedroom or in the sunlight, Bezos said.

The Kindle Paperwhite retails for $119, while its 3G brother retails for $179. Both e-readers will start shipping on October 1.

Amazon also revealed the updated Kindle Fire. The new device is the same form factor as the previous Kindle Fire, but has a faster processor, twice as much as RAM, and is 40 percent faster overall, Amazon claims. The refreshed Kindle Fire retails for $159.

But the biggest news of all is the appearance of the Kindle Fire HD.

The Kindle Fire HD comes in 7-inch or 8.9-inch varieties; the larger one weighs in at 20 ounces. Bezos talked up the device’s audio and Wi-Fi capabilities. The Kindle Fire HD comes with dual stereo speakers and is the first tablet to ship with Dolby Digital Plus. On the Wi-Fi front, the tablet includes two antennas and MIMO technology, which allows the tablet to better hold wireless reception.

The device, as described by Bezos, has been optimized to provide customers with the best-in-class tablet computing features, so everything from games and music to books and apps (and even email) is meant to work smoothly and brilliantly.

Bezos frequently referred to the Kindle Fire HD as stunning, and said it offered consumers the best hardware and best features.

People can start ordering the Kindle Fire HD today, Bezos said. The 7-inch version comes with 16 GB and retails for $199. It will start shipping on September 14. The bigger 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD costs $299, comes with 16 GB, and starts shipping on November 20.

The company is also offering a pricier 4G LTE model that comes with 32 GB and retails for $499. The data plan for the 4G device is only $49.99 a year, which includes 250 megabytes of wireless data a month, 20 gigabytes of cloud storage, and a $10 Amazon credit.

Bezos explained that Amazon intentionally tried to keep prices low to get the new Fire HDs into consumers’ hands. “We want to make money when people use our device, not when they buy our devices,” he said. “We have just built the best tablet at any price.”

Bezos also spoke on Amazon’s highly successful Direct Publishing program. He announced that the company was updating its Kindle Singles program with Kindle Serials. Serials offer Amazon readers a way to buy once (for $1.99) and continue to get installments as authors’ update and add to their works.

A number of rumors and pre-event leaks hinted at today’s announcements. Amazon was pegged to announce two new tablets, a high-end Kindle Fire model with faster processing power and a low-end, ad-supported model with minor upgrades. The notion of a 10-inch Kindle Fire lost some steam in recent weeks, though some analysts were still hoping to see a larger screen device.