It's official. Amazon has announced both the KindleTouch ($99 WiFi only; $149 KindleTouch3G) and KindleFire ($199) tablet. You can can pre-order NOW and get in line ... behind me, of course. If you don't need touch, there will be entry level $79 Kindle. If you don't want Special Offers, you'll pay a $40 premium on all three models. They've renamed the Kindle Latest Generation (which we all call the K3) as the Kindle Keyboard and it is still available (at least, for now).The KindleTouch uses the same infrared technology as the Nook Simple Touch and is smaller than the K3. No buttons, speaker on front; using tap zones, you can read left or right handed. Instead of just a dictionary (or perhaps as a replacement?) you now get "X-Ray", which brings up a wikipedia entry on a highlighted term. The new devices are only 6-8 oz.! The new KindleTouch and KindleTouch3G will ship November 21, so those using next day and Prime shipping will have them BEFORE Thanksgiving and Black Friday, while the entry level $79 Kindle is shipping today! Battery life looks to be awesome - up to 2 months with wireless off (1 month on the entry level non-touch edition). Storage space is the same as the current Kindle devices: 4GB (half that on the new entry level Kindle). All the new Kindles will use the same eInk Pearl screen that current edition Kindles have (so, there is no need to upgrade, unless you want to get the touch screen, 3G if you only have WiFi or want the special offers). All the new Kindles are physically smaller, not just lighter, so you'll need a new case or cover (and the non-touch Kindle uses a different cover from the Touch editions, as it is the smallest of all). There are a few other features missing from the new entry level Kindle - no Text-to-Speech, for example, and no Audible support, as there are no speakers. I suspect the vast majority of Kindle users never used either feature, but that also means no music support (again, not a heavily used feature). The price is low enough, though, to make this an easily replaced item in a child's school kit (it's less than most jackets that the average child will lose during the school year).
Live outside the US or are a non-native English reader? Kindle supports the display of non-Latin characters, so you can read books and documents in the translation that's right for you. Kindle displays Cyrillic (such as Russian), Japanese, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), and Korean characters, in addition to Latin and Greek scripts. You can customize your Kindle with the language you prefer. You can set your default language on Kindle to English (US and UK), German, French, Spanish, Italian, or Brazilian Portuguese.
The KindleFire tablet is taking direct aim at the upcoming nookColor 2 and is priced $50 lower than anyone projected (and lower than B&N is planning for the new device; at this price the old nookColor will have to drop well below the planned reduction to $200 once the new model comes out). There is no camera or microphone (so, no using this for Skype, which is one huge use of tablets) and it's WiFi only (as expected). Of course, Apple left off the camera at first too (and the KindleFire will be hundreds less than an iPad), but I suspect they may add those back in either in a new generation or with the 10" tablet expected next year. This one ships November 15 (so check back on the 16th for my impressions!).
Contrary to some early (suspect) rumors, the KindleFire will have a dual-core processor (better than the current nookColor). It's light, at 14.6 ounces. Magazines you buy will be backed up on the Cloud (about time, as Kindle magazines generally disappear after a few issues). It uses an Apple style USB connector (much wider than standard USB). You get free cloud storage of your movies and TV shows (I wonder if this means no blackout periods, if you buy these, which can now occur). Whispersync now supports your movies and TV shows, as well (which, I suppose means that you can leave an episode or movie on one device and pick up where you left off on another - just like those DirectTV commercials). It also looks like it will be available in 100 countries, not just the US - what this means for streaming content and Android Apps, though, I don't know (since some has been US only, so far). There is a bookshelf like interface that shows your content (like Shelfari in some ways), with apps, movies and books all together (at least in one view). For those into technical details, there are 169 pixels/inch and Gorilla Glass on the front (so it is more likely to survive being dropped a short distance or having your dog walk on it). There's no SD expansion slot (which I really miss from the original Kindle); instead, you get 8GB internal memory, which is supposed to be able to hold 80 apps, plus either 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books. Like the other tablets on the market, battery life should be about 8 hours in use (with wireless off), so this isn't the best choice for reading only on a long backpacking trip. It should be plenty long, though, for most trips by plane or air (provided you can recharge at night) and daily use.
Of course, it supports Kindle books and your Cloud Music (and you can play music in the background) Gameplay should be smooth, with the dual core processor. Amazon takes advantage of their back-end EC2 servers for web browsing, offloading some of the heavy processing there and using the KindleFire only for display. For the privacy concerned, this will mean that all your surfing will go thru Amazon's servers, just as it does now on any Kindle device; then again, now your surfing goes thru at least your ISP's system and you really have to work at being truly private in your browsing history. The technology is similar to what Citrix and Microsoft have done for years with thin clients, so it is a mature technology (although on a new platform). Amazon has rolled their own browser, Silk, forgoing Google's Chrome (just as they don't use Google's Android for the actual OS). What this does mean is that performance on their browser should be much better than on most other mobile devices, as you don't use your local connection and wifi to do the hundreds of back and forth requests that are common on web pages today -- that happens at the EC2 servers on Amazon's backbone and you just get the resulting page (see this youtube video). It even remembers your viewing habits - if you always go to a news site, it keeps it preloaded (and refreshed) and ready to load when you turn on your KindleFire.
OK, here is some of the marketing material, which is starting to show up at Amazon. First, the KindleFire:Movies, apps, games, music, reading and more, plus Amazon's revolutionary, cloud-accelerated web browser
- 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books
- Amazon Appstore - thousands of popular apps and games
- Ultra-fast web browsing - Amazon Silk
- Free cloud storage for all your Amazon content
- Vibrant color touchscreen with extra-wide viewing angle
- Fast, powerful dual-core processor
- Amazon Prime members enjoy unlimited, instant streaming of over 10,000 popular movies and TV shows
Second, the KindleTouch and KindleTouch3G:Top-of-the-line e-reader, with touch and free 3G wireless
- Free 3G wireless, no annual contracts or monthly fees.
- 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
Last, the new entry level Kindle:
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
