Amazon's push to sell consumers more content by selling them hardware they can use to buy and consume that content continued on Thursday. At a press event in the US, the company introduced not only updated Kindles and a beefier Kindle Fire but also three new Kindle Fire HD tablets.
After the presentation, we got a chance to get our nerdy hands on the newest HD version of the Fire. We were impressed.
The is the Kindle Amazon hopes will take on the iPad in the tablet space. According to Amazon, the Kindle Fire currently owns 22 percent of the tablet market. Clearly Jeff Bezos wants more. The new seven-inch Kindle Fire HD feels more like a true iPad competitor. It sheds much of its predecessor's bulk and delivers a speedier more refined experience. The screen is crisp, with better contrast than the old Kindle Fire. However, while Amazon says that it has reduced the glare on the Fire HD's display, it's still a struggle under bright lights.
The external button has been moved from the bottom to the top on the Fire HD. It now sits flush with the case of the tablet, which should reduce instances of users accidentally putting the Fire into sleep mode while propping it up to read a book -- an all-too-common occurrence with the previous design. There are now physical volume buttons at the top of the device, too -- a welcome improvement over the software-based volume control.
Amazon's customised Android skin remains, but with tweaks that improve navigation. Sliding a finger from the top of the screen brings up settings, for example, which is much better than trying to tap that tiny gear. The new Coverflow-esque feature that replaces the bookshelf of the current Kindle Fire seems more like a lateral move than a step up, but the Favorites drawer is a welcome addition.
The speakers on the back are hidden within the distinctive black stripe that, even if not intentionally decorative, sets the Kindle Fire HD apart from other tablets. Unfortunately, the noisy airplane hangar where Amazon held its launch event was no good for testing audio performance, so we can't say anything about the sound.
All these tests were done on the seven-inch Kindle Fire HD.
The Kindle Fire HD is available for pre-order at £159 for the 16GB model and £199 for the 32GB version.
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