Internet retailer Amazon has released its new Kindle Fire line of gadgets at an event in Santa Monica, California, US, challenging Apple’s iPad with low prices and a storage of digital content.
The new product is expected to allow Amazon to acquire a higher share of the booming tablet market and assist in sales of the firm’s digital goods, including e-books and movies.
Amazon’s new 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD, with a 1920-by-1200 resolution screen, operates on either Wi-Fi or 4G and is scheduled to be shipped beginning from 20 November 2012.
The top-end model of the Kindle Fire line up is priced at $599 with a storage capacity of 64GB, while the cheapest 7-inch WiFi-only Kindle Fire version is priced at $159.
Features of the new Kindle Fire HD tablets include a front-facing camera, mated to a customised, pre-installed application from Skype which allows users to video chat for free.
Internet retailer also lifted the lid of its new family of ‘paperwhite’ e-readers, featuring sharper screens and longer battery life.
The firm has also unveiled new support services for the tablets, including X-Ray for movies and Kindle FreeTime.
X-Ray will allow the operators to find information on actors in scenes with no flick being left and the FreeTime, which is a new parental control system, alliows parents set limits o use of tablets by their kids.
Amazon’s expanding line of tablets is also expected to strengthen a battle with Google and Microsoft, who have made their entry into their own competitors in the roaring tablet demand.
