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Jon Russell
Jon Russell was Asia Editor for The Next Web from 2011 to 2014. Originally from the UK, he lives in Bangkok, Thailand. You can find him on T Jon Russell was Asia Editor for The Next Web from 2011 to 2014. Originally from the UK, he lives in Bangkok, Thailand. You can find him on Twitter, Angel List, LinkedIn.
Amazon has announced the Kindle Fire HDX, a new version of its Kindle tablet, which comes in 7- and 8.9-inch sizes.
The tablets run an updated version of its Fire operating system — version 3.0 is known as “Mojito,” and boasts ‘hundreds of updates — and are powered by a 2GHz quad-core processor from Qualcomm. The screen is an HDX display, with a pixel density of 339 ppi and 4 million pixels, it also boasts 100 percent sRGB color accuracy and dynamic image contrast.
In addition to being around one-third lighter (the 8.9-inch tablet) than their predecessors, the new devices have an ‘all-day’ battery. In real terms, Amazon says that should give up to 11 hours of mixed use and 17 hours of reading time.
There’s something very unique about the devices too: the Mayday tech support button.
Like a kind of SOS alert, the button summons a member of Amazon’s tech support team to answer any queries via a video call. It’s a free feature and it is available 24 hours a day, the company says — think virtual Apple Genius Bar.
It isn’t just new hardware, the company is also launching new software and services for the devices. It’s Amazon Instant Prime is — following YouTube’s lead — by allowing users to download video content for consumption offline.
X-Ray for Music provides karaoke-style ‘follow-along’ lyrics on screen, while X-Ray for Movies and TV includes a wealth of information take from Amazon-owned film site IMDB. X-Ray also performs as a second screen feature for when content is playing on a TV or other screen.
User content is scooped up and synced by Cloud Collections, which keeps app, book, newspaper and magazine up to date across all of a user’s devices.
Price-wise, the 7-inch models starts at $229 (for 16GB) and $329 for an LTE-compatible device. The 8.9-inch variant costs upwards of $349, or $479 for the LTE-version. All are open for pre-order now.
The WiFi-only 7-inch model begins shipping on October 15, with the 4G versions starting a month later. The 8-9-inch Kindle HDX ships from November 7, or December if you want a 4G device.
Addition, the Kindle Fire HD has been given an upgrade — it now comes with an HD display, high-performance processor and dual speakers — and had its price slashed to $139.
Headline image via David McNew/Getty Images
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