Amazon introduces 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD and updated 7-inch Kindle Fire [UPDATED]

Editorial Director of News and Content

| September 6, 2012

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Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch official 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD

Amazon continued the busy month of September with its event in California today, and at that gathering the company took the wraps off of some new Kindle Fire tablets. First up is the Kindle Fire HD, which features an 8.9-inch 1920x1200 display with a laminated touch sensor that has no air gap, which Amazon says will help to reduce glare. Buried inside the Kindle Fire HD's 8.8mm thick body is a TI OMAP 4470 processor, 16GB storage and both MIMO technology as well as dual-band (2.4GHz, 5GHz) Wi-Fi. Rounding out the spec sheet is an HD front-facing camera, dual stereo speakers and HDMI out.

When it comes to availability, the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD will be priced at $299, and will be available for order today with an expected ship date of November 20. There's also a 7-inch Kindle Fire HD model that's priced at $199 and is also available for order today and will ship on September 14.

For folks that would prefer their Kindle Fire HD with some cellular flavor, Amazon also took the wraps off of the Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE. The LTE-enabled Kindle Fire HD packs an 8.9-inch display and comes with 32GB of storage. The data plan for the Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE is priced at $49.99 per year and includes 250MB of data per month, 200GB cloud storage and a $10 Amazon Appstore credit. The Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE itself will be priced at $499, and like its Wi-Fi-only 8.9-inch Fire HD brother, will be available for order today and will ship on November 20.

The updated Kindle Fire retains the original model's 7-inch display, but packs a speedier processor, double the RAM and improved battery life. Pricing for this new Fire will be set at $159. Interested customers can begin placing orders today, and the device will begin shipping out on September 14.

The Kindle Fire HD looks to be a worthy follow-up to the original Kindle Fire thanks to the presence of features like a 1920x1200 display and front-facing camera. The $199 7-inch model could be a pretty attractive option for anyone looking for an affordable new tablet, and it's good to see an 8.9-inch model introduced for fans of larger tablets. There's also the Kindle Fire with 4G LTE, which has a base data plan that looks attractive at $50 per year, but the 250MB monthly data limit could be too small for a lot of users. It's also worth noting that it was AT&T's 4G LTE logo that was used during the Kindle Fire HD With 4G LTE's introduction, so it appears as though the device will run on AT&T's network. So now that the new Fires are officially official, are any of you buying?

UPDATE: Amazon has issued its press release for the new Kindle Fires, which confirms a few more details about the slates. The 7-inch Kindle Fire HD features a screen resolution of 1280x800 and will be available with either 16GB or 32GB of storage. Amazon's 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD will also be come in 16GB and 32GB sizes. Finally, the Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE will be available for purchase with 32GB or 64GB of storage, and customers interested in a larger data plan will be able to sign up for 3GB or 5GB AT&T plans from the Fire HD itself. Amazon also notes that its "new Kindle Fire family" will feature special offers on the lock screens of the devices.

UPDATE 2: Amazon has confirmed to Sascha Segan of PCMag that the OS on the new Kindle Fire models is based on Android 4.0 and that the Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE will run on AT&T's LTE network.

7-inch Kindle Fire HD