Amazon Unleashes A Flood Of Kindle Updates, Including One For Your Guppies

Amazon’s Kindle line is one of the biggest recent success stories in consumer electronics. With a custom Android OS, Amazon prices them lower than other vendors because it’s seen as a “digital shopping cart” to consume the e-tailing giant’s products. Last night, Amazon unveiled a whole ton of updates, including one parents will love.

Before we get to that, let’s focus on the original Kindle product, the eReader. Digital books are big business (pricing controversies aside) and the initial price point just got a lot lower. The base Kindle is now $79, lighter, faster, and finally has a touch interface. With a new type of eInk driving the interface, it’s a good deal. The original Kindle may not be the best deal though. Aside from an updated Kindle Paperwhite ($119), Amazon has also added the Kindle Voyager. Amazon dubs it “our most advanced Kindle ever”, but the real selling point that grabbed so many about the original Kindle is the free 3G wireless. That’s right, Amazon is once again footing the bill so that you can grab books on the go or search Wiki. That’s a pretty good deal for $199.

Remember to edit the entry on Earth to say “Mostly Harmless”.

What’s that? You want a real, actual tablet? Then Amazon has several options for you. To start with, there’s the brand new Kindle Fire HD for only $99. No, that’s not a typo. Amazon is promoting it as the most powerful tablet for under a hundred bucks. The catch is that it’s not the 7″ tablet that’s $99, but a new 6″ model. In 2014, that’s closer to being a phone than being a tablet. Hey, Amazon, throw LTE in there and you might have a Fire phone people want to buy.

Yes, we just gave a burn to a product called Fire.

If that extra inch is mission critical for you, it will run you $139. Besides an updated OS (keep reading) and several new features, the 2014 Kindle HD adds colored chassis options in black, white, cobalt, magenta, and citron. That’s a cute little touch and one way to stand out from a sea of black, white, or silver slabs.

Just guessing, but there will likely be matching cases.

If the Fire HD is too small for you, there’s always the $379 Fire HDX. With a 70 percent faster processor than the precious model and a screen with 399 ppi, that’s one heck of a beast. It doesn’t feel like one though. Stats show that it’s 20 percent lighter than the not-exactly-hefty iPad Air. Dolby sound is standard, with a claim of louder speakers than the iPad. You may notice the Apple mentions; from reading the PR, it’s clear that this version is a direct shot at Apple’s flagship tablet. While dethroning Apple’s market dominance has obviously always been Amazon’s goal, it’s easy to get the impression that this is a direct throwing down of the gauntlet.

Is this Fire the official shot across Apple’s bow?

Get ready for the next chapter in the endless debate about how much screen time is appropriate for kids of assorted ages with the introduction of the the Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition. The tablet comes available as either a 6″ tablet for $149 or a a 7″ model for $189. Why the higher price point than the non-Kids Edition Fire? I’m guessing that has something to do with the two-year, worry-free guarantee. That’s right, for the first two years, if your kid breaks it, Amazon will replace it. Also included is a free year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, giving the young’un access to thousands of shows, movies, educational games, and whatnot.

Amazon stresses that the Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition is not a “toy”, and it has all the bells and whistles one would expect on from a Kindle tablet. This makes sense. As any parent with a tablet can tell you, there’s a constant “can I have a turrrrrn” aspect to digital life that does get a bit old. Tablets are still a bit too new a thing for people to have lots to hand down to their kids. If you’re going to invest in a dedicated tablet for them, why not have it be decent quality?

Will you let your kids play with Fire?

All the new tablets are powered by the latest update to FireOS, code-named “Sangria“. This version is based on Google’s current Amazon 4.4.x (a.k.a. KitKat). Amazon forks OS to create a different creature, with tight integration to the Amazon Cloud. A nice feature taken from the FireTV is ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction), which can predict the movies and TV episodes you want to watch and has them ready to go next. Many of the features touted in the above tablet announcements are actually FireOS feature, such as:

• Free, unlimited storage on Amazon Cloud for photos taken with your Fire.
• Family Library lets you share content with family members even if they have a different Amazon account. That’s apps, music, books, audio books, video, etc. This is a big deal.
• If you only have the one tablet, you can use Profiles to set up multiple accounts. While any Android KitKat tablet can potentially do it, Amazon has set it up as a central feature.

There have also been some improvements to the OS interface, like a better stock keyboard. And of course, there’s Amazon’s Mayday feature, 24/7 tech support at the push of a button.

The best part is that if you have a third-generation Kindle Fire running Mojito, you can update your existing device to Sangria.

Amazon’s naming team doesn’t have a problem. YOU have a problem!

There are, of course, downsides to the Kindle Fire line. You have the trade-off of being locked into Amazon’s unique version of the Android ecosystem. There is (an ever dwindling) percentage of apps not on the Amazon Market but available on Google Play. With that caveat noted, a Kindle Fire remains the best value for anyone who spends their digital life navigating Amazon.