Amazon just released its 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD (Wi-Fi only version) with 16GB storage and “Special Offers” for $299 from Amazon.com or Best Buy. For $15 more you can buy it without the embedded screensaver ads.
The 8.9″ display on Kindle Fire HD features an incredible 254 pixels per inch with a resolution of 1920×1200, with pixels that are indistinguishable to the human eye. Kindle Fire HD also uses Gorilla Glass to provide superior strength and reliability. Kindle Fire HD starts with excellent resolution, but that is only the beginning—Amazon also added custom features that reduce glare and improve color saturation at any viewing angle.
Most tablet displays are made up of two pieces of glass—an LCD on the bottom and a touch sensor on the top, separated by an air gap. This air gap allows light to come through the touch sensor and reflect off the LCD, which causes added glare for the user. Fire HD solves this air gap problem by laminating the touch sensor and the LCD together into a single layer of glass, creating a display that is easy to view even in overhead light, and reducing glare .
Like many tablets, Kindle Fire HD uses in-plane switching (IPS) to improve color reproduction. But displays that only use IPS still appear washed out at various angles, such as laid sideways in bed, flat on a table, or propped up in a case. Fire HD features an Advanced True Wide polarizing filter that is applied directly to the LCD panel. This results in a display that shows the same deep contrast and rich, detailed color from any angle.
Kindle Fire HD uses state-of-the-art dual-band Wi-Fi which an automatically switch between the 2.4 GHz network and the newer, less crowded 5 GHz network, resulting in better range and less interference. In addition, dual antennas and Multiple In/Multiple Out (MIMO) allow for higher bandwidth and longer range.
An HD display and HD content must be driven by a powerful processor and optimized software. The Kindle Fire HD family features world-class processors and the new Imagination Technologies graphics engine for lightning-fast HD graphics and excellent fluidity. The 8.9″ Kindle Fire HD is powered by the latest generation OMAP4 4470 processor and Imagination SGX544 graphics engine capable of over 12 billion floating point operations per second—50 percent more than Tegra 3, and comes with higher memory bandwidth than Tegra 3. Combining the latest generation processors with significant customization of the Kindle Fire software by Amazon engineers results in a snappy and smooth experience for the user.
Kindle Fire HD offers dual stereo speakers with the next generation Dolby Digital Plus audio platform — the standard in high performance audio—to offer a world-class audio experience. Dolby’s audio suite for Kindle Fire HD includes technology used to adjust volume and deliver easier-to-understand dialogue in movies and TV shows. Kindle Fire HD automatically optimizes the audio profile based on what a customer is doing, such as watching a movie, listening to music, using third party apps like Pandora and Netflix, and also optimizes for headphones versus speakers. All of these pieces combine to create an exceptional audio experience that results in clearer, crisper and balanced sound quality.
The new Kindle Fire HD is extremely light and thin, weighing only 20 ounces and is just 8.8 mm thin. The tablet includes a front-facing HD camera with customized Skype to make video calls out of the box. More important, Amazon says you’ll get over 10 hours of battery life.
Features:
- A vibrant 8.9″, 1920×1200 resolution display at 254 ppi.
- Dual antenna, dual-band Wi-Fi with MIMO technology for faster streaming and downloads.
- The latest generation TI OMAP 4470 processor and Imagination SGX544 graphics engine capable of over 12 billion floating point operations per second.
- Dual stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus audio—the standard in high-end audio—available exclusively on Kindle Fire HD.
- Exceptional battery life—Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ gets 10 hours of battery life.
- Front-facing HD camera for taking photos or making video calls, including a custom Skype application for free video calling from around the world.
- New Amazon-exclusive features like X-Ray for Movies, X-Ray for Textbooks, Immersion Reading, Whispersync for Voice and Whispersync for Games.
- Kindle FreeTime, a free, personalized tablet experience just for kids and exclusively available on Kindle Fire. Parents can set daily screen limits and give access to appropriate content for each child.
- World’s best content ecosystem—over 22 million movies, TV shows, songs, apps, games, books, audiobooks and magazines.
- “Buy Once, Enjoy Everywhere” with Amazon apps available on the largest number of platforms so customers can use their Amazon content on any of their devices.
- Amazon’s top-rated, world-class customer service.
