Amazon (AMZN) on Thursday began shipping the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, the larger version of its popular Kindle Fire tablet line. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, which sells for $299, features an 8.9-inch display with a resolution of 1920×1200 pixels, a TI OMAP 4470 processor and a front-facing HD camera, and it measures in at just 8.8 millimeters thin and weighs 20 ounces. Amazon says that it will start shipping the LTE-capable version of the tablet, which sells for $499, sometime next week. Anyone who hasn’t pre-ordered the new tablet will have to grab it at Best Buy (BBY) quickly, however, as AllThingsD notes that the device is already backordered to December 3rd. The company’s full press release is posted below.
Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ Ships Today
Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ ships today-features a stunning 1920×1200 HD display with 254 ppi, exclusive Dolby audio, a powerful processor and graphics engine and dual antenna, dual-band Wi-Fi with MIMO-just $299
The top-of-the-line Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ 4G ships next week-comes with the groundbreaking 4G LTE data package, just $49.99 for the first year
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nov. 15, 2012– (NASDAQ:AMZN)-Amazon today announced that Kindle Fire HD 8.9″-the large-screen version of Amazon’s best-selling HD tablet-ships today, just in time for the holiday shopping season. Customers can order their Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ at http://www.amazon.com/kindlefirehd for $299. Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ is also available at Best Buy starting tomorrow as well as additional retailers like Staples and Radio Shack in the coming weeks. Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ 4G will ship next week.
“Kindle Fire HD has been Amazon’s best-selling product worldwide since launch, and that was before we even started shipping the best tablet we’ve ever built,” said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “With the holiday season upon us, we’re excited to make our $299 Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ available early-we think customers are going to love web browsing, email, gaming, watching TV shows, reading magazines, and more on the large, stunning HD screen, with fast Wi-Fi and exceptional audio.”
Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ is the top-of-the-line Kindle Fire. Features include:
- 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.
The new Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ 4G, with groundbreaking 4G LTE data package, starts at $499 and will begin shipping on November 20. Amazon worked closely with AT&T to offer the most affordable 4G tablet data package. The 12-session AT&T 4G data package includes 250MB a session of data, a $10 Amazon Appstore for Android credit and 20GB of Amazon CloudDrive, all for a one-time payment of only $49.99. There are no monthly fees or annual contracts. The $49.99 package is only available for the first year of service. Customers can also choose to upgrade to 3GB or 5GB data plans from AT&T directly from the device. Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ features the latest 4G LTE technology for ultra-fast mobile broadband, letting customers connect to the internet, stream, and download at speeds even faster than Wi-Fi. Unlike some 4G devices, Kindle Fire HD includes support for 10 bands, so even when a customer is in a place with no 4G LTE network they’ll fall back to the fastest available network and won’t lose coverage. All this with no compromises to battery or weight – Kindle Fire HD combines the most power-efficient LTE chipset available with a custom-designed 4G wireless modem that’s only 2.2 mm thin.
Customers can learn more and order at http://www.amazon.com/kindlefirehd. Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ is also available at Best Buy starting tomorrow and will also be available at additional retailers like Staples and Radio Shack in the coming weeks.
