The Kindle Fire tablet |
Huge day today for the e-book world as Amazon has announced three new Kindles (links are to CNET I work at CNET, all opinions are my own):
– A $79 Kindle with Special Offers (and keyboard)
– A $99 Kindle Touch with WiFi
– A $149 Kindle Touch with 3G
And a tablet:
The Kindle Fire for $199, featuring a 7″ display, Amazon’s own Silk web brower, and wireless syncing of books and movies — you can pause a movie on your TV and start watching on your Kindle Fire.
Huge implications: B&N is going to be feeling the heat as these are compelling e-ink reader prices (per Mashable their stock dropped 9% after Amazon’s announcement), Apple is going to be feeling some pressure as there is finally a viable device that undercuts the iPad on price, and having now crossed that magical sub-$100 price point, methinks this is going to be a huge holiday season for e-readers.
Four new devices, one big day. E-readers and tablets are getting more affordable, and it’s going to open up e-readers to new audiences.
What do you think of the new Kindles and the new Kindle Fire? Are you going to get one? (Or more?!)
Matthew MacNish says
Dang it. I just bought an iPad.
Kai says
Amazon is frickin brilliant! IBM used to do stuff like this in their hey day. Get a million users to love you and make everything proprietary so that they have to rely on you. Really smart.
KathySkaggsPoet says
I'm definitely gonna check out the Kindle Fire. Don't know that I'll buy one, but I'm interested enough to look at it. $199!! Wow.
Claire M. Caterer says
I'm drooling over ALL of them. I love my Kindle ($149, keyboard + WiFi, bought in December 2010). The Touch looks incredible, since the clunky keyboard is my one complaint with the current model. And the Fire? Wow! Want one! (Although, for reading books, I much prefer the e-ink to backlit.)
Cathy Yardley says
I have my issues with Amazon but I can't help but covet a Kindle. Maybe now I'll finally grab one.
Ava Jae says
I might actually check out the Kindle Fire. For $200 (which is what Apple charges for an iPod Touch which is significantly smaller than 7"), it'd definitely be worth at least taking a look at.
I think you're right. This could mean a great holiday season for e-readers.
Laurel says
Those price points are very tempting, even for a hard core Macgirl. The advantage iPad still has is that I can read any of my ebooks on it. B&N, Amazon, ePubs, Apple.
What I'm wondering is if Kindle software will continue to be available to Mac users or if they will transition away from that.
Javid Suleymanli says
I didn't like the design of kindles. but I would like to get a Kindle Fire.
Darley says
Lots of choices, which is good for the consumer. And prices keep dropping. No excuse not to buy an ereader.
Creepy Query Girl says
Ooooh shiny!!!
Mr. D says
Just glad I didn't rush to buy the first one that came out. Or the second. Or the competing one. Or the second competing one. Or the third one. Or…
Rex Kusler says
The day will come when you can get a Kindle free with the purchase of $100 worth of e-books.
SBJones says
As long as they keep it an eReader first and a tablet second, it will do fine. If they try to market it as an iPad killer, it will fail.
Sarah says
What's the word on the Kindle Fire as an ereader? If it's gentle on the eyes for long reading stints, that's a really tempting offer.
Anthony says
I will certainly migrate to a Touch.
I already poke at my Kindle screen thinking it's like my phone, and then sit there for a second wondering why it didn't do anything.
ashelynn hetland says
I'm happy with my iPad. I love that I can read eGalleys on it, plus have Kindle and Nook. And iBooks, but I don't normally buy books from Apple. Plus I use it for my writing. So no, I won't be buying a Kindle anything.
Stephanie {Luxe Boulevard} says
Truthfuly, my vote is that ebooks become obsolete. I like sitting here with my paperback, flipping through pages, smelling it all. Technology ruins everything!
Maya says
Amazon is like the Borg and they are slowly but surely taking over!
sheribomb says
I have an older 3G Kindle (the last light-colored one they made) and it still works great, so I haven't had much incentive to replace my e-ink ereader. The new Kindle Fire would fill a niche in my gadget collection. At that price, I think I'm going to have to get one. 🙂
Susan Kaye Quinn says
I am seriously going to have to re-think Christmas this year.
#thanksforthegreatpost!
Kristin Laughtin says
I probably won't get one, as I'm still very satisfied with the Kindle 3 I got last Christmas. It'll probably last a while, too, as I'm slow to replace unbroken technology. (I still have a 2GB Ipod Nano from when those were new!) However, these look really cool, especially the Touch features. The Fire would be a definite consideration if I were looking to get a tablet, although I would miss the e-ink of my current Kindle. Thanks for sharing.
Leah says
I already have and love my Kindle Keyboard (as they're calling it now), but the sexy new silver Kindles look sweet.
Seriously considering picking up a Kindle Fire this Christmas. Tablets are finally dropping to a reasonable price range. My phone already does everything a tablet can do–it'd just be nice to have a bigger screen. For $200, plus possibly dropping my Netflix/Hulu subs to pick up Amazon Prime, I can almost justify that.
Ben Campbell says
So much tech, so little time. I'll purchase the Kindle Fire 2 when it arrives early next year.
D.G. Hudson says
Kindle prices are becoming more reasonable, attracting the second wave of purchasers, including late adopters and schools with reading programs, etc. It should be interesting to see how the state of the economy will affect purchasing as everyone begins to vie for those holiday dollars.
I might buy the $99 or $149 model for a gift. Anyone traveling a lot can use a distraction to avoid staring at their fellow travelers. That's daily for commuters.
Very good timing by Amazon as we watch the ereader guys battle it our for supremacy. Will we as consumers benefit?
Perhaps.
I'll most likely be checking out the indie stores for my books. It's more fun.
Anonymous says
I think it's interesting that they keep coming out with new devices when the old ones we have aren't even old yet.
I also think it's interesting these devices are selling, too.
But what I find truly amazing is that we're supposedly in a depressed economy and people still find ways to buy these toys. Credit card debt? Mortgage default? Student loans? I could go on…
If I didn't have two e-readers and a tablet, I think I would buy one. But there comes a point where enough is enough already.
cwsherwoodedits says
We're already a two Kindle (3) family–my 11 year old daughter and I both use ours for most of the books we read. I'm buying the $79 model today, in hopes my husband will join in, or at least I'll be able to read on mine when he takes forever on his Kindle Scrabble turn.
I will be asking for a Kindle Fire for Christmas…
Reagan Philips says
I just got my kindle a month ago! (it's a Christmas gift–yes, for this Christmas–so I've already started Christmas shopping, so what?)
Anyway, I love it, but I'll still look into the others and maybe for next Christmas I'll get another…
Len Lambert says
Brilliant! These devices are really good for people who are always on the go!
Carmen Webster Buxton says
I have a K3 3G(guess it's now a Kindle Keyboard?) but I just pre-ordered a Kindle Touch 3G (having a 3G ereader is like having an ice maker; it's hard to go backwards). My excuse is that my husband can use whichever one I like least. The touch navigation looks really nice, but on the other hand, I really like being able to read one-handed.
Taylor Napolsky says
I already have a Kindle and I love it. But the kindle touch is tempting. I hate typing on my current Kindle.
Mira says
Okay, that does it. I need to buy stock in Amazon.
I got a Kindle for my b-day!! It's too awesome. I still like my I-phone Kindle for the backlighting, but I mooches the Kindle for everything else.
Amazon really is driving this thing. Forward thinking company.
Flurple says
I still have my old second gen kindle, and it still works so I've been having trouble justifying buying a new one, but that kindle fire for $199 might just break me. I've been wanting a tablet, and being able to watch movies from my instant video library on it would be so cool. And I can give my old kindle to my sister and pretend it's justified that way.
Dara says
Well I just got my Nook last year so I probably won't get one of these yet. Maybe once my Nook dies. For now though it does the job 🙂
LTM says
It's got color…! AMZ is so gonna kill w/this. And $199? Hmm… methinks I'll sit back and watch this play out~ :o)
clickerbug says
I've got the old 2nd Gen Kindle and a newer iPad2. Won't be needing anything new in that department, but I admit I'm suggestible. But I've gotten a lot better when it comes to not feeling the need for new technology.
I still like books. The paper ones, y'know.
Sean Thomas Fisher says
I love the Kindle Fire, and I know a ton of trees who love all of the new Kindles! This is pretty exciting and I'm so glad I began epubbing back in March. These affordable options would not only make sitting around waiting for illusive agent responses unbearable, but futile as well. Even my mom, who swore you'd have to pry her DTBs from her cold dead hands, is coming around and wants to check them out!
Marilyn Peake says
Woooo! Hoooo! Very excited!
Anonymous says
Mr. D. has it right.
Here's the problem with the speed at which they keep rolling out new devices. I won't get one because I know the newer better cheaper one will be coming along in a few months. I hate getting stuck with obsolete electronics.
Still sitting on the e-reader sidelines.
Sommer Leigh says
I'm already on the list for a Fire!
I love my Kindle and probably won't replace it with a newer model.
R. Scot Johns says
Pre-ordered mine today (and with my Amazon credit card too!). Already have a Kindle 3 and an iPad 2, but have held off on purchasing a ColorNook due to concerns about B&N future viability as a business. Amazon is in it to win it, going nowhere but up, and offering the moon with tickets to get there. I'm on board.
Margo Gremmler says
I pre-ordered the Kindle Fire today.
I'd been waiting and waiting on buying a tablet. I use an Android phone and Amazon Prime, so – easy sell.
Anonymous says
Considering how fast technology is changing, the kindles released today were obsolete yesterday. It seems a waste of money to purchase something that is obsolete. I'm so glad that I haven't bought an iphone, ipad, kindle, or any of the other must have little devices that I seem to do just fine without.
The English Teacher says
The Kindle Fire is the first one that has even tempted me. I'll have to look into that.
Anonymous says
Would totally get a kindle fire, if only it (and the services offered on it) were available on the colder side of the 49th…
AM Riley says
I resisted the Kindle Fire for about ten minutes and then pre-ordered. I have an old Kindle and like it enough but I'm always wishing I could browse and email and see things in color. I've had ipad envy for those options, but the price and the monthly cost of the service was appalling.
This is exactly what I was wanting. yay.
Catherine Stine says
I have a kindle, and an iPhone, and I had no interest in an iPad. But this gadget looks quite tempting…
historywriter says
The colors look brilliant and the ability to access Amazon's vast content is a plus. Is the black and white reader still the same? It's feature that my friends' enjoy on theirs.
Kaitlyne says
I won't buy it because it's Amazon and I'm afraid of the whole taking over the world thing. If it wasn't for that I'd consider it, though.
Tres Buffalo says
If it were a 10", I would probably buy one. I already have a 10" Android and can watch movies and have the Kindle Ap on it. Its problem is you can't do the NYT crossword on it. If you can on the Fire I might consider it for Christmas.
Jacqueline says
Alas, Kindle still doesn't allow downloading from libraries in Canada, so it's no Kindle eReader for me, though it would definitely have been my first choice.
And the Kindle Fire isn't available outside the U.S., so that settles that for me too.
BUT! Here's hoping this drives down the prices of the competition. Just in time for Christmas.