The New York Times
Updated: 7:57?p.m.?Thursday,?Sept.?6,?2012
Published: 7:34?p.m.?Thursday,?Sept.?6,?2012
SANTA MONICA, Calif. ? Amazon's challenge to Apple's iPad just got a little more serious.
On Thursday, Amazon announced updates to its line of Kindle e-readers, including the Kindle Fire HD, a tablet computer that comes in two sizes, one that is nearly as large as the iPad and that undercuts its price by $200.
The company also announced the Kindle Paperwhite, a new version of the black-and-white Kindle, which is thinner and faster than its predecessor. It also has a new kind of screen, lit from the bottom, that has a higher contrast and will be easier to read, including in the dark.
"We are not building the best tablet at a certain price," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon's chief executive, who showed off the new devices at an event at an airport hangar here in Santa Monica. "We're building the best tablet at any price."
The Kindle Fire HD challenges the iPad on several fronts. The larger version of the device has an 8.9-inch display, compared with the iPad's 9.7 inches. The new Amazon device also has a front-facing camera with Skype integration, which directly competes with the front-facing camera on the iPad and Apple's FaceTime video conferencing features. Like the iPad, the new Kindle Fire offers 16 gigabytes of storage.
The larger version of the Kindle Fire HD cost $300; the baseline iPad costs $500. Amazon is also offering a $500 version of the Kindle Fire HD with cellular data connectivity, which is cheaper than Apple's least expensive iPad with cellular connectivity, which costs $630.
During the presentation, Bezos continually compared the Kindle Fire HD with Apple's iPad, talking about both the features and its price.
Amazon has worked with a number of partners to create applications designed specifically for the Kindle Fire HD. The apps are available through Amazon, along with other content like video, music and books.
"Amazon's services are the core of its devices, and the devices enhance Amazon's service: A virtuous cycle where Amazon gains an increasing share of consumers' wallets," Sarah Rotman Epps, a Forrester Research analyst who specializes in tablets, wrote in a company blog post on Thursday.
Amazon does not disclose sales figures for its Kindle line. Apple says it has sold more than 84 million iPads since it debuted in 2010.
According to the latest forecasts from Forrester, the market research company, Americans are expected to own 60.7 million tablets and 40.2 million e-readers by the end of 2012. Forrester also predicts that 112 million people, or one-third of the U.S. population, will own a tablet by 2017. It is expected that 76.5 million Americans will own electronic readers.
Amazon said the Kindle Paperwhite has 62 percent higher resolution than the previous display and is made up of an entirely new screen and lighting system. Amazon said the battery of the Kindle Paperwhite can last for eight weeks.
A version of the device with free cellular data service will cost $179. A Wi-Fi version is $119. Both will ship on Oct. 1 but can be ordered now.
Google is one of Amazon's competitors too. Amazon also announced a low-end 7-inch tablet, the Kindle Fire, for $159. Google's 7-inch Nexus 7 tablet costs $200.
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