$50 Amazon tablet released

[patrick3027]

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/09/amazon-introduces-a-slew-of-cheap-tablets-starting-at-50-upgraded-fire-tv/

Amazon announces 4 tablets and a bunch of other stuff. "The four new tablets are called the Fire HD8, the Fire HD10, the Fire, and the Fire Kids Edition. [...] The $99 Fire Kids Edition is essentially a $50 Fire with a kid-friendly case. The Kids Edition also comes with a two-year “no worry guarantee,” which allows parents to send back broken devices, even if those devices were broken by kids. The devices also come with a year of Amazon’s FreeTime Unlimited service, which includes a vast selection of kid-friendly books, shows, and games that’s curated by humans and cross-checked by child advocacy group Common Sense Media."

Fire, 7" Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB
 

Fast and responsive

The fast quad-core processor consists of four high-performance 1.3 GHz cores, for quick app launch times, smooth games and videos, and great overall performance.

Beautiful 7" IPS display

Fire features a 1024 x 600 IPS display with 171 ppi for a bright display with vivid colors and whiter whites. Enjoy a great viewing experience at all angles through a combination of IPS (in-plane switching) technology and an advanced polarizing filter.

No more worrying about storage space

Keep music, photos, movies, and games with you using a microSD card slot to expand your tablet's storage by up to 128 GB.
 
Power when you need it

Don't be tethered to an outlet — with up to 7 hours of mixed use battery life.

Capture life's moments

Fire features a 2 MP rear-facing camera for taking photos or recording 720p HD video. The VGA front-facing camera is perfect for Skype calls with friends and family.

Stands up to everyday life

Amazon engineers Fire tablets to hold up against everyday life. As measured in tumble tests, Fire is almost 2x more durable than the iPad Air 2.

Full technical details can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Display-Wi-Fi-GB-Special/dp/B00TSUGXKE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1442496193&sr=8-5&keywords=amazon+fire#tech

 

Worth getting?

Also I can't find the device on Amazon UK, so US only I guess?

 

The Fire HD8 and the Fire HD10 are the flagship models—with 8” and 10.1” screens, respectively, the two tablet versions have metal backing, and the HD 8 comes in a variety of colors that are 3D printed onto the back. The square tablets feel large but not overly heavy, and while at 7.7 mm they’re not as thin as, say, an iPad Air, the tablets don’t feel cheap.

The screen is not of cheap quality either—the display is laminated to the Gorilla Glass screen, and Amazon representatives claimed that it gives off 400 nits of brightness. Amazon’s spokespeople showed us a scene from Downton Abbey on the HD10, noting the tablet’s 16:10 aspect ratio, which can prevent some letterboxing and windowing for some video formats.

Both tablets also come with stereo speakers and virtual surround sound through the headphone jack. Both also run on a quad-core, 1.5 GHz processor, although Amazon did not provide more details on that front, and they'll be compatible with 802.11ac Wi-Fi networks.

Also, the tablets are good about letting users provide their own storage. The Fire HD8 comes with 8GB of storage, and the HD10 comes with 16GB, but both tablets have a microSD slot for external storage that will take users up to 128GB. The HD8 will be priced at $150, and the HD10 will go on sale for $230.

 

[...]

 

Finally, Amazon showed off its new living room entertainment devices. These devices were essentially reboots of devices that Amazon has had success with already

[The Official Czex]

http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Display-Wi-Fi-GB-Special/dp/B00TSUGXKE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1442496193&sr=8-5&keywords=amazon+fire#top

Worth getting?

 

Only 252 ppi. You'll notice those pixels and it will get on your nerves if you're used to a higher resolution display.

 

But if you're not... It's amazing for the price!

[Bob Jim]

Depends entirely on the quality of the device, which will likely be crap.

[iamdarkyoshi]

  Fire is almost 2x more durable than the iPad Air 2.

so is a wafer thin sheet of glass...

 

But I still prefer my nexus 7

[79wjd]

 Fire is almost 2x more durable than the iPad Air 2.

Was anyone else always bothered by the commercial that said the "Kindle Fire is twice as durable as iPad". 

 

/just a random off topic thought. 

[Mister Snow]

Is this it?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TSUGXKE/ref=s9_acss_bw_hsb_TB15SEP1_s1_s?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-2&pf_rd_r=1CGT7A9KSBKGEJ6PZBJW&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=2208666122&pf_rd_i=1232597011

 

I am confused by this part:

"Beautiful 7" IPS display (171 ppi / 1024 x 600)".

[Tycho]

it says something diffrent for me 

 

 

171 ppi / 1024 x 600

[qwertywarrior]

four high-performance 1.3 GHz cores

 

sounds like A15 at that price

[TheSLSAMG]

If someone builds and ports CyanogenMod 13 or any version of Android Marshmallow to it when it comes out, I'll probably pick one up.

[patrick3027]

Is this it?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TSUGXKE/ref=s9_acss_bw_hsb_TB15SEP1_s1_s?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-2&pf_rd_r=1CGT7A9KSBKGEJ6PZBJW&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=2208666122&pf_rd_i=1232597011

 

I am confused by this part:

"Beautiful 7" IPS display (171 ppi / 1024 x 600)".

Yep, I updated the OP.

[Mister Snow]

Yep, I updated the OP.

 

Now it doesn't sound that good.

Below 200 ppi on a 7" device is not that enjoyable. In the end, it's a $50 tablet and for that price it is really good but it now has a "but...resolution".

[ltguy]

The 10 inch version is so disappointing. How can they go from qhd to 720p. What year is it again?

[patrick3027]

Good news for the european folks out here, the tablet has appeared on the local websites:

UK £49.99 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fire-Display-Wi-Fi-GB-Special/dp/B00Y3TM6CO/ref=lp_1634797031_1_1?srs=1634797031&ie=UTF8&qid=1442867816&sr=8-1

DE € 59,99 http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00ZDWLEEG/ref=gw_comb_195094767_2/277-6304455-5695609?pf_rd_m=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF&pf_rd_s=desktop-hero-A&pf_rd_r=1YMFC7S9ANDCQJJPGKMF&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=702923767&pf_rd_i=desktop

IT € 59,99 http://www.amazon.it/dp/B00ZDWLEEG/ref=gw_eink_196927067_1/277-2446414-0056403?pf_rd_m=A11IL2PNWYJU7H&pf_rd_s=desktop-hero-kindle-A&pf_rd_r=1FF43YHZYDS4Q8B3PJ7W&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=702473627&pf_rd_i=desktop

It isn't available on the french site interestingly and none of the above ship to Belgium, so I'm screwed

But be careful: http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2015/09/17/read-the-fine-print-before-buying-the-50-amazon-fire-tablet/

 

It took me about 15 minutes to realize that there were a lot of “fine print” to the deal and I think you need to be aware of them before you buy or before you recommend it to friends and family.

Ad subsidized- Like some of its past products, Amazon.com is subsidizing the tablet by showing you ads on the lock screen. If you don’t want ads, then Amazon.com will let you pay them $15 more to remove the ads.

Generic quad core processor and generic graphics- Amazon.com isn’t saying which brand of processor it has on-board, but Amazon.com must think it’s pretty special as it is the #2 feature listed after the display. It is most likely a processor based on ARM Holdings low-end A7 processors in the lowest end phones today in the U.S. These cores are nearly half the performance of the A9 cores. It could be the Intel Atom Z3740. No one knows. Without listing what the processor is, I have to assume that it isn’t very good, so I have to I expect the tablet to feel very slow, especially with the overlay Amazon places on top of generic Android.

Graphics aren’t even mentioned but of course graphics are included. I’m not expecting graphics-intensive games to play well on this tablet but I could be wrong. I’ll need to test it myself to be sure. Or if Amazon would cite what kind of graphics processor it is, I could estimate how it would perform.

I'd probably put CyanogenMod on it anyway but yeah, you should keep this in mind.