US Edition 
Amazon to sell Kindle Fire tablets in the UK
Amazon has unveiled three new models of its Kindle Fire tablet, and will sell the device in the UK for the first time.
The Kindle Fire HD will be available in two models, with a 7” (17.8cm) screen version selling at £159 or £199 for 16GB and 32GB respectively. Amazon’s device will challenge Google’s popular Nexus 7, also £159, and the retailer made its pitch clear with claims that its device was “the most advanced 7” tablet”.
An 8.9” (22.6cm), aimed directly against Apple's slightly larger iPad, will be on sale in America from November and will also feature 4G connectivity but UK customers will have to wait for this version.
Amazon will however start to sell an improved version of its original Kindle Fire in the UK for £129. Both devices sold in the UK will be available for delivery from 25 October.
The Kindle Fire HD offers what Amazon claims is the fastest WiFi available on a tablet, an 11-hour battery life and a front-facing camera for use with applications such as Skype.
Amazon is undercutting Apple’s iPad, Kobo’s new Arc and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, while matching the price of the Nexus 7 but offering more storage. All Amazon’s devices, however, will be subsidised by adverts shown on their lock screens.
Although Amazon’s original Fire device was criticised for lacking power and offering a worse user experience than Apple, reviewers praised its low price and the company said it captured 22 per cent of the American market.
The new HD models will be used as a vehicle to sell Amazon’s film, TV, magazine, book and music downloads and feature stereo speakers and an HDMI port to make connecting to a TV easier. American markets will also see an improved Kindle eReader, the Paperwhite, which can be used in the dark, but the UK will receive only a slightly enhanced version of the existing Kindle for a new lower price of £69.
Analysts greeted the news with mixed reactions, and Amazon’s share price rose slightly. Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at Ovum, claimed “Amazon is clearly spooked by Google’s Nexus 7 coming in at $200 for a much more capable device, and it’s upped its own hardware specs while reducing the price to $159, which is clearly an attempt to keep it somewhat attractive in the face of that new competition from Google and Asus.” She added, “The new pure e-readers reaffirm Amazon as the clear leader in this space. The $69 price point for the basic Kindle is unbeatable, and the Paperwhite devices are now the best in class for backlit e-readers. There’s no-one else that does these things this well, this cheaply.”
Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps said that “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.”
A Forrester survey found that nearly a third of US consumers had a credit card on file with Amazon, compared with 18 per cent who use Apple services and 5 per cent for Google. “That payment connection enables Amazon to roll out more subscription services - which we see as key to Amazon's future success - and to offer new products like smartphones, which 23% of consumers we surveyed said they'd be interested in purchasing if it were available,” said Rotman Epps. “What it means: in the post-PC era, services rule, and Amazon is getting quite good at offering what consumers want."
Amazon is rumoured to be working on a phone, but it has not confirmed that this is the case.
The Kindle Fire HD weighs 395 grams and is 10.3 mm thick, and will feature an operating system based on Google’s Android. It will now offer an improved browser, email and calendar function.
“Kindle Fire HD is the world’s most-advanced 7” tablet, with a stunning customised HD display, the fastest WiFi, exclusive Dolby audio, powerful processor and graphics engine, 11 hours of battery life, and 16 GB of storage for all your HD content,” claimed Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and chief executive. “Not only does Kindle Fire HD feature the most advanced hardware, it’s also a service. When combined with our enormous content ecosystem, unmatched cross-platform interoperability, and standard-setting customer service.”