AT&T announced this morning that they are to bring Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ tablet, complete with 4G LTE to their network starting April 5. Customers can pick up the device for $399, but can save up to $150 when signing a new two year agreement with the device. AT&T is the first carrier in the U.S. to offer the device at a subsidized price point. 

The 8.9″ Fire HD sports a crisp 1920 x 1200 display, 10 hours of battery life, access to all of Amazon’s digital content, and now sports 4G LTE. These devices were first available back in September of last year, so excuse me if I don’t sound overly excited for this announcement.

Show of hands, who is picking one up?

Via: AT&T

Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ With 4G LTE Headed to AT&T on April 5, Priced at $250 on Two Year Contract is a post from: Droid Life

If the Kindle Fire HD was on your holiday shopping list, today would be the day to make that purchase. For a limited time, Amazon is offering a $50 off coupon for all versions of the tablet, which lowers the price from $299 to $249 for the 16GB model and $319 from $369 for 32GB. Not bad at all.

The Fire HD features a 1920×1200 HD display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and of course, access to 22 million movies, tv shows, books, songs, etc.

Coupon code: FIREHD89

Buy.

Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ Just $250 Through Amazon With $50 Off Coupon is a post from: Droid Life

Amazon’s newest tablet, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9, starts shipping today. At $299 (for the WiFi version), you get a 8.9″ 1920×1200 display (with 254ppi), TI OMAP4470 dual-core processor, dual stereo Dolby Digital Plus audio speakers, a front facing camera for video chatting, and easy access to all of Amazon’s content.

If a WiFi-only model doesn’t fulfill your needs, then you may want to consider the 4G LTE equipped 8.9. It starts at $499, but more importantly, gives you the opportunity to purchase a $49 year-long data package. Amazon partnered with AT&T to offer this one-of-a-kind data deal. The 4G LTE model ships next week.

Amazon Links:  Fire HD 8.9 w/ WiFi ($299) | Fire HD 8.9 w/ 4G LTE ($499)

Kindle Fire HD 8.9 Starts Shipping Today for $299, in Stores Tomorrow is a post from: Droid Life

Click here to view the embedded video.

Being in the tech industry, it’s all about comparing device A to device B. That’s just how it is and there is no changing that. With that said, let’s make guacamole out of tablets! The folks over at BlendTec have put out a new video, pitting the iPad Mini against the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD. In the end, it’s always hard to choose a winner, but with this one, you really can’t tell the difference between the three.

Cheers Chris, K, Brian, Oswald, and Lana!

Video: iPad Mini vs. Kindle Fire HD vs. Nexus 7 – Will They Blend? is a post from: Droid Life

This morning, Barnes & Noble released their newest lineup of Nook tablets, not to be out shined by Amazon’s Kindle lineup. Leading the pack is their new Nook HD+ and Nook HD slates, which sport full HD displays and some pretty impressive specs to boot. The Nook HD+ sports a 9″ display at 1920 x 1280 resolution, 256 ppi, and is powered by a 1.5GHz OMAP 4470 processor, while the Nook HD is a 7″ 1440 x 900, 243 ppi, with the same chipset.

To maintain competitiveness. the newest Nook devices are also being sold for the same reasonable prices, but with a twist. For 16GB, the Nook HD+ runs $269 and for 32GB it receives a minor bump up to $299. As for the Nook HD, the 8GB variant can be purchased for the industry standard of $199 and $229 for the 16GB brother, which will surely have some people second guessing a Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD purchase. As an added bonus, each of these HD tablets sport a micro-SD card slot for even more storage.

The devices are already up for pre-order and buyers can expect to see the tablets arrive at their doorsteps this November.

Nook HD Gallery:

Nook HD+ Gallery:

Hands-on with the Nook HD and HD+ from The Verge:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via: Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble Announces Nook HD, Nook HD+, and Simple Touch Tablets is a post from: Droid Life

Over the weekend, word got out through testers and developers that the new Kindle Fire HD lineup was going to be locked up tight by Amazon. According to kinfauns, who is a contributor over at XDA, the Kindle Fire’s bootloaders are signed and designed for HS (high security) devices. Oh, gee, well that just sounds lovely. So much for those who were hoping to remove Amazon’s custom Android skin in favor of stock Jelly Bean. Of course, it’s well known developers love a good challenge. You can expect work to start as soon as shipments start arriving at doorsteps.

We’ll keep you posted on any progress made.

Via: XDA

Kindle Fire HD Bootloaders Locked Tight, XDA Developers Begin Plan of Attack is a post from: Droid Life

No new piece of tech goes mainstream until the guys over at iFixit have torn it open and showed us all of what’s inside. The new Kindle Fire HD is the most recent device to fall to the repair tools and got pulled open promptly. Amazon took a cue from Google in the ease of repairability, the Fire HD matched the Nexus 7 on repairability with a 7 out of 10.

Amazon found a way to keep their tablet easily fixable while making the overall device slimmer than the Nexus 7. The only problem is that the LCD and front glass panel are fused together and would be a little expensive to get that piece fixed. Other than that the Fire HD passed iFixit’s inspection. Hit the source link below if you want to see the inner parts laid bare.

Via: iFixit

Kindle Fire HD Gets iFixit Teardown, Scores High on Ease of Repairability is a post from: Droid Life

Since today is release day for the brand new Kindle Fire HD 7″, we have partnered with xScope browser to give one away to a DL community member!

For those new to the game, you may not have heard of xScope. But trust me when I say that when Android was first getting its start, this was our go-to 3rd party browser. It had some incredibly innovative features like single finger pinch-to-zoom, but was also light and fast enough that few could compete with it. Over the last month or so, Gary (the developer) released a new version with Holo styling, more gestures (including the single finger zoom), and one of the more robust browsing experiences around. Definitely check it out. 

Play Links:  xScope Browser

________________________________

Contest

Update:  Our winner has been chosen! Josh says that his favorite browser is the stock browser because he can’t run Chrome on his original DROID X. Congrats to Josh! Unfortunately, he still won’t be able to run Chrome on his Kindle Fire HD either.

Prize:  One (1) Kindle Fire HD 7″

How to enter:

1.  In the comments, tell us what your favorite Android browser is and why. Specific feature you like?
2.  Feel free to follow us on Google+ as well.
3.  U.S. residents only.

Winner:

On Monday morning at 9:00AM PT, we will choose a winner randomly from the comments.

Good luck!

Contest: Win a Kindle Fire HD 7″ From DL and xScope Browser (Updated: Winner Picked) is a post from: Droid Life

The brand new Kindle Fire HD 7″ and the 2nd generation Kindle Fire are now available. Announced last week at an event in Los Angeles, Amazon initially only opened up pre-orders for these two devices with a launch date of September 14. Since it’s now September 14, the switch appears to have been flipped, with pre-orders becoming a thing of the past. If you don’t feel like waiting for the Fire HD 8.9″ or Paperwhite, then hit up the links below and get to ordering.

At $199 for the 7″ HD model, you are looking at one of the better deals in all of tech. Amazon’s UI may take some getting used to if you are coming from a traditional Android device, but that screen, new WiFi tech, Whispersync, and Amazon ecosystem are tough to deny.

Link:  Kindle Fire HD 7″ WiFi (16GB for $199, 32GB for $249) - Available September 14

Link:  Kindle Fire 2 WiFi (8GB for $159) – Available September 14

Kindle Fire HD 7″ and 2nd Generation Kindle Fire Available Now is a post from: Droid Life

Since yesterday’s Amazon event wasn’t streamed live, most of you participated in our live blog (which Ron did an amazing job during). If you missed that or simply want to go back and catch every single detail that Jeff Bezos belted out about the new Kindle Fire HD models, the Paperwhite, and all of their new software enhancements, then Amazon has gone ahead and uploaded the entire thing to YouTube for you to watch. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video: Watch the Entire Amazon Kindle Fire HD Event is a post from: Droid Life

As more hands-on time is being spent with the newest Android-powered Kindle Fire tablets from Amazon, we’re learning much more about how Amazon is able to sell the hardware for so cheap. The newest piece of info we’ve learned, whether you think is good or bad, is that all three of the new Kindle Fires (Fire, HD7, HD8.9) will be ad-supported. Much like on the older e-reader from last year, Amazon will display “special offers” on the lockscreen of the device while it is not in use. 

Although the idea of ads being on a device you paid for may seem a tad ridiculous, keep in mind that Amazon is selling these tablets at an extremely low price point. It’s reported that the ads won’t be very intrusive or spammy. More than likely, they will range from sales on books and movies or other content that Amazon offers.

Note: According to a response from Amazon’s customer support team, Engadget was able to snag the following tidbit, ensuring us that there will be a future announcement explaining how to opt out of the offers. Excellent.

“Special Offers appear directly on your Kindle Fire. Offers appear on your lock screen, and you can also view offers from the Home screen by tapping Offers. By delivering these offers to your Kindle Fire, Amazon is able to sell it for a lower price.

“I understand that you would like to opt out of the special offer and willing to pay extra for opting out special offer. Options for unsubscribing special offer will be announced soon.

“To ensure the utmost attention, I’ve also passed your message on to the appropriate people in our company. We value customer feedback such as yours as it helps us continue to improve the service and selection we provide.”

Update 2: According to new reports out of CNET, Amazon has confirmed that the sponsored ads are there to stay and are non-removable. End of story. Sorry, folks.

You okay with the idea of an ad-supported device?

Via: The Verge

Entirety of Amazon’s New Kindle Fire Lineup Is Ad-Supported (Update) is a post from: Droid Life

It’s been a big day for tablet lovers. Amazon has announced a total of six new Kindle devices and we’re curious to see if anyone here is going to pick one up. The options are certainly all over the board and there’s bound to be one to suit the needs of anybody looking to jump into the tablet market. If you need a bigger display with 4G LTE, there’s the Fire HD w/ LTE or if you’re just looking for a basic e-reader there’s the new Paperwhite.

Let us know which one has caught your eye.

Thursday Poll: Interested in Any of the New Kindle Devices? is a post from: Droid Life

After today’s announcements I got to spend a little time playing with the new 7 inch Kindle Fire HD. Amazon has upped their game by releasing an updating Kindle Fire, and more importantly, two Kindle Fire HDs. Read on for my first impressions of the Kindle Fire HD.

While Amazon says they’ve made some major improvements to the Kindle Fire, I didn’t see a lot of improvements in the UI or the response time. The UI itself is almost identical to the original Fire, including the consistent presence of lag from the home screen. Jumping between sections like Books or Videos takes a few seconds, making the overall experience feel cheap. It’s possible that the 8.9 inch version of the Kindle Fire HD will perform better, but there isn’t much of a difference between the processors in each model (the 7 inch model runs the TI OMAP 4460 while the 8.9 inch model runs the 4470).

One big improvement over the previous Kindle Fire is the screen. Bezos wasn’t exaggerating when he noted the crispness and clarity of the display. While there was a noticeable amount of glare, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for a tablet device.

According to Amazon Kindle Vice President Dave Limp, the Fire HD lineup is running a heavily customized version of Android 4.o. While he didn’t mention specific numbers, Limp confirmed that Amazon does indeed make a profit on Kindle hardware (though that profit must be minuscule).

Amazon made it clear in the event today that they’re competing with Apple now with the Kindle Fire HD. This is a big step for Amazon. Competing in the low end doesn’t carry nearly as many risks as competing in the high end, something Google and its partners have learned the hard way. It’s possible that Amazon will be able to take more of the tablet market with their low price points and the attractive new data plan, but that sort of achievement will probably require a much better performing device than the one I saw today.

Seven Inch Kindle Fire HD: First Impressions is a post from: Droid Life

If you were impressed by today’s Kindle announcements, then it’s time to place your order. Most are available starting September 14, with the Kindle Fire HD models coming a bit later on November 20. Why not pre-order, though?

Kindle Fire Family

Link:  Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ 4G LTE (32GB for $499, 64GB for $599) – Available November 20

Link:  Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ WiFi (16GB for $299, 32GB for $369) - Available November 20

Link:  Kindle Fire HD 7″ WiFi (16GB for $199, 32GB for $249) - Available September 14

Link:  Kindle Fire 2 WiFi (8GB for $159) – Available September 14

Kindle Paperwhite

Link:  Paperwhite 3G ($179) – Available October 1

Link:  Paperwhite WiFi ($119) – Available October 1

Kindle Fire HD (All Sizes), Kindle Fire 2, and Kindle Paperwhite Available for Purchase Now is a post from: Droid Life

Amazon put on quite the show today in California, announcing multiple Kindle devices, one of which may change the game. The 8.9″ Kindle Fire HD with 32GB of storage and 4G LTE at $499 is something we need to talk about for a minute. And we need to talk about it because of this ridiculously cheap data package that Amazon is willing to sell to those that buy the device. 

For $50 per year (not month, year), owners of the 4G LTE Kindle Fire HD can use up to 250MB of data each month. They have partnered with AT&T for the LTE connection, but since the device has a 10-band modem inside, you can fall back to the fastest 3G connection available should you leave to an area that doesn’t have LTE. If you need more data than that, then you can go directly to AT&T and buy bigger 3GB ($30) and 5GB ($50) plans at whatever price AT&T charges these days.

Along with this affordable data plan, owners of the Fire HD will also get 20GB of Amazon Cloud storage and a $10 Appstore credit.

Amazon is willing to point out that this will save users over $400 per year when compared to those that own a similarly priced iPad with an LTE data package.

Is anyone else’s mind blown like mine is? We are talking dirt cheap data in a time when carriers want to clean out your wallet for even a minimal amount of data. Verizon and AT&T are pushing shared data plans because they understand that data is a goldmine, yet here we are with Amazon, practically giving it away.

Amazon Changing the Game With 4G LTE Powered Kindle Fire HD and Its $50 Per Year Data Package is a post from: Droid Life