Amazon Announces New Kindle Fires and Kindle Paperwhite

Amazon announced today several new and upgraded additions to its Kindle line of tablets.

Almost certainly to be the most popular is the Kindle Fire HD featuring an 1280x800 HD 7-inch display with polarizing filter and anti-glare technology for rich color and deep contrast from any viewing angle. Two configurations are available: 16GB and 32GB. Other features include an exclusive Dolby audio and dual-driver stereo speakers for immersive, virtual surround sound; a dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi for 40% faster downloads and streaming; and a high performance 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor with Imagination PowerVR 3D graphics core for fast and fluid performance. The 16GB model is priced at $199; the 32GB at $249. The Kindle Fire HD can be ordered today with a September 14th, 2012 ship date.

The standard Kindle Fire, which essentially replaces the current model, gets upgraded with 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and a longer battery life … though it retains its 8GB storage capacity. It is priced at $159 and will also ship on September 14th.

A new larger Kindle Fire HD 8.9" was announced, in two models — 4G and Wi-Fi only — both with two configurations (32GB and 64GB). This Kindle Fire features a 1920x1200 HD display with polarizing filter and anti-glare technology; Dolby audio and dual stereo speakers; dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi; and a high(er) performance 1.5 Ghz dual-core processor with Imagination PowerVR 3D graphics core. The Wi-Fi model is priced at $299 for 16GB, $369 for 32GB; the 4G model is priced at $499 for 32GB, $599 for 64GB. For the 4G models, an annual payment plan ($49.99) is available offering 250MB per month of data plus 20GB of cloud storage. Available to pre-order now, this device is expected to ship November 20th, 2012.

Finally, Amazon announced a new ereader, the Kindle Paperwhite, available in two models: 4G and Wi-Fi. This device includes a built-in light that evenly illuminates the screen to provide the perfect reading experience in all lighting conditions; 25% better contrast for sharp, dark text, even in bright light; and an 8-week battery life, even with the light turned on. The Paperwhite comes in four configurations: 4G ($199); 4G with special offers ($179); Wi-Fi ($139), and Wi-Fi with special offers ($119). Available to pre-order now, this device is scheduled to ship on October 1st, 2012.

We were among the first to get a Kindle Fire last year, and couldn't be more pleased with it. In addition to reading, we use it as a secondary browser, listening to music, playing games, and watching videos. Probably the most productive $199 we've spent in a long time. Despite downloading books every day, we haven't even come close to maxing it out, though to be fair, we don't store movies on our Fire, streaming them instead from Amazon's cloud storage. We think that the larger storage capacity of the new Fires will encourage owners to store a movie or two on them, which can then be viewed when Wi-Fi access isn't available.

Watch two new commercials featuring these products below: