Note that the previous (2nd gen) high-end has been available in more than 170 countries since June 13 this year! This also coincided with opening the curated Amazon Appstore for Android to 193 countries/territories! So Amazon is a global leader now in all respects, and the more it moves its overall e-commerce business to more countries/territories the more dominant it becomes against a whole range of current players! The “devices and services” players as well as all other e-commerce players!
Quite a progress even in hardware and platform terms (source: Amazon, click to enlarge)
1st gen announcement: Sept 28, 2011 …. 2nd gen announcement: Sept 6, 2012. See also:
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Product Brief [May 16, 2013]
- OMAP4430, OMAP4460 and OMAP4470 Application Processors [Texas Instruments]
- TI’s OMAP4460 in Samsung GALAXY Nexus with Android 4.0 [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, Oct 21, 2011]
Important notes regarding pricing and global availability (including Amazon Appstore for Android):
On March 13, 2013 there was a Kindle Fire HD 8.9” availability announcement for UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Japan. At the same time the U.S. price for Kindle Fire HD 8.9” was reduced to $269 (not shown in the above table). Then there was a Kindle Fire HD availability announcement to over 170 countries and territories through Amazon.com on May 23, 2013 with new prices there: $284 for 8.9” and $214 for 7” (this was shown in the above table). ??? Also the price of the 2nd gen Kindle Fire HD 8.9” was reduced to $269 when the 3d gen was announced this week. ???
As of Sept 27, 2013 there are 159 countries/territories (with additional 34 countries/territories not available, or available via country/language-specific Amazon sites) where you can buy Kindle Fire HD 8.9” on Amazon.com and get shipped to your country, PLUS a curated* Amazon Appstore for Android with over 100,000 apps (up 187 percent year over year) is available in 193 countries/territories. You can see the list for both towards the end of this post. And BTW this is only available since June 13, 2013 in over 170 new countries.
*Apps are tested for the Amazon Appstore and Kindle Fire.
As of Sept 27, 2013 the All-New Kindle Fire HDX 7″ Tablet, All-New Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ Tablet and the All-New Kindle Fire HD 7″ Tablet seem to be not available globally (?because pre-order?)
Major messages from Amazon: The New Kindle Fires in 14 Tweets [Sept 25, 2013]
www.amazon.com/maydaytv – www.amazon.com/fireos – www.amazon.com/origami – www.amazon.com/quickpic
i.e. the links from the above slide (created by me) in order to be able to click from here as well
Competitive messages from Amazon:
Source: Compare Kindle Fire tablets on the Amazon site
SourceSource: Amazon Announces new Kindle Fire Tablets and Fire OS 3.0 [Amazon Mobile App Distribution Blog, Sept 24, 2013]
NOTE THAT FOR Fire HDX THE PROCESSOR IS QUAD-CORE KRAIT 400 AND NOT A15. See Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Product Brief [May 16, 2013].
Source: Compare Small Tablets on the Amazon site
Source: Compare Large Tablets on the Amazon site
First an independent review of the announcements from The Verge on Sept 24, 2013:
Amazon has announced a host of new tablets; a 7- and 8.9-inch Kindle HDX and a refreshed Kindle HD. The devices are also running Fire 3.0, an updated version of Amazon’s tablet OS. Read more about Amazon’s new Kindles on The Verge: http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/25/4767538/amazon-kindle-fire-hdx-tablets-preview
And an interview by the same 3d party source Jeff Bezos wants to delight you [The Verge, Sept 25, 2013] from which I will quote here:
Back up in the room, Jeff Bezos sits in front of a blank whiteboard. After pleasantries are exchanged, he leaps to his feet and begins writing. He starts in on the mantras of Amazon’s e-reader and tablet business. Mantra one: premium products at non-premium prices. Mantra two: “We make money when people use our devices.” Jeff jots them down quickly on the board. “Some of this you knew already because you’ve been following us, but I’m going to lay out what a third part of our vision and strategy.”
…
Bezos draws a Venn diagram on the board. On the left side it reads “customer delight,” on the right, “deep integration throughout entire stack.” “This intersection, here, is some of the hardest to do,” he smiles, “and [where the] coolest customer delight features live.”
…
Jaw-dropping isn’t exactly how I would describe Mayday, the halo feature of the new Fire HDX — but it is impressive in many ways, particularly because of how much energy has been put into simply helping people use the device. Remember, Amazon makes money when people use the devices. But Bezos seems genuinely bummed at the idea that people wouldn’t be able to get the most out of their Fire.
“The context for this is that there’s a degree to which for many, many people these devices have become complex enough that sometimes we get them set up the way we want and then we don’t mess with them.” He swings the device around so that I can see the screen. “The settings, even features you only use once every couple of months, you forget how to. So tech support for these devices is important.” Bezos taps a Mayday button which is now part of the Quick Settings menu on the Fire. A small window pops over screen, and an Amazon-shirted tech support staffer named Dylan appears in a tiny video box. “Thanks for using Amazon Assist, I see you’ve hit the Mayday button. I’ll be your tech advisor.”
…
“This is one of the things that I think Amazon is uniquely suited for, which is that marriage of high-tech and heavy lifting. So throughout our entire corporate history, we’ve happily lived by marrying those two things together. It’s in service of customer delight, but you can only do it if you integrate that entire stack.” Okay, yes. But, should I be worried about my privacy here?
Bezos doesn’t get into details on the technical aspects of the security for Mayday, but tells me you can disable the service if it makes you uncomfortable. “Yeah, you can say you don’t want it, and set a setting to take it off your device, but you’d be disabling the greatest feature we’ve ever made!” But Mayday gives an Amazon rep unfettered access to my device, no? “It’s not unfettered,” he says, “it has to be initiated by the customer.” And it’s true. This isn’t an open node just sitting there — you have to want to use it. Needless to say, the company doesn’t sound worried about privacy and security — and maybe I’m being paranoid — but in the cold light of PRISM revelations, complete control over your tablet by a third-party may not be something every consumer feels bullish about.
Bezos has a different view — a long view. “Everything we’ve ever done people have said this. People said customer reviews were a bad idea, third-party selling is a bad idea, personalization is a bad idea,” and he does have a point. “In 1994, typing your credit card [info] on the internet is a bad idea. Every single thing that’s new is a bad idea.” And then Bezos repeats one his best rehearsed and most convincing soundbites. “Willingness to be misunderstood is one of our greatest strengths.”
Now decide for yourself regarding this Mayday innovation Jeff Bezos is so keen on:
New Amazon TV spot for Kindle Fire HDX featuring Mayday button [kindle YouTube channel, Sept 24, 2013]
Introducing the Mayday button, available exclusively on the new Kindle Fire HDX tablets. With a single tap, an Amazon expert will appear on your Fire HDX and can co-pilot you through any feature by drawing on your screen, walking you through how to do something yourself, or doing it for you—whatever works best. Mayday is available 24×7, 365 days a year, and it’s free. See how the Mayday button works in this sneak preview of our upcoming TV commercials. http://www.amazon.com/firehdx
From: Introducing the Mayday Button—Revolutionary On-Device Tech Support [Amazon press release, Sept 25, 2013]
The Mayday button on the new Kindle Fire HDX brings your own personal tech advisor directly to your sofa or desk
Free, 24×7, 365 days a year
The National Retail Federation rated Amazon #1 in its Customer’s Choice Awards, JD Power and Associatesnamed Amazon a Customer Service Champion, and MSN Money has ranked Amazon #1 in its Customer Service Hall of Fame for four years running. Now, Amazon introduces the Mayday button, extending this world-class customer service to live, on-device tech support, right from your Kindle Fire HDX. The Mayday button is available exclusively on the new Kindle Fire HDX tablets, available for pre-order at: www.amazon.com/hdx.
“With the Mayday button, our goal is to revolutionize tech support,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “With a single tap, an Amazon expert will appear on your Fire HDX and can co-pilot you through any feature by drawing on your screen, walking you through how to do something yourself, or doing it for you—whatever works best. Mayday is available 24×7, 365 days a year, and it’s free. See it for yourself—preview our upcoming TV commercials: www.amazon.com/maydaytv.”
Details of the Mayday button:
- It’s free.
- Available 24×7, 365 days a year.
- 15 seconds or less is the Mayday response time goal.
- You can see the tech advisor, they can’t see you.
- Simple and deeply integrated—the Mayday button lives in the Quick Settings menu, one tap away.
Some customers got a sneak peek—here’s what they had to say:
- “It’s so easy, you just press connect and boom you get hooked right up with a representative. I’ve never had a customer experience be so painless and so easy to do. I’ve never had an experience like this before. I wish all customer service experiences could be like that.” –Travis
- “With the agent on the video feed, it’s like having a teacher right in front of you. It makes a big difference.” – Ron
- “That was smooth and comfortable rather than calling on the phone or typing something in. I really was impressed with how well that went. I remember setting up my first e-mail account and always having to call friends or tech support and it would take so much longer, where this was comfortable and directed me to the right place immediately.” – Pete
- “[This] is more personable…it is nice to see his face, for him to actually be there talking to you one-on-one, it seems like you are getting personal treatment.” – Rose
- “I really hate when you have to talk to a computer for like 10 minutes before you get to a human being. So the fact that you just click and there’s a human being is much preferable.” – Nicole
- “The fact that he [Tech Advisor] can control the screen made the process very simple and I wasn’t struggling to find what he was talking about. The one-on-one experience is very positive!” – Tracy
The Mayday button is available exclusively on the new Fire HDX tablets—read the press release: www.amazon.com/kindle-pr.
And the whole high-end tablet value proposition according to:
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX review 7 and 8.9 inch [amazon store YouTube channel, Sept 26, 2013]:
Introducing Kindle Fire HDX—Powerhouse Tablets Built for Work and Play [Amazon press release, Sept 25, 2013]
All-new Kindle Fire HDX—stunning new 7″ or 8.9″ HDX display, quad-core 2.2 GHz processor with 3x the processing power, 2x more memory, 11 hours of battery life, and dual stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus audio
New HDX display goes beyond HD—exceptional pixel density, perfect 100% sRGB color accuracy, reduced glare, dynamic image contrast, and improved brightness for the best viewing experience indoors or out
Lightest large-screen tablet—Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ is startlingly light at 13.2 ounces, 34% lighter than the previous generation
Introducing the Mayday Button—revolutionary on-device tech support—free, 24×7, 365 days a year
Prime Instant Video movies and TV shows now available for downloading—watch anywhere, even when offline—available exclusively on Kindle Fire HDX
Stay connected and productive with updated email, calendar and Silk browser, plus seamless integration with Facebook and Twitter
Enterprise-ready with support for encryption, Kerberos Intranet, secure Wi-Fi connections and VPN integration
SEATTLE—September 25, 2013—(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon today introduced the third generation of Kindle Fire—the all-new Kindle Fire HDX. The new Kindle Fire HDX tablets combine groundbreaking hardware, the latest version of Fire OS, and exclusive new features and services like X-Ray for Music, Second Screen, Prime Instant Video downloads, and the revolutionary new Mayday button. Learn more about the new Kindle Fire HDX family at www.amazon.com/hdx.
The new Kindle Fire HDX family features:
Stunning exclusive HDX display—beyond HD with exceptional pixel density ([1920x1200 resolution at] 323 ppi for 7″, [2560x1600 resolution at] 339 ppi for 8.9″), perfect 100% sRGB color accuracy, reduced glare, dynamic image contrast,and improved brightness for better viewing in any lighting conditions.
Powerful quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor running at 2.2 GHz provides over 3x the processing power compared to the previous generation, plus the latest graphics engine and 2x more memory for fast and fluid performance. These are the only tablets with a processor over 2 GHz.
Startlingly light design—at just 13.2 ounces [374g], the 8.9″ Kindle Fire HDX is the lightest large-screen tablet, 34% lighter than the previous generation.
Powered by the latest version of Fire OS—Fire OS 3.0 “Mojito”—with hundreds of new and upgraded features, platform updates, and Amazon-exclusive services like X-Ray for Music, Cloud Collections, Goodreads, and more.
New Mayday button delivers revolutionary live tech support—one touch connects you to an Amazon expert who can guide you remotely through any feature—24×7, 365 days a year, and it’s free. 15 seconds or less is the Mayday response time goal.
All-day battery life—up to 11 hours of mixed use and 17 hours of reading.
Updated email, calendar, and Silk browser to stay connected and productive.
New enterprise features including hardware and software-encryption, Kerberos Intranet, secure Wi-Fi connections, VPN integration, and wireless printing.
Both HDX 7″ and 8.9″ available with ultra-fast 4G LTE wireless. Available on the AT&T network, and for the first time on the Verizon Wireless network.
Dual stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus audio and virtual 5.1 multi-channel surround sound—the standard in high-end audio.
Front-facing HD camera makes it easy to stay in touch with Skype, plus a new 8 megapixel wide- aperture rear-facing camera on the 8.9″ Fire HDX offers crisp photos and 1080p HD video.
Best video experience on a tablet with new Amazon-exclusive features like Prime Instant Video downloads, Second Screen, and expanded X-Ray for Movies and TV.
Deep integration with the world’s best content ecosystem—over 27 million movies, TV shows, songs, apps, games, books, audiobooks and magazines.
New Origami covers feature an innovative design that allows you to position Fire HDX in both portrait and landscape.
“It’s been just two years since we introduced the first Kindle Fire, and the team is innovating at an unbelievable speed,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “2.2 GHz processor, 339 ppi display, new 34% lighter design, Fire OS 3.0, and new exclusive features like the Mayday button, X-Ray for Music, Second Screen, and Prime Instant Video downloads. We’ve worked hard to pack this much hardware, innovation, and customer obsession into these prices.”
World-Class Hardware
First-Ever, Exclusive HDX Display—Beyond HD
Amazon’s exclusive HDX display brings together exceptional pixel density (1920×1200 at 323 ppi for 7″, 2560×1600 at 339 ppi for 8.9″) and perfect color accuracy (100% sRGB), resulting in images and videos that display as the photographer or videographer intended. The new display also features dynamic image contrast, a unique algorithm that adjusts the color of each pixel depending on the ambient brightness in order to maximize contrast. This makes images and videos even easier to see in any lighting conditions, including outdoors. See a video: www.amazon.com/display.
2.2 GHz, Quad-Core Processor and 2x the RAM
Kindle Fire HDX tablets are the first tablets powered by the most advanced quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor. These are the only tablets with a processor over 2 GHz—the four cores can each run at 2.2GHz, providing 28 billion instructions per second—over 3x the processing power of the previous generation Kindle Fire HD. Fire HDX also doubles the RAM to 2GB, resulting in faster app launch times, faster website load times, smoother multi-tasking, and better overall performance.
New Graphics Engine Perfect for Gaming
The new Adreno 330 graphics engine on Kindle Fire HDX delivers 4x the graphics performance of the previous generation Kindle Fire HD. This combination of a new graphics engine, HDX display, quad-core processor, and 2x the memory creates a more immersive, high-frame rate HD gaming experience.
Lightest Large-Screen Tablet—13.2 ounces, 34% Lighter
Amazon integrated the capacitive touch layer directly into the glass display on Fire HDX, leaving a lighter single layer instead of the typical 2-layer display stack. The Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ frame is a single-piece of machined magnesium with a blend of glass and nylon molded onto the unibody to create openings for the antennas and maximize signal strength without sacrificing sturdiness. The result is the lightest large-screen tablet—at just 13.2 ounces, it is 34% lighter than the previous generation large-screen Fire HD tablet.
11 Hours of Battery, Up to 17 Hours for Reading
Even with all this additional power, Fire HDX still delivers 11 hours of mixed use battery life. When you are reading, Fire HDX automatically powers down the CPU and any unnecessary system components and stores the displayed text in dedicated, low-power memory—the result is up to 17 hours of battery life for reading.
8MP Rear-Facing Camera for Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″
Both the 7″ and 8.9″ Kindle Fire HDX feature a front-facing HD camera to help you stay in touch with friends and family with Skype. Fire HDX 8.9″ features an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera that allows for high-resolution photos and 1080p HD video, plus an LED flash, Electronic Image Stabilization, and a wide-aperture 5P f2.2 lens that lets in more light, reducing exposure times and producing sharper images. See a video: www.amazon.com/fire-camera.
New Origami Covers
New origami-style cover design provides a simple stand for both portrait and landscape positions, and attaches magnetically so it’s easy to take on and off. The cover for the 8.9″ Fire HDX features a custom slide feature that quickly exposes the rear-facing camera and automatically launches the camera application so you won’t miss a great photo opportunity. See a video: www.amazon.com/quickpic.
The Mayday Button
Revolutionary On-Device Tech Support from Amazon’s Tech Advisors
Having trouble or want to learn how to use a new feature? Simply tap the Mayday button in Quick Settings, and an Amazon expert will appear on your Fire HDX and can co-pilot you through any feature by drawing on your screen, walking you through how to do something yourself, or doing it for you—whatever works best. 15 seconds or less is the Mayday response time goal. Mayday is available 24×7, 365 days a year, and it’s free. See the separate press release on the Mayday button and preview three upcoming TV ads that show how the Mayday button works: www.amazon.com/mayday.
New Amazon-Exclusive Features and Services
Fire OS 3.0 “Mojito”
Kindle Fire HDX is powered by the newest version of Fire OS – Fire OS 3.0 “Mojito”, which introduces hundreds of new and upgraded features, Amazon-exclusive services, platform updates and more. Fire OS starts with Android and adds cloud services, a content-first user interface, built-in media libraries, productivity apps and low-level platform enhancements to integrate Amazon’s digital content and improve performance for Kindle Fire tablets. If an app runs on Android, it can run on Fire OS. Read more: www.amazon.com/fireos.
Download Prime Instant Videos on Kindle Fire HDX to Watch Anywhere
Prime Instant Video is the only U.S. online subscription streaming service that enables offline viewing—on a plane, on vacation, and anywhere else where you may not have Wi-Fi. Tens of thousands of Prime Instant Videos are now available for download on Fire HDX. If you are new to Prime, you get one free month of Amazon Prime when you purchase Fire HDX.
All-New X-Ray for Music
Amazon is expanding X-Ray to music by adding lyrics that let you follow along with songs. Lyrics display and scroll automatically line-by-line as the song plays. See a screenshot: www.amazon.com/x-ray.
X-Ray for Movies and TV—Now Even Better
Customer-favorite X-Ray for Movies and TV now shows the names of songs as they play as well as a list of all music in the movie or TV show, and lets you jump to the scene in which a particular song is playing. X-Ray also shows trivia items in context with the action on the screen. For example, in The Godfather when Clemenza tells his henchman to “leave the gun, take the cannoli”, X-Ray alerts you that actor Richard Castellano ad-libbed that famous line of dialog. X-Ray for TV also provides character backstories so you can easily remind yourself of the character’s history. X-Ray is offered only by Amazon and is powered by IMDb.
Second Screen Lets Others Join In
Fling TV shows and movies from your tablet to your big-screen TV using Second Screen, which turns your TV into the primary screen and frees up your Fire HDX to provide playback controls, a customized display for X-Ray, or simply a place to email, browse the web, and more while you watch a movie. Second Screen will be available starting next month for PlayStation 3 and Samsung TVs, and later this year for PlayStation 4. You can also wirelessly mirror movies, TV shows and photos from your tablets to your big-screen TV with Miracast-enabled accessories or TVs.
Stay Connected with Expanded Email, Docs, and Printing
With the new email on Fire HDX, it is easier than ever to set up your accounts, group conversations by subject, sync your email and more. Reading and managing documents on Fire HDX is simple: email them, sync them from a computer with Cloud Drive, clip them from the web with Send to Kindle, or transfer them via USB. Coming mid-November as part of the free, over-the-air Fire OS 3.1 update—print documents, photos, emails, and calendar events directly from Kindle Fire to compatible wireless printers.
Complete Enterprise Support
Fire HDX is ready for work, with support for encryption of the user partition of the device to secure data; support for Kerberos authentication so corporate users can browse secure intranet websites; the ability to connect to secure enterprise Wi-Fi networks as well as corporate networks via a native or a 3rd party VPN client; and Mobile Device Management solutions ranging from Amazon’s Whispercast service to 3rd party vendors like AirWatch, Citrix, Fiberlink, Good Technology, and SOTI. Some of these features will be delivered as part of the Fire OS 3.1 update. See the separate press release on enterprise features: www.amazon.com/kindle-enterprise.
Cloud Collections
Organize your books, newspapers, magazines, and apps in customized collections for easy reference, and Amazon’s Whispersync technology synchronizes the collections across your Kindle devices and reading apps so they’re available on all of your devices. Cloud Collections will be available as part of the Fire OS 3.1 update.
Goodreads on Kindle Fire
Join over 20 million other readers and see what your friends are reading, share highlights, and rate the books you read with Goodreads on Kindle, available exclusively from Amazon. Goodreads will be available as part of the Fire OS 3.1 update. See screenshots:www.amazon.com/goodreads.
Accessibility Features
Blind and visually impaired customers will discover new and improved accessibility tools such as Screen Reader, Explore by Touch, and Screen Magnifier, enabling access to the vast majority of Kindle Fire features. Screen Reader features IVONA’s award-winning natural language text-to-speech voice.
New Exclusive Deals for Kindle Fire Owners
Kindle Fire’s Special Offers are better than ever with exclusive limited-time, limited-quantity deals available directly from the lock screen. These deals are similar to Lightning Deals that run on Amazon.com, but with even greater savings. The first deal, available in the coming weeks, will be the Madden NFL 25 video game for $5 (92% off). See screenshots: www.amazon.com/offers.
All the Content
The Kindle Fire family offers the best selection of digital content—over 27 million movies, TV shows, songs, apps, games, books, audiobooks and magazines—including hundreds of thousands of exclusives:
- Over 150,000 movies and TV episodes—stream or download, purchase or rent.
- Tens of thousands of popular movies and TV episodes are available at no additional cost for Prime members with Prime Instant Video, the exclusive subscription streaming home to shows like Downton Abbey, Under the Dome, Justified, Dora the Explorer, Blues Clues and many more.
- The most popular apps and games. Apps are tested for the Amazon Appstore and Kindle Fire.
- Millions of songs—stream, download, and store purchases for free in the cloud for access anytime, anywhere.
- Hundreds of magazines and newspapers.
- Millions of books, including hundreds of thousands of titles that are exclusive to the Kindle Store. Over a million titles are $4.99 or less, over 1.7 million are $9.99 or less.
- Over 400,000 titles available for Prime members who own a Kindle to borrow for free as part of Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.
- Over 150,000 professionally-narrated audiobook titles, with free samples to listen to before buying.
“Buy Once, Enjoy Everywhere” with the Best Cross-Platform Interoperability
With apps available on the largest number of devices and platforms, Amazon makes it easier than ever to access your content anytime, anywhere. Use the Kindle, Amazon Instant Video, Amazon MP3 and Amazon Appstore for Android apps to “Buy Once, Enjoy Everywhere.” No other company offers the same level of flexibility with your content.
Pricing & Availability
The 7″ Kindle Fire HDX is $229. It is available for pre-order starting today at www.amazon.com/hdx-7 and it will begin shipping October 18. The 4G version is $329—you can pre-order today to reserve your place in line at www.amazon.com/4g-hdx-7 and it will begin shipping November 14.
The 8.9″ Kindle Fire HDX is $379. It is available for pre-order starting today at www.amazon.com/hdx and it will begin shipping on November 7. The 4G version is $479—you can pre-order today to reserve your place in line at www.amazon.com/4g-hdx and it will begin shipping December 10.
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ Standing Leather Origami Case
Slim, form-fitting cases designed by Amazon to perfectly fit the all new Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HDX tablets. All Origami cases feature magnetized panels to securely stand the device in either landscape or portrait orientation and are available in either a premium natural leather or durable polyurethane. The cases for Kindle Fire HDX and Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ tablets attach to the devices magnetically, making it easy to attach and remove. Furthermore, the cases redirect the sound from your Kindle Fire HDX speakers towards you, immersing you in the rich cinematic Dolby Digital Plus sound experience. Finally, an exclusive Camera-Ready feature for the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ case makes it quick and easy to take pictures so you can capture all your precious moments – simply slide the device up in the case and the camera automatically starts, allowing you to quickly snap a picture.
Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HDX are Enterprise-Ready [Amazon press release, Sept 25, 2013]
New features include device encryption, secure Wi-Fi connections, native VPN, Kerberos authentication for Intranet access, and integration with leading MDM providers
Today, Amazon is introducing new enterprise and productivity features in Fire OS 3.0 “Mojito,” the software platform that powers the new Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HDX tablets. The new Fire HD and Fire HDX are available for pre-order starting today atwww.amazon.com/hdx.
“Kindle Fire is already the second most popular tablet at work in the U.S.,” said Raghu Murthi, Vice President of Enterprise and Education,Amazon. “As employees increasingly bring their own devices to work, the new Kindle Fire tablets can be easily integrated into the workplace with the new enterprise features, including encryption, secure Wi-Fi, a native VPN client, integration with leading MDM solutions, and Kerberos support for Intranet access.”
Features that make the new Kindle Fire tablets enterprise-ready include:
- Wi-Fi networks with WPA2 support for secure access to corporate apps, documents and resources like SharePoint.
- Email that makes it even easier for business customers to set up their accounts, group conversations by subject, sync their email and more.
- Print documents and emails directly from Kindle Fire to a wireless printer.
- Built-in OfficeSuite to read documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
- Native VPN client, for instant access to corporate networks while on the road or at home.
- Secure hardware data encryption on Kindle Fire HDX.
- Kerberos authentication for single sign-on and the ability to browse secure Intranet websites from the Silk browser on Kindle Fire.
- Native SCEP (Simple Certificate Exchange Protocol) client to retrieve digital certificates for secure resources.
- Kindle-specific device management APIs that integrate with existing mobile device management (MDM) systems to make it easy for IT departments to manage Kindle Fire. Kindle Fire supports a wide range of MDM solutions including Amazon’s Whispercast service as well as third-party vendors like AirWatch, Citrix, Fiberlink, Good Technology, and SOTI.
Business customers can also take advantage of Android enterprise and productivity apps available in the Amazon Appstore. Examples of top productivity apps available for Kindle Fire include GoToMeeting, Evernote, Cisco AnyConnect, and Documents To Go.
“We work with our clients to distribute Kindle Fire to their new employees because Kindle Fire allows companies to distribute information quickly and efficiently so their employees can easily share course materials, reference documents, and their individual notes with their colleagues,” said Caroline Brant, Director, Learning Solutions at ROI Training, Inc. “Our global clients include leading technology and financial services firms and Kindle Fire has proven to make it easier for our employees to stay productive whether at work or at home.”
Some of these features will be delivered as part of the free, over-the-air Fire OS 3.1 update in mid-November. For additional details, visit www.amazon.com/fireos.
[From which I will copy here the most important part:]
To read the separate press release for the new Kindle Fire HDX tablets visit: www.amazon.com/kindle-pr.
For additional information about the new enterprise features visit:amazon.com/kindle/business.
More information about Introducing Fire OS 3.0 “Mojito” [Amazon press release, Sept 25, 2013]
Brings hundreds of platform updates and exclusive new features, including the Mayday button, X-Ray for Music, Second Screen, 1-Tap Archive, Cloud Collections, Quiet Time, Optimizing Download Manager, and Social Integration with Goodreads and Facebook
New enterprise and productivity features—including printing, email conversation view, enterprise encryption and mobile device management—BYOD support
Apps and games built for Android are compatible with Fire OS
Fire OS 3.0 available exclusively on the all-new Kindle Fire HD & Kindle Fire HDX tablets
Amazon.com today introduced Fire OS 3.0 “Mojito,” the next generation of software and services that powers the best-selling Kindle Fire tablets, with hundreds of updates and exclusive new features to give customers a simple OS experience with Android app compatibility. Fire OS starts with Android and adds:
Low-level platform enhancements, including: the Optimizing Download Manager, re-designed graphics pipeline, Reading Mode, and improvements to touch latency for better performance.
Productivity apps with enhanced email, documents, and enterprise support with hardware and software data encryption.
Deep integration of the hardware, software and services to deliver features like X-Ray, the Mayday button, Second Screen, and more.
Built-in media libraries for instant access to music, movies, apps, and games both stored on the device or in the cloud, and automatically syncs between them.
Content-first user interface with both Carousel and Grid views.
Cloud services like Whispersync, 1-Tap Archive and Cloud Collections.
Fire OS 3.0 is available exclusively on the all-new Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HDX—read a separate press release at:www.amazon.com/kindle-pr.
“Fire OS includes the core email and productivity apps, but we take a different approach when it comes to content,” said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “Our content-first approach shapes the design of Fire OS—the home screen makes the most recent content items available instantly on the Carousel or Grid and customers can move between their media libraries both on the device and in the cloud with a simple tap. We’ve also deeply integrated Amazon services directly into Mojito, such as the Mayday button, Second Screen, X-Ray for Movies & TV shows, and now X-Ray for Music.”
“Fire OS lets developers offer their Android apps on Kindle Fire with little to no work,” said Mike George, Vice President, Amazon Appstore. “Developers can integrate services like Whispersync for Games, GameCircle, In-App Purchasing, and Amazon’s Mobile Associates into their apps to take advantage of the Amazon Appstore’s increased monetization and customer engagement.”
Fire OS features for Android apps and games:
Native Android App Compatibility is supported by Fire OS, so if an app runs on Android it can run on Fire OS with little to no work. Fire OS is built from the Android open source kernel and runtime libraries and is consistently tested for Android app compatibility. Amazon also offers developers an integrated ecosystem for building, monetizing and marketing their apps and games for Fire OS, which results in better customer engagement.
Support for HTML5 Apps allows developers to offer their web apps and mobile websites on Kindle Fire tablets to customers in the same, convenient way as mobile apps. As one of the only platforms to offer this level of HTML5 support, developers can submit and distribute mobile web content without using third-party software or any mobile development.
GameCircle and Whispersync for Games give developers the opportunity to allow customers to sync their game progress and scores across devices, and to quickly integrate Achievements and Leaderboards into their games.
In-App Purchasing and Mobile Associates lets developers give customers the opportunity to buy digital and physical items, such as toys, upgrades and game pieces fromAmazon.com and use their Amazon accounts to make the purchase directly from within an app.
Amazon Device Messaging gives customers a single messaging platform for all their apps built on Amazon Web Services, which developers can take advantage of to send notifications to Kindle Fire tablets.
Amazon Coins offers every new Kindle Fire customer 500 coins ($5) of virtual currency to use for purchasing apps, games, or in-app items on Kindle Fire. Amazon Coins is an easy way for customers to spend money on developers’ apps and offers another opportunity to drive traffic and app downloads increasing monetization even further.
Accessibility Tools including Screen Reader, Explore by Touch and Screen Magnifier enable access to the vast majority of Fire OS features. Text-to-Speech for book reading features natural-sounding IVONA voices for the following languages: US, British and Australian English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and French Canadian. Fire OS 3.0 supports standard Android Text-to-Speech APIs, so developers can take advantage of IVONA voices for third-party apps.
Cloud services and user interface improvements:
Carousel and Grid views let customers choose how they want to navigate their content. With a swipe, the redesigned Fire OS home screen easily switches between viewing their recent content on the Carousel or their favorites in Grid view.
Cloud Collections organizes apps, books, newspapers, and magazines, making them easier to find. Collections are automatically stored in the cloud and Amazon’s Whispersync technology synchronizes collections across Kindle devices and apps.
1-Tap Archive frees up space on Kindle Fire tablets by identifying items that have not been used recently and provides a 1-tap option to store them in the Cloud for later retrieval.
Kindle FreeTime gives parents the ability to more easily whitelist movies, books, apps and games appropriate for their kids’ enjoyment with the new “For Kids” suggestions.
Social Integration gives customers OS-level sharing capabilities for Facebook and Twitter. With Facebook, customers also get contacts, events and photos integration.
Revolutionary Mayday Button:
The Mayday Button delivers revolutionary on-device tech support and is available 24×7, 365 days a year, for free. 15 seconds or less is the Mayday response time goal. The Mayday button is built into Quick Settings and an Amazon expert will appear on the Fire HDX and can co-pilot a customer through any feature by drawing on the screen, walking them through how to do something themselves or doing it for them. See the separate press release and preview three upcoming TV ads that show how the Mayday button works: www.amazon.com/mayday.
Deeply-integrated content features:
Goodreads is built into the reading experience, so customers can see what friends are reading, get recommendations, share quotes, and write reviews from within the book.
X-Ray for Movies and TV now shows the names of TV theme or movie soundtrack songs as they play as well as trivia and goofs while watching a movie or TV show. Powered by IMDb, X-Ray for TV will also provide character backstories as the actor appears on screen.
X-Ray Expands to Music with synchronized lyrics that lets customers follow along line-by-line with a song. Lyrics are available even when Kindle Fire is not connected to Wi-Fi or 4G.
Second Screen allows customers to fling content from their Fire to their TV, turning the TV into the primary screen and freeing up their Fire as a second screen to email, browse the web, play a game, or follow along scene-by-scene with X-Ray. The Fire screen is not just a mirror image of the TV. Instead, when the customer flings the video to the TV, Fire syncs the video and the X-Ray data in the cloud and streams the video directly to the TV, so the quality of the video is not dependent the tablet’s processor or networking. The customer can even take their tablet to another room and leave the video playing on the TV.
Quiet Time, directly accessed from the quick settings menu, lets you mute all incoming notifications or calendar reminders. In addition, Quiet Time can be tied to a particular activity such as reading.
Quick Switch uses a global swipe gesture from anywhere in the system to go between multiple apps, and unlike standard Android, works with individual content items like different textbooks without navigating home.
Low-level platform enhancements:
Optimizing Download Manager enables parallel content downloads. Unlike standard Android, Fire OS adjusts the number of simultaneous downloads per device, so that foreground app performance is not impacted by background download activity. In addition, the Optimizing Download Manager automatically pauses ongoing content downloads when the customer starts streaming an Amazon Instant Video to maximize video quality. Customers can prioritize individual items to download first, and with progressive download they can open videos, Audible audiobooks, or magazines and start enjoying them while the download is still ongoing.
Graphics Direct Texture replaces the standard Android graphics pipeline. The Fire OS graphics system is customized to quickly load large graphical assets like the high-resolution cover art in the Fire OS home screen. Graphics Direct Texture enables the Carousel and the Fire OS media libraries to include large, detailed images and still load quickly and scroll smoothly.
Touch Responsiveness is improved by low-level changes to the way Fire OS 3.0 handles taps and swipes. For example, the system dynamically increases the CPU speed after the customer lifts their finger off the screen, to minimize touch latency in games and apps. And when a customer taps an app in the Ca