Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 gets price cut, launches in Europe and Japan

Amazon is known for delivering affordable Kindle products for those who have a good chunk of their lives resting on the Amazon ecosystem, and the tradition is continuing today as the retailer is announcing a price reduction for one of its Kindle Fire devices. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 inch will now cost you just $270 for the WiFi version and $400 for the version with 4G LTE inside.

With that, Amazon has announced that the device is finally launching in both Europe and Japan, so our friends the world over will finally have a chance to own one of they’ve been waiting for it after all this time. The Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9, if you don’t remember, has a display resolution of 1920×1200, a TI OMAP4470 processor, 1GB of RAM, over 10 hours of battery life (depending on what you’re doing, of course), a front-facing camera and more.

It’s not the most full-featured tablet you’re ever going to find, and without access to the Google Play Store it’s a tough sell, but the Amazon Appstore is quite big these days and there’s a nice, big content library to sink your teeth into from books, music, movies and more. If you’re thinking about taking a dive on one you can get started over at Amazon’s site right now. Read on for full press details.

Amazon Launches Kindle Fire HD 8.9” in Europe and Japan; Introduces New, Lower Price

 

Largest-display, highest-resolution version of Amazon’s best-selling tablet now available in Europe and Japan

 

New, lower price for Kindle Fire HD 8.9” in the US—starting at just $269 for Wi-Fi and $399 for 4G

 

SEATTLE—March 13, 2013—(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon today announced that Kindle Fire HD 8.9”—the large-screen version of its best-selling tablet—is now available in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Japan.  With the expansion of Kindle Fire HD 8.9” to Europe and Japan, Amazon also announced it is able to lower the price of Kindle Fire HD 8.9” in the US, with the Wi-Fi version now starting at $269 and the 4G version starting at $399.

 

“We’re thrilled with customer reaction to Kindle Fire HD 8.9”. Customers tell us they love our large-screen version of Kindle Fire HD for web browsing, email, gaming, watching TV shows, reading magazines, and more,” said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “As we expand Kindle Fire HD 8.9” to Europe and Japan, we’ve been able to increase our production volumes and decrease our costs.  Across our business at Amazon, whenever we are able to create cost efficiencies like this, we want to pass the savings along to our customers.”

 

Kindle Fire HD 8.9” is the highest-resolution, largest-display Kindle Fire.  Designed for entertainment, it is perfect for web, apps, movies, games and magazines. Features include:

• ·         Large 8.9” display has the highest resolution of any Kindle Fire (1920×1200, 254 ppi), with rich color and deep contrast; ideal for movies, apps, and gaming.
• ·         Custom Dolby audio and dual stereo speakers for crisp, rich sound
• ·         Over 23 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, books, and audiobooks.
• ·         The most popular apps and games.
• ·         Ultra-fast web browsing and streaming with built-in dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi.
• ·         Front-facing HD camera for taking photos or making video calls.
• ·         Exceptional battery life—Kindle Fire HD 8.9” gets 10 hours of battery life.
• ·         Easy-to-use e-mail, calendar, and contacts for work or home, including Gmail, Hotmail, Exchange, and more.
• ·         New Amazon-exclusive features like X-Ray for Movies, X-Ray for Textbooks, Immersion Reading, Whispersync for Voice and Whispersync for Games.
• ·         Kindle FreeTime, a free, personalized tablet experience just for kids and exclusively available on Kindle Fire. Parents can set daily screen limits and give access to appropriate content for each child.
• ·         “Buy Once, Enjoy Everywhere” with Amazon apps available on the largest number of platforms so customers can use their Amazon content on any of their devices.
• ·         Amazon’s top-rated, world-class customer service.

 

Kindle Fire HD 8.9” is available starting today at this new low price at www.amazon.com/kindlefirehd.

 

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection.Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle Paperwhite is the most-advanced e-reader ever constructed with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design. The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and faster page turns. Kindle Fire HD features a stunning custom high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end, laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support, dual-antennas and MIMO for faster streaming and downloads, enough storage for HD content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine—and it is available in two display sizes—7” and 8.9”. The large-screen Kindle Fire HD is also available with 4G wireless, and comes with a groundbreaking $49.99 introductory 4G LTE data package. The all-new Kindle Fire features a 20% faster processor, 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery life.

 

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp,www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca,www.amazon.cn, www.amazon.it, www.amazon.es and www.amazon.com.br. As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment and data center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

 

Amazon.com, Inc.