Amazon unveils Kindle Fire tablet for $199

Amazon unveiled the Kindle Fire, an Android-powered tablet that acts more like a color e-reader on steroids and will retail for $199.

"We're building premium products at non-premium prices," said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos during the presentation.

The Kindle Fire will be available on November 15 and is available for preorder now. Bloomberg earlier reported the $199 price point and details on the device.

The Kindle Fire marks Amazon's first foray into the tablet market, which has so far been dominated by Apple's iPad. But with its low price--most tablets retail for around $500--and the established Kindle brand, analysts believe Amazon's product could represent the first legitimate competitor in an area where many other high-end Android tablets have missed the mark.

"We believe that the launch of an Amazon tablet will significantly boost the tablet market and inject a much needed competitor to Apple's iPad," Adam Leach, an analyst at research firm Ovum, said ahead of the event.

The specifications, however, are lower than other comparable high-end tablets. While it has a dual-core processor, it lacks many of the other typical features found in a tablet, such as a camera, microphone, and 3G wireless access. It also only has 8 gigabytes of storage space. The device is more intended to compete with Barnes & Noble's Nook Color, which is essentially a stripped down Android tablet. … Read more

New Amazon tablet called the Kindle Fire?

Amazon's Kindle caught fire in a big way and now MG Siegler over at TechCrunch is reporting that Amazon will go with Kindle Fire as the name for its upcoming $249 tablet, which is due to be introduced on Wednesday in New York but won't hit stores till the second week in November.

Siegler said earlier in the month that he'd actually handled the new 7-inch tablet, which supposedly resembles the BlackBerry Playbook but runs on a heavily skinned version of Android and doesn't have a built-in camera. But some of the details--like the speed of … Read more

Amazon set to unveil new Kindle or Android tablet on September 28

The picture says it all on this one. Yes, on September 28, Amazon is set to announce a Kindle or its long-awaited Android tablet--or both.

We didn't get any hint as to what the product or products might be, but the invite did come from a PR person who in the past has sent out invites to Kindle events. That said, Amazon could easily announce a Barnes & Noble Nook Color competitor that falls under its Kindle brand.

Other rumors have Amazon announcing a touch-based e-ink Kindle similar to the Nook Touch or possibly a sub-$100 Kindle (… Read more

Kindle books now available from 11,000 libraries

Finally, it's possible to check out a book from your local library while blasting heavy metal music and avoiding the musty smell of the classics section.

Kindle book checkouts are now available from 11,000 libraries in the U.S.

The process is pretty simple: 1. Check with your local library's Web site to see if it offers the service. 2. Request the Kindle e-book you want with your library card. 3. You'll be redirected to sign in to your Amazon account so your e-book can be wirelessly delivered to your Kindle.

"This is a welcome … Read more

Report: Kindle library lending feature nears launch

Amazon has promised that the Kindle will get e-book library lending by year's end and word is the service is getting closer to launching, with beta testing reportedly under way in the Seattle area.

Nathan over at the eBook Reader Blog writes:

Amazon and OverDrive have quietly started rolling out Kindle ebook lending from public libraries, albeit in Beta. Even though there hasn't been any official announcement yet, some public libraries have already started lending ebooks for the Kindle...Plus the Device Resource Center over at OverDrive now lists the Amazon Kindle 3, Kindle DX, Kindle 1, and Kindle 2 as supported devices. The library ebooks will also work with Kindle apps and the Kindle Cloud Reader according to the public library books help page at Amazon.

Other e-readers, such as the Barnes&Noble Nook and Sony Readers, have offered the library lending feature for a while and some users swear by it. Basically, if your local public library offers e-book lending (and you have a library card) you can check out an e-book for a set period of time (usually less than two weeks). Often, there's a wait list for more-popular titles--and only a fraction of e-book titles are available for borrowing--but the best thing about the service is that it's free.

For more info on the Kindle library lending feature, check out this page on Amazon. To find out if your local library is lending Kindle e-books, you'll have to check its Web site. … Read more

Speck launches FitFolio case line for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and iRiver e-readers

Speck's FitFolio is one of our favorite iPad 2 cases. Now the company is bringing the line to the e-reader arena, with FitFolio cases for the Kindle, Nook, Kobo Touch, and iRiver Story HD.

The FitFolio for Kindle 3 is already available for $29.99 (in multiple colors), but the cases for the other e-reader models aren't set to ship until next month, company reps told us at an event last night in New York, where we got a sneak peek at all the new cases.Two other Kindle 3 cases, the WanderFolio (see above picture) and BookShield … Read more