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Kindle Fire HD 8.9 LTE comes to AT&T April 5

AT&T today announced the upcoming availability of the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 LTE.

The connected tablet will sell for $399.99, and can be added onto Mobile Share plans, starting at $10 per month.

For those planning to hold onto the tablet for long-term, AT&T is knocking $150 off the price just so long as you commit to a two-year service agreement. Specifically, you get a $100 discount for signing the two-year contract, while an additional $50 comes back to you as a credit activation for tablets purchased in a retail store. The $249.… Read more

Amazon cuts Kindle Fire HD 8.9 price, sends it to Europe, Japan

Amazon is launching its Kindle Fire HD 8.9 in Europe and Japan today, which means a lower price for the tablet in the U.S., the company announced.

In the U.S., the Wi-Fi version now starts at $269 and the 4G device starts at $399. Customers in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Japan can purchase the 8.9-inch screen Kindle tablet for the original cost: $299 for the Wi-Fi version and $499 for the 4G version.

Amazon Kindle Vice President Dave Limp said in a press release that the company "is thrilled with customer … Read more

Amazon, Barnes & Noble go tit for tat in tablet wars

Competition is good for consumers, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the tablet arena -- at least among key players Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

While Apple doesn't do discounts and Google recently added more memory to its entry-level $200 Nexus 7, taking it from 8GB to 16GB, where we're seeing the most deal action is on Kindles and Nooks, with some new "specials" cropping up every few days.

Here's a look at some of the past deals and announcements designed to bring attention to the new tablets: … Read more

iPad Mini vs. Kindle Fire HD 8.9 vs. Nook HD+

Life in the tablet category used to be simple. There were 7-inchers and 10-inchers and comparisons only occurred within each tablet's size category. This year however, Apple, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble have successfully muddied the once-clear waters by respectfully releasing 7.9-inch, 8.9-inch, and 9-inch tablets.

So how do they compare? Let's find out.

Screen The iPad Mini's 7.9-inch, 1,024x768-pixel screen has wide viewing angles and good color reproduction, but when it comes to resolution, it can't hold a candle to either the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 nor the Barnes & Noble Nook HD+. … Read more

Amazon's Kindle Fire HD joins 'Retina' ranks

The Amazon Kindle Fire HD will bump up against the iPad Retina in the very exclusive ultra-high-resolution tablet club.

That club is made up of pretty much one product right now: Apple's third-generation iPad Retina. Its 9.7-inch display boasts a 2,048-by-1,536 pixel density, which yields 264 pixels per inch (PPI).

Amazon's just-announced 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD almost matches that, with a 1,920x1,200 resolution, giving it a PPI of 254.

Apple describes a Retina display as a pixel density that "is so high your eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels." … Read more

Intel 60GB solid-state drive sinks to $89

Intel today announced the availability of a series of solid-state drives with a 60GB version selling for $89, the least expensive dollars-per-gigabyte drive to date from Intel.

The 330 Series use a SATA 6 gigabit-per-second (Gb/s), giving "consumers a more affordable entry into the accelerated storage performance of SSDs," Intel said in a statement. The SATA 6Gb/s interface doubles the bandwidth of its current SATA 3Gb/s Intel SSD 320 Series. … Read more

AT&T announces slew of other devices getting ICS update

Looks like the HTC Vivid isn't the only AT&T phone getting the Ice Cream Sandwich treatment.

The carrier announced today a number of other devices that will be eligible for the Android 4.0 update in the next few months.

These handsets include: the LG Nitro, Motorola Atrix 2, Motorola Atrix 4G, Pantech Burst, Pantech Element, Samsung Captivate Glide, Samsung Galaxy Note, Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9.

Again, it will be a couple of months until the update rolls out, but we're excited. As hot as … Read more

Crave giveaway: Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 (16GB, Wi-Fi)

First, a big congrats to Felix C. of Parkville, Md., for winning a Grace Digital Audio Mondo in last week's giveaway. Felix beat out more than 1,300 other entrants to snag the Wi-Fi music player. Now, here's your chance to get a shiny, new gadget for free.

This week's Crave giveaway prize is the 16GB, Wi-Fi version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9. The Android Honeycomb tablet features an 8.9-inch touch screen with a 1,280x800-pixel resolution and comes with a 1GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, a front-facing 2-megapixel camera, and a rear-facing 3-megapixel camera.

It's pretty much a more compact version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, but as CNET Senior Editor Donald Bell points out in his review, the smaller design in many ways eases the user experience. … Read more

Samsung shows off Android-powered Galaxy Tab 8.9

Samsung is holding an event tonight in New York City to show off its new Galaxy Tab 8.9 Android tablet. Billed as one of the world's "thinnest tablets" when it was first introduced back in March at CTIA 2011, the Tab 8.9 measures just 0.34 inches deep (the iPad 2 is 0.35 inches deep) and has a solid, premium feel.

Features are similar to the Galaxy Tab 10.1, but on a smaller scale. Inside you'll find Android 3.1 Honeycomb, a rear-facing 3-megapixel camera, Samsung's Media and Reader Hubs, access … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 priced at $469 and $569

Samsung will sell its new Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wi-Fi-only tablet for $469 for the 16GB edition and $569 for the 32GB version.

On its Web site, the company promised only that the new tablet would be "coming soon," and Samsung did not immediately answer CNET's request to confirm a launch date. But Engadget says the 8.9-incher could debut as soon as Thursday.