Amazon reveals new Kindle Fire HDX tablets

Amazon has revealed their next generation Kindle Fire HDX tablets, fitted with top-tier specs and a new back design with origami back covers that can double as a kickstand. Amazon is sticking to its old line, with the 7 model and the more expensive 8.9-inch model.

This move to add a high-end Kindle Fire to the market has been incoming, the original Kindle Fire had nothing on the iPad in terms of specs, but Amazon built on this with the Kindle Fire HD and the two Kindle Fire HDX models look like big competitors in the tablet space.

In terms of design the Kindle Fire HDX models look almost identical, the size is the only difference. Compared to the earlier version, the Kindle Fire HDX has back edges where the power and volume are placed and Amazon has designed some funky origami back covers.

Internals are similar in some areas, with both models running on the 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB of RAM and Adreno 330 GPU. Amazon offers 11 hours battery life on both Kindle Fire HDX models and increases up to 17 if the user is just reading.

The only difference in specs is the display, with a 1920 x 1200 resolution display on the 7-inch model and a 2560 x 1600 resolution display on the 8.9-inch model. As expected, the Kindle Fire HDX are powerhouse tablets, with blazing fast speeds and app load times down to the millisecond. The difference in size does not make the 7-inch model any less impressive and we would make sure to consider both before picking an option.

Amazon has also launched Fire OS 3.0 (Mojito) under the forked version of Android 4.2. Grid view has been added to the new user interface and it looks like Amazon has finally started cleaning the operating system, with new app UIs similar to what you would see on a Google or Apple application.

Design has been bumped up but Amazon has not went light on functionality, with X-Ray now available for Music, huge amounts of content for Amazon Prime users and a new customer service feature called Mayday, allowing users to connect live through a video feed to an Amazon employee, who can take over the tablet and show all types of information.

Amazon is selling the Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch model for $229 and the 8.9-inch model for $379. LTE models vary in price and the Kindle Fire HDX comes on Verizon and AT&T in the US. These are some of the cheapest tablets on the market for the quality inside and we are excited to see the next generation of Amazon.