Hasta La Gadget!

Despite what the economists have told you, not every part of the world is doing well, and despite that, some of us do want to own a tablet for us to while our time away. Well, Amazon has heeded that call, and just in case you are unable to purchase one of their recently announced higher end Kindle Fire HDX models with LTE connectivity, you might want to settle for something which is pretty proficient at what it does best without burning too large a hole in your pocket along the way. We are referring to the all new $139 Kindle Fire HD, where it will arrive in a slimmer as well as lighter form factor amongst other features.

The new Kindle Fire HD will also provide you with access to the exclusive benefits of the Amazon ecosystem, where among it will include the likes of Prime Instant Video, Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, Kindle MatchBook, AutoRip, and the world’s leading digital catalog with over 27 million movies, TV shows, songs, apps, games, books, audiobooks, and magazines.

Despite the relatively affordable price in comparison to its rivals, the Kindle Fire HD is not one that comes with less inferior hardware. No sir, the display itself, while not Full HD, delivers 1280 x 800 resolution and 216 pixels per inch, while a dual-core 1.5 GHz processor gets things done in a jiffy. Your ears too, will definitely be able to appreciate the dual stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus audio, where all of that has been crammed into a new slim chassis so that it resembles that of the new Kindle Fire HDX.

With dual-band Wi-Fi, it should not be an issue for you to experience fast streaming, downloads, and web browsing, while the operating system which the Kindle Fire HD runs on would be Fire OS 3.0 “Mojito” that will arrive with hundreds of new and upgraded features, platform updates, and Amazon-exclusive services. Amazon has already started to take pre-orders for the device, and shipping for the Kindle Fire HD will begin this October 2nd onward.

Press Release
[ Amazon Kindle Fire HD goes easy on your bank account copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

When it comes to the world of tablets, most folks are torn between the iOS-powered models from Apple, namely the iPad and iPad mini, as well as the Android-powered tablets which seem to come in all sorts of screen sizes from a slew of manufacturers. However, the folks over at Amazon are not blind to the situation, and to see them make an announcement concerning the third generation of tablets from their Kindle shows that they have been doing something right all this while – and the new Kindle Fire HDX looks set to continue in the footsteps of its predecessor.

For starters, the new Kindle Fire HDX from Amazon will arrive in two display sizes – 7” or 8.9”, and not only that, you will find the relevant amount of processing muscle available under the hood, namely a quad-core 2.2GHz processor that has triple the processing power of its predecessor, double the amount of memory, up to 11 hours of battery life for mixed use, as well as dual stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus audio that will certainly keep your ears more than happy.

As mentioned earlier, there will be two models available – the 7” Kindle Fire HDX will start from $229 and you can already place a pre-order for it, with shipping set to commence this coming October 18th. There is also a 4G version in the pipeline, and that particular model will obviously cost you more at $329 a pop.

As for the larger sized model, the 8.9” Kindle Fire HDX will surely be a sight for sore eyes thanks to its more generous display size, where it will retail for $379 for the vanilla version, with shipping set to happen this November 7th, which is more than a month away. Not only that, Amazon will also roll out a 4G version albeit at $479 a pop, and shipping for that model will cost happen later this December 10th. All in all, still in time for Christmas!

Press Release
[ Amazon Kindle Fire HDX ushers in third generation era of tablets copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Amazon’s Kindle line of Android-powered tablets, which sport a modified version of Google’s OS that the online book seller is developing on its own, is looking more and more like a bunch of enterprise Greeks walled up within a great wooden consumer horse. The new Fire HD and HDX tablets ship with “Mojito,” the third iteration of Fire OS, which offers a number of key enterprise-specific features.

These features include support for enterprise email; a built-in native VPN client; wireless printing; a pre-installed productivity suite compatible with Office documents; secure hardware data encryption, better authentication and secure browsing via Silk; and finally, crucial support for existing popular mobile device management services via native APIs.

Kindle’s appeal in enterprise likely began due to cost – the per-unit deployment fees associated with introducing Amazon’s inexpensive tablet across small and large groups of employees far undercuts that of the iPad, for instance. But Amazon has been doing work to help complete the picture, adding services like Whispercast, which essentially offer a free, native MDM solution for organizations that don’t already have their own in place. This Fire OS update (and 3.1, which will introduce a few of the features mentioned above shortly) means it can also easily address those who have already built an enterprise mobile device provisioning network with providers like Good, without requiring them to do any significant IT infrastructure spending.

Also new with these tablets is the Mayday Button, a new on-device tech support service that allows HDX owners to essentially press one button and have an Amazon tech advisor respond immediately, remote in and show you how to do something on your own device. The support agent actually appears in a live video window, too, so it is very much one-on-one care.

Mayday has a clear consumer focus, but it’s also potentially a terrific feature for enterprise users. It means, in short, that organizations providing their employees with HDX tablets can save on in-house IT support and training, since Amazon provides all the basic help needed to get users familiar and comfortable using their devices. It’s a basic concern, but one that causes plenty of headaches for in-house IT.

Amazon has the right recipe for BYOD success with a low-cost tablet that’s powered by a strong consumer content ecosystem, but it’s now clearly investing a lot more time and effort into building out its enterprise value proposition. These new tablets make it a little more apparent that business and education are an opportunity they’re quite consciously targeting, so it’ll be interesting to see if enterprise buyers heed that call when the go on sale shortly.

Microsoft did give us some time to bid adieu to the Microsoft Points system sometime last month, as the software giant made the jump to include real world currency when it comes to being able to purchase downloadable games, music as well as movies from its Xbox service. Microsoft Points gift cards are currently still on sale and accepted, but it does seem as though Microsoft themselves are working to roll out a new range of actual money gift cards to meet the Windows 8.1 launch that is about to happen soon.

Right now, we have seen Amazon place a pre-order listing for a $15 “Microsoft Windows Gift Card”. According to the page’s description of the Microsoft Windows Gift Card, it mention that it can be used to purchase content on the “Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox stores.” There was no actual image of the card itself, but in the listing, it touts an October 18 release date – which incidentally, happens to fall on the same day that Windows 8.1 will launch officially. Other than that, the Amazon UK page does have several listings for Microsoft Gift Cards which the site claims will be made available nearly three weeks earlier, which is October 1st, and they will arrive in £15, £25, and £50 denominations.

Microsoft Windows Gift Card On Amazon original content from Ubergizmo.

Amazon might not sell as many tablets as Apple does with their iPad range, but this does not mean that the Kindle family from Amazon is a slouch. No sir, it is about time for a hardware refresh, and that is exactly what Amazon ordered from the “doctor” with the all new Amazon Kindle Fire HD. This $139 tablet will arrive in a slimmer and lighter form factor, where it will be matched a 1280 x 800 216 ppi HD display, run on a dual-core 1.5GHz processor which is said to offer 60% additional performance compared to its previous generation, the all new Fire OS 3.0 “Mojito” that is accompanied by hundreds of new and upgraded features, dual speakers with Dolby audio, and of course, content – with a vast selection and Amazon-exclusive features such as Prime Instant Video downloads, Second Screen, Kindle FreeTime, and X-Ray among others.

If you are extremely interested in picking up the all new Kindle Fire HD, it is already up for pre-orders, and those who have dropped their pre-orders can look forward to shipping commencing on October 2nd onward. Alternatively, there is always the new Amazon Kindle Fire HDX that will cater to those who have deeper wallets to spend with. [Press Release]

Amazon Unveils New Kindle Fire HD original content from Ubergizmo.