Amazon is doubling the amount of RAM in the entry-level Kindle Fire tablet, speeding up the processor, and dropping the price tag.

Starting today you can order a 2nd generation Kindle Fire for $159, and it will ship starting September 14th.

The new model has the same 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display as the original, but it has 1GB of RAM instead of 512MB, and Amazon says it’s 40 percent faster and offers better battery life.

The software also looks like it’s been updated, although the tablet still runs a modified version of Google Android with a virtual book shelf on the home screen to display apps, music, books, movies, and other content purchased from the Amazon store.

Amazon’s new Kindle FreeTime feature also lets you create a custom profile for kids by limiting access to certain apps and setting limits for how much time a kid can use the Kindle Fire each day.

Amazon is phasing out the original Kindle Fire. It’s no longer available for purchase from Amazon.com, but I expect used and refurbished models on eBay and other marketplaces to drop in price pretty soon.

This is just the entry level Kindle Fire. Amazon is also now offering 7 and 8.9 inch Kindle Fire HD tablets with higher-resolution displays.

via ABC News

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5 replies on “Next-gen Kindle Fire: $159 for a speedier tablet”

  1. It seems to be getting much easier for companies without a long history of hardware expertise to source and produce sleek high quality devices. Apple is in a lot of trouble.

    1. Dunno that Apple is in trouble yet — for whatever reason they still have the cachet that Amazon and Google can only dream about, and they have millions of fiercely loyal customers to prove it.

      It’ll take a lot of time and effort to pry those repeat customers away from them.

      1. Sometimes tipping points and paradigm changes are glaringly obvious. The effects haven’t happened yet. But the point has been reached. Apple is screwed.

        1. I disagree (even though I’ve never bought an Apple device myself). There is a lot more they can do, including dropping the prices some and filling the gap in screen size between iPhone and iPad. Let’s see what happens when they announce the new iPhone in a couple of weeks. There is nothing in Amazon’s announcement that alters the widely predicted number of 10 million new iPhone sales. That alone will bring plenty of iPad sales along with it.

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