Live Blog: Amazon Unveils Kindle And Bigger Version of the Fire
Editor's Note:Amazon unveiled a new Kindle Fire named the Kindle Fire HD and a new e-reader called the Kindle Paperwhite Thursday.
CNBC's Jon Fortt was at the press event in Santa Monica, Calif. where the new products were announced and reported live from the launch. Below are the events as they occurred.
2:54 P.M.: Bezos: Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE wireless for $499, 32GB, $50 per year for 250MB per month.
2:51 P.M.: Bezos: "We also don't want to lose money on devices, because that misaligns you with consumers."
2:50 P.M.: Bezos: "How are these prices possible? We want to make money when people use our devices, not when people buy our devices."
2:48 P.M.: Bezos: Kindle Fire HD comes in 7 and 8.9 inch .... 7 inch, 16 GB $199, ships Sept. 14. The 8.9 inch will be $299 and have 16GB of memory. It will begin shipping Nov. 20.
2:43 P.M.: Bezos: Showing Fire HD TV spot
2:43 P.M.: Bezos: In-game purchase allows people to buy physical game-related items, also get digital versions of those items. (Implications for the likes of Rovio should be obvious.)
2:39 P.M.: Bezos: Presenting a music demo (Is that really coming from the device alone? Unclear how loud the speakers get without microphone amplification).
2:33 P.M.: Bezos: Kindle FreeTime limits let you set different limits for different kids, and for different activities (limit video and games, unlimited reading) ....
2:32 P.M.: Bezos: Facebook, Skype built custom apps for HD Kindle.
2:31 P.M.: Bezos: Whispersync feature for games: Stores unlocked levels in the cloud.
2:29 P.M.: Bezos: X-ray for movies: Tap screen during movie, find out who the actor is.
2:27 P.M.: Bezos: Whispersync for voice: your audiobook knows how far you've read, keeps both media in sync.
2:24 P.M.: Bezos: The Kindle Fire HD tablet has wifi that is 41 percent faster than new iPad.
2:23 P.M.: Bezos: HD is first tablet to incorporate MIMO.
2:21 P.M.: Features better wifi: 5ghz band, two antennas, MIMO for improving radio signal reception.
2:19 P.M.: Bezos: HD display means more storage; OMAP 4470 processor, more memory bandwidth than Tegra 3; dual stereo speakers, Dolby digital plus.
2:18 P.M.: It has laminated touch sensor on top of display. It cuts glare by 25 percent.
2:16 P.M.: Kindle Fire HD: "We decided to go big" — 8.9 inch display, 1920 x 1200 resolution, in-plane switching 256 ppi.
2:13 P.M.: Bezos: Kindle Fire is staying, faster processor, twice the RAM, longer battery life, and will sell for $159.
2:12 P.M.: Bezos showing glowing Kindle Fire press reviews.
2:11 P.M.: Bezos: In 12 months after Kindle, people read 4.6 times as much as they did in 12 months before as of 2011.
2:10 P.M.: Bezos: Now Kindle serials: buy once, receive all future episodes, automatic and seamless, authors join discussions; Neal Pollack, Dani Amore, and others among first eight.
2:09 P.M.: Bezos: Kindle singles are working. There have been 3.5 million sold, 35 have reached top 50.
2:07 P.M.: Bezos: Showing testimonials from direct publishers.
2:06 P.M.: Bezos: Kindle Direct Publishing allows authors publish on their own; 27 of top 100 paid Kindle books are direct publishing.
2:03 P.M.: Bezos shows rejection letters to Stephen King, Dr. Seuss; author of The Help talking about rejection.
2:01 P.M.: The entry-level Kindle now $69.
2:00 P.M.: Priced at $179, free 3G.
1:58 P.M.: Bezos showing x-ray feature that gives information on book characters and bios for authors.
1:56 P.M.: Bezos is demonstrating font switching, size adjustments. (Note: last time Bezos did ereaders first, Fire later. Expect that here, too)
1:53 P.M.: Bezos: "Gets 8 weeks of battery life even if you leave the light on all the time." Specs: 9.1 mm, 7.5 ounces
1:53 P.M.: Patented light guide: like a fiber optic cable flattened out, making lighting even across display, directed down onto display, opposite of LCD.
1:52 P.M.: Bezos: "25 percent more contrast 212 pixels per inch."
1:51 P.M.: Front-lit display in new Kindle, you can change fonts, screen is clearer. It's the Kindle Paperwhite.
1:49 P.M.: Showing a video for a new kindle. Video features customers talking about how much they read...
1:48 P.M.: Bezos: "Hardware is a critical part of the service."
1:47 P.M.: Bezos: "Customers are smart. Last year there were more than two dozen android tablets launched into the marketplace. People didn't buy them .... People don't want gadgets. They want services .... Kindle Fire is a service."
1:44 P.M.: Bezos: "We love to invent. We love to pioneer. We even like going down alleys that turn out to be blind alleys. Every once in a while one of those blind alleys opens up into a broad avenue, and that's really fun."
1:43 P.M.: Jeff Bezos takes the stage.
1:42 P.M.: Event beginning with commercial from last night. (Watch commerical here)
1:34 P.M.: Lights have dimmed at the Amazon presser.
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