14 DAY TRIAL // Amazon introduced its Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 almost a year ago and the tablet came with some impressive specs, providing real competition to the best tablets present on the market.
As part of today’s big roll-out of new stuff, Amazon has taken the opportunity to announce a spec upgrade for its bigger HDX tablet.
What the Amazon Kindle Fire 8.9-inch 2013 brought to the table
As a reminder, the 2013 HDX 8.9 takes advantage of a display of the IPS LCD variety, which is also a touchscreen. It offers an advanced 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution and comes with the most impressive pixel densities on market (339 ppi).
In the computing department, the tablet enjoyed the presence of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 combined with the power of an Adreno 330 GPU.
Introducing the 2014 Edition
Well in 2014, Amazon came to the conclusion that the tab needs a little revamping, so it has swiped the processor inside with a new, more efficient one.
Instead of the Snapdragon 800 CPU, the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 now takes advantage of the faster Snapdragon 805. The company claims the switch will allow users to see improved graphics performance with up to 70%.
The good news is that Amazon is not bumping up the price, so those interested can pick up the new Kindle at the same rate as the old one, meaning with base models starting at $379 / €295 (Wi-Fi only model with 16GB of internal storage).
The new Kindle also takes advantage of 802.11ac MIMO dual-band Wi-Fi that is supposed to bring about 4 times faster wireless data transfer.
Another novelty coming in is the fact that the new Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 is the first tablet to come boasting Dolby Atmost sound.
Amazon doesn’t lose any opportunity of shaming some Apple products, so it claims the technology will allow the speakers on the tab to be twice as loud compared to the iPad Air.
Interested customers can pick up models with 64GB of internal storage and also 4G LTE. On top of that the tab takes advantage of two cameras (an 8MP one on the rear and an HD one in the front) and is said to be capable of sustaining up to 12 hours of battery life.
If you are OK with a tablet with more modest specs, Amazon will continue to sell the unaltered 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX, which comes with 1920 x 1200 pixel res, Snapdragon 800 CPU but is devoid of a rear camera.
