While the plaudits have largely gone to Apple’s new iPad Mini, Amazon are also introducing a new tablet to the UK this week. It’s called the Kindle Fire, and while it was released in the US some time ago, it never saw a UK launch until now.
In the meantime, the Fire’s price has gone down and its specifications have come up – it now features a 1.2 GHz dual core processor and a full 1 GB of RAM, making it a lot more capable than its predecessor. The Fire is a 7″ tablet like the Google Nexus or Fire HD 7, and it offers a convenient form factor for one-handed operation.
It’s also tightly hooked into the Amazon ecosystem, which offers a selection of Android apps from the Google Play store, as well as a great deal of virtual media – books (of course!), films, TV shows and music. Amazon have done well to accrue a great amount of digital content over the past few years and as it stands their ecosystem is one of the widest ranging available, on par with Apple’s or Google’s and considerably better than either on that all-important books sector.
The Kindle Fire’s best attribute is its price – just £129. That’s the cheapest Android tablet to be sold in the UK by a major brand, and offers a compelling new price point that’s half that of the iPad Mini. The Fire isn’t quite as powerful as the Nexus 7 or as nice a design as Apple’s tablet, but it is perfectly powerful enough to serve as a media consumption device and good looking enough for you to take it outside without fear of ridicule.
Of course, we’ll be hosting a wide range of Kindle Fire accessories. Unlike the other tablets which are launching over the next few weeks, because the Kindle Fire is launching in the UK we’re able to have a much wider inventory for the tablet, including dozens of Kindle Fire cases and hundreds of other accessories, including Kindle Fire chargers, Kindle Fire car holders, Kindle Fire covers and Kindle Fire docks. Phew.
If you have any questions about the Kindle Fire or its competitors as well as the many accessories that we offer, feel free to let me know in the comments below or write to us on Twitter @mobilefun.