Amazon originally stated that the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 would ship on November 20th. Today, Amazon announced that they were being shipped today to Best Buy stores and will be on shelves tomorrow. The new version has a larger screen of 1,920 x 1,200 resolution and priced starting at $299 for 16 GB of storage.
The 4G LTE larger version will still go on sale November 20th, as planned at $499 with 32 GB of storage, including 20 GB of cloud storage as well as a $10 Amazon appstore credit.
Amazon’s Android powered tablet will be available in Staples, Radio Shack and additional retailers soon too. The tablet has been on back order on Amazon’s website for quite some time until the first week of December but those that haven’t pre-ordered can rush out to Best Buy tomorrow.
“Kindle Fire HD has been Amazon’s best-selling product worldwide since launch, and that was before we even started shipping the best tablet we’ve ever built,” Dave Limp, vice president of Amazon Kindle, said in a press release. “With the holiday season upon us, we’re excited to make our $299 Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ available early—we think customers are going to love web browsing, email, gaming, watching TV shows, reading magazines, and more on the large, stunning HD screen, with fast Wi-Fi and exceptional audio.”
The 16 GB Kindle Fire also boasts a front-facing HD camera for use with video calls and a dual-band Wi-Fi with MIMO technology. The 32 GB Kindle Fire model will retail at $369.00. They will also have an “x-ray” feature for movies and textbooks that allows use of content of Wikipedia, IMDB and YouTube.
The 4G LTE version’s wireless package will cost an additional $49.99 per year with data usage being maximized at 250 MB per month, with the rate only being available for the first year. If needing more data, a 3 GB and 5 GB monthly package will also be available for additional fees depending on the package.
With all models, there is an optional Amazon Prime membership for $7.99, which will give access to free, streaming video and free two-day shipping.
Amazon is ready for the holiday season to begin.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/15/kindle-fire-hd-8-9-shipping-today-on-best-buy-store-shelves-tomorrow/