By Alexandra Burlacu | Mar 16, 2013 11:22 AM EDT
Amazon is slashing the price of its 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD as it launches the tablets on new continents to expand its coverage.
The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD is the largest of all Kindle tablets, and it will now reach France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan. U.S. prices for the tablet will see a drop along with this long-awaited expansion.
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The 16GB Wi-Fi-only version will see a $30 price cut from $299 to $269, while the 32GB version of the 4G variant will see a $100 discount from $499 to $399. Meanwhile, the 32GB Wi-Fi-only version now starts at $299, while the 64GB model costs $499.
"We're thrilled with customer reaction to Kindle Fire HD 8.9". Customers tell us they love our large-screen version of Kindle Fire HD for web browsing, email, gaming, watching TV shows, reading magazines, and more," touts Amazon Kindle Vice President Dave Limp.
"As we expand Kindle Fire HD 8.9" to Europe and Japan, we've been able to increase out production volumes and decrease our costs. Across our business at Amazon, whenever we are able to create cost efficiencies like this, we want to pass the savings along to our customers."
Amazon's 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD reached North America on Nov. 20, 2012, as the company's second-generation Android tablet. The slate packs a 1.5GHz dual-core TI OMAP4470 SoC with a 299MHz PowerVR SGX544 GPU, 1GB of RAM, dual-band Wireless N and Bluetooth 3.0. The 8.9-inch display sports a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels at 254 pixels per inch (ppi). The tablet has a 1.3-megapixel front camera, offers up to 10 hours of battery life and runs on Android.
Along with the tablet launch, Amazon also introduced new services such as X-Ray for Movies, X-Ray for Textbooks, Whispersync for Voice and Whyspersync for Games, and Immersion Reading. The slate also packs Kindle FreeTime, a free personalized tablet experience designed for kids and exclusively available on the Kindle Fire. FreeTime allows parents to set daily screen limits and grant access to specific content for each child.
The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD has enjoyed great success among consumers, and the new price cuts will likely make the tablet more appealing. The tablet is now available for a lower price on Amazon's website.
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