The rumors of the all new Kindle which is to be released on Wed 9/28/2011 have been all over the web for the last few days. It is said to be touch based, 7inch screen (larger screen coming maybe next year) and most of all it should be a color screen.
From WSJ http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/09/28/live-blog-amazons-new-tablet/
At a New York City event, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos introduced the Kindle Fire, a tablet that could rival Apple’s market-dominating iPad. The device should make it simple for customers to shop on the world’s largest online retailer and let them easily buy and consume the digital books, music and videos that Amazon offers.
We’re at the site of the New York City event and we’ll update you throughout the morning.
10:54 am | And Bezos Leaves the Stage
And that’s the presentation. There’s no “one more thing.” Oh wait, wrong CEO.
10:53 am | Kindle Fire to Ship in November
It ships November 15 and Bezos says we’re making “many millions of this.”
10:52 am
This is even cheaper than analysts expected. This could potentially eat at the iPad’s market share. But we’re still not sure how good the Kindle Fire is.
10:51 am | The Price
$199.
“We’re building premium products at non-premium prices,” Bezos says.
10:51 am
Video is over. Bezos is holding the device comfortably in one hand. Kindle Fire will come with free Amazon Cloud storage.
Bezos is about to name the price.
10:50 am | More on Amazon Web Services and the Kindle Fire
A video is explaining a complex process in which Amazon Web Services — rather than the tablet itself — will do all the hard work when Web pages load. This is tough stuff for the average consumer to understand, but the bottom line, Amazon says, is that Kindle Fire users will have especially quick Web page-loading times. At least I think that’s what they’re trying to say.
10:48 am
Bezos is showing off the device’s Web browser, Amazon Silk.
10:45 am
10:44 am
The Fruit Ninja demo showed off how fast the device’s dual-core processor is, Bezos says.
Still no words on whether it has 3G or whether it’s just WiFi, unless I missed it.
And no word on price yet.
10:42 am
We’re now listening to Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.” He’s showing off how Kindle Fire users can listen to music while reading books on the gadget.
He’s playing some Fruit Ninja. Jeff Bezos and I have something in common, though he admits that his “Fruit Ninja skills are lacking.”
I believe that line got his first laugh of the morning.
10:40 am
The device has 169 pixels per inch, which I believe is the same as the Nook Color.
“Let’s watch a movie. Let’s watch some X-Men.” The video starts playing.
10:39 am
We’re seeing a close-up of the device. It looks similar to an iPad. There appears to be a home row at the bottom with four icons: Fruit Ninja (the favorite game of this Digits writer), Esquire magazine, Amazon and Angry Birds.
10:37 am
All the content on the Kindle Fire will be backed up on the Amazon Cloud.
Bezos just took a knock at Apple. There’s a picture of an Apple USB plug on the screen. Bezos said Kindle Fire users won’t have to plug the device in their computers to sync them. It’ll do it automatically via wireless Internet.
10:35 am | Here It Is! The Kindle Fire
“It’s called Kindle Fire.” Bezos goes to the lectern and takes out his new tablet. (Photo: Bloomberg)
10:34 am | And Now Someting About Amazon Web Services. Why?
Bezos is talking about the success of Amazon Web Services for some reason. I’m not sure why. The average consumer doesn’t know what that is.
10:32 am | About These Updates…
The wireless internet in the auditorium appears to be overwhelmed. The guy to my left is on the phone and appears to be complaining to an editor about that. We’re blogging via our Blackberry.
10:31 am
There’s been speculation that Amazon might give buyers of its still-unannounced tablet a free Amazon Prime subscription.
10:31 am | A Bit on Amazon Prime
Bezos is now promoting the $79-a-year Amazon Prime, which in addition to premium shipping also includes access to roughly 10,000 movies and TV shows.
10:28 am | Is That a Drum Roll We Hear?
Bezos just showed an ad for the black-and-white Kindle.
Now he’s talking about how Amazon has spent 15 years building its media business, such as in music. I presume he’s about to break out the tablet.
10:26 am
The non touch-screen Kindle also has a few buttons on the bottom, probably for page turning.
10:25 am | A Simpler Kindle for $79
Bezos breaks out yet another Amazon Kindle. It’s $79 and does not have a touch screen. We reported this back in July. It’s much simpler than the current Kindle. It does not have a keyboard, but still has the same directional pad.
“We’re going to sell many millions of these,” Bezos says. It is available today and it ships today.
10:22 am
There will also be a Touch with 3G, Bezos says. Apparently the $99 version is WiFi only. The 3G version will cost $149.
Pre-order is available today, and they’ll ship on Nov. 21–just in time to boost Amazon’s holiday revenues.
10:21 am
“Let the fervor begin,” Bezos says. The Touch will cost $99, he says.
10:20 am
Bezos is talking about how critics have always said that a $99 Kindle would sell well. I think he’s about to say the Touch costs $99.
10:20 am
Oh, there does appear to be a button on the bottom as well, probably to bring up a home screen.
10:19 am
We’re seeing a close-up of the new Kindle Touch on the screen. It’s much simpler than the current Kindle, which has a keyboard on the bottom. This one loses the keyboard. It’s a sleek black device that has two things on the front: the touch screen and the word “Kindle” on top.
10:16 am
It looks similar to the touch-screen readers from Barnes & Noble and the Nook. The Amazon one looks as if it has a metallic black border.
Bezos says we’ll get to play with these at a demo station afterward.
10:15 am | A New Product: Kindle Touch
Bezos just introduced a new product, but it’s not the tablet. “Here’s Kindle Touch,” he says, holding up a new touch-screen black-and-white Kindle. We reported on this device in July.
10:12 am
Here’s that graph.
Bezos is still talking about the 3rd-generation Kindle. Nothing new yet.
10:10 am | A Bit About Kindle Book Sales
He just showed a graph comparing physical book sales to Kindle book sales on Amazon. They did so in a very Amazon way: by not labeling the Y-axis of the graph, so we don’t know exactly how many sales they made.
10:09 am
Nothing new yet. Bezos is talking about the black-and-white Kindle’s success.
10:08 am
Here’s Bezos. He is wearing his trademark outfit.
10:05 am | And We’re Off!
We are starting! Lights are flashing. They’re showing a video of people raving about … some device. The folks appear to be talking about the 3rd-generation Kindle.
10:04 am | The Stage
Here’s a picture of the stage at the event, taken by Dow Jones colleague Shara Tibken.
9:59 am | Jeff Bezos Fashion 101
Jeff Bezos should be in the house. While we’re not sure about the details of the tablet, we do know what he’ll wear: A light-blue shirt, a dark blazer and blue jeans. He told Esquire magazine in 2001 that “I wear the same thing every weekday, and I have for ten years. I don’t like to think about what I want to wear in the morning. You should definitely stay away from asking me fashion questions.”
I suppose he’s channeling Steve Jobs
Here’s the Esquire story: http://www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/ESQ0102-JAN_BEZOS#ixzz1ZFto5Dui
9:58 am
Here’s the truck
9:54 am
They also put a truck with a small billboard outside the event. We’ll post pictures in a second.
9:54 am | Outside, a Pro-Sales Tax Happening Led by Big Box Retailers
Amazon isn’t the only one taking advantage of this buzz. The Alliance for Main Street Fairness, an organization funded by Wal-Mart, Best Buy and other big-box retailers, has people outside handing out leaflets.
The group is trying to get Amazon and other online retailers to collect sales taxes.
9:52 am
The auditorium is filling up. There might be 200 journalists here.
9:46 am
Also, this Hell’s Kitchen location is quite inconvenient for those of us coming from midtown. But the name of the neighborhood might be apt, given reports that the new Amazon device will be called the Kindle Fire.
9:45 am | Reporters Line Up | by Stu Woo
I’m in line for the Amazon event in Hell’s Kitchen. The company appears to have invited more than a hundred journalists to this event, and it’s getting stuffy in here.