Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took the wraps off of a complete new line of Kindle Fire tablets in a press event at Santa Monica, California on Thursday, 6 September 2012. Amazon unveiled four new Kindle Fire tablet computers including a new backlit e-reader called as the Kindle Paperwhite. Since the launch of its Kindle line in 2007, Amazon has refused to disclose the details regarding the sales numbers of Kindle and that's more unlikely for the new line of Kindle Fire HD tablets. Amazon's newly announced products include a 7-inch Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch and Kindle Fire HD with AT&T's 4G LTE support.
Amazon, along with the Kindle Fire HD tablet computers also announced the all new e-reader with backlight called as Kindle Paperwhite to compete with the Barnes and Noble's Nook Glow. With complete new hardware upgrades and software features, Amazon is all set to compete with its direct competitor Google's Nexus 7 and the Apple's iPad. But Amazon, with its new Kindle Fire HD line surely proved that it is going head-to-head with the consumer electronics giant Apple Inc., following the rumors that Apple is planning to launch an all new mini iPad. Amazon's stock hit a record high at US$252.70, witnessing a 2.1 percent jump by US$5.16 to close at $251.38 on Thursday.
According to the second quarter results of FY2012, Amazon posted $7 million in net income, a 97 percent fall from what recorded in Q2 2011 ($191 million). Amazon pulled in a significant 29 percent rise in its net sales which was recorded at $12.83 billion for Q2 2012 and is expected to increase by the third quarter, following the launch of their new range of Kindle Fire HD tablets and the new e-reader Kindle Paperwhite. When Amazon Inc. introduced its original Kindle Fire in 2011, it surprisingly became a worldwide hit as one of the top budget tablets, but it all came to an end when Google launched its flagship tablet Nexus 7. But with the announcement of their Kindle Fire HD tablets on Thursday, Amazon managed to light a new fire and the company is now expecting their net sales to grow in Q3 2012 to land somewhere between $12.9 billion and $14.3 billion.
The 7-inch Kindle Fire HD with Wi-Fi and 16GB of storage will sell for around $199, the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire will start at $299 and the extra-fancy Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE network support will cost around $499 for the 32GB version and $599 for 64GB. All the three tablets feature an IPS LCD display, 16GB of internal memory storage, Wi-Fi connectivity and more. Not only featured with most advanced hardware upgrades, but they also will be getting access to the new software features of Amazon like X-Ray for Books, X-Ray for Movies, Kindle FreeTime, Immersion Reading, etc.
