Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said Thursday that the company's new generation of Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fire tablets will ship Oct. 1.
Bezos announced the new e-readers, dubbed the Kindle Paperwhite because of its all-white backlit screen, at a press conference in Santa Monica Thursday morning.
He then unveiled the new Kindle Fire HD in two different sizes, claiming that Amazon would offer a tablet that people actually wanted, compared to the unpopular Android tablets.
He said people don't want a device, they want a service, which the Kindle Fire provides.
"We decided to go big," Bezos said. "Our large display tablet has an 8.9 inch display. It's stunning."
The new tablet has a laminated touch sensor to reduce glare, improved processing power and dual stereo speakers from Dolby, making it the first tablet to feature the Dolby Digital Plus sound — the same one found in high-end home entertainment systems.
The new HD tablet will be available in two screen sizes — a 7-inch display, as on the original Kindle Fire and a larger 8.9-inch display.
The original Fire, which was updated for better battery life, now costs $159 — down from the original $199 price tag. The larger HD Kindle will cost $299.
Amazon also revealed a new feature, X-Ray for Movies, which allows users watching films on the Kindle to quickly search any information about it on IMDb.
“X-Ray for Movies revolutionizes the way we watch movies, offering an immediate and easy way to know ‘Who’s that guy?’ and ‘What’s he been in?’,” Col Needham, IMDb’s founder and CEO, said in a statment. “This is the culmination of everything we’ve been working on for over 20 years and is the result of a combination of sophisticated technology and old-fashioned hard work. Backed by the millions of pieces of data in IMDb’s catalog, X-Ray will change the way you watch, discover and enjoy movies—movie lovers will have to see it to believe it.”
Bezos, a parent of four, also included a timer feature that allows parents — or undisciplined adult users — to limit the amount of time spent on television streaming, books or apps.
The Kindle Fire sales account for 22 percent of the U.S. tablet market, Amazon said.
