Amazon to Unveil iPad Rival

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The Daily Beast - Amazon will reveal its much-anticipated Kindle Fire on Wednesday—a device that many predict will be the first true competitor to the iPad, especially since it is expected to cost less than $300. The tablet will come with a fully customized version of Google’s Android OS, which will link up with Amazon’s ebook, video, and music sales. But consumers may end up wanting to hold off on purchasing the first-generation device: according to the website gdgt, Amazon rushed the first generation for the holiday season and could release a second-generation device as soon as first quarter 2012. Read it at The Wall Street Journal

Later -  here is part of a press release from Amazon:

INTRODUCING THE ALL-NEW KINDLE FAMILY:

FOUR NEW KINDLES, FOUR AMAZING PRICE POINTS

New latest generation Kindle – world’s bestselling e-reader now lighter, faster,

and more affordable than ever – only $79

New “Kindle Touch” with easy-to-use touch screen – only $99

New “Kindle Touch 3G” with free 3G – the top of the line Kindle e-reader – only $149

New “Kindle Fire” – the Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games, and web browsing with all the content, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, Whispersync, Amazon’s new revolutionary cloud-accelerated web browser, vibrant color touch screen, and powerful dual-core processor – all for only $199

SEATTLE—September 28, 2011—  Today, Amazon is excited to introduce an all-new Kindle family: three all-new Kindle e-readers that are smaller, lighter, and more affordable than ever before, and Kindle Fire – a new class of Kindle that brings the same ease-of-use and deep integration of content that helped Kindle re-invent reading – to movies, TV shows, music, magazines, apps, books, games, and more.

“We’ve now reached the magical two-digit price point for Kindle – twice: the new Kindle and Kindle Touch are only $79 and $99.  Kindle Touch 3G is the new top of the line e-reader with free 3G – no monthly fees or annual contracts – and is only $149,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO.  “Kindle Fire brings together all of the things we’ve been working on at Amazon for over 15 years into a single, fully-integrated service for customers. With Kindle Fire, you have instant access to all the content, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, the convenience of Amazon Whispersync, our revolutionary cloud-accelerated web browser, the speed and power of a state-of-the-art dual-core processor, a vibrant touch display with 16 million colors in high resolution, and a light 14.6 ounce design that’s easy to hold with one hand – all for only $199.  We're offering premium products, and we're doing it at non-premium prices.”

New Latest Generation Kindle—Fits In Your Pocket—Only $79

The new latest generation Kindle is for readers who want the lightest, most compact Kindle at an incredible price.  The latest generation Kindle features a new design that is 30 percent lighter at just 5.98 ounces, 18 percent smaller, and turns pages 10 percent faster.  Kindle is now small and light enough to fit easily in your pocket and carry with you everywhere, yet it still features the same 6-inch, most advanced electronic ink display that reads like real paper, even in bright sunlight. 

The new latest generation Kindle is only $79.  Kindle is available starting today at www.amazon.com/kindle.

New Addition to the Kindle Family—“Kindle Touch”—Only $99

Kindle Touch is a new addition to the Kindle family with an easy-to-use touch screen that makes it easier than ever to turn pages, search, shop, and take notes – still with all the benefits of the most advanced electronic ink display.  Kindle Touch is also lighter, smaller, eliminates battery anxiety with extra-long battery life and holds thousands of books. 

New “X-Ray” Feature

Amazon invented X-Ray, a new feature that lets customers explore the “bones of the book.” With a single tap, readers can see all the passages across a book that mention ideas, fictional characters, historical figures, places or topics that interest them, as well as more detailed descriptions from Wikipedia and Shelfari, Amazon’s community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers.  Amazon built X-Ray using its expertise in language processing and machine learning, access to significant storage and computing resources with Amazon S3 and EC2, and a deep library of book and character information.  The vision is to have every important phrase in every book.

The new Kindle Touch is only $99.  Kindle Touch is available to customers in the U.S. for pre-order starting today at www.amazon.com/kindletouch and ships November 21.

New Top of the Line Kindle e-reader—“Kindle Touch 3G” —Only $149

Kindle Touch 3G is a new addition to the Kindle family for readers who want the top of the line e-reader.  Kindle Touch 3G offers the same new design and features of Kindle Touch – small and light, easy-to-use touch screen, storage for thousands of books, and extra-long battery life – with the unparalleled added convenience of free 3G.  Kindle’s free 3G connection means you never have to hunt for or pay for a Wi-Fi hotspot – you simply download and read books anytime, anywhere in over 100 countries around the world.  Amazon pays for the 3G connection so there’s no monthly fee or annual contract.