FollowThe Amazon Kindle HDX 8.9 which happens to be the most expensive in the Kindle Fire line of tablets has started shipping. The tablet which comes with an 8.9 inch display offers a stunning resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels but is priced quite reasonably at $379. Other general specifications of the tablet include 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage to start with. At its core, it’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad core chip that does duty which ensures the table is able to ward off almost anything that is thrown at it.
Also, all of the above is packed within a case that is quite compact and handy, weighing in at just a shade on the other side of 13 ounce while being only 0.31 inches thick. Overall, the tablet does make a strong case for itself on the back of the hardware pieces that it comes packed with though it also marks the departure of Amazon’s traditional area of dominance, the low cost tablet market. The Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 is still among the cheapest if the specs it comes with is taken into account but far from the affordable devices that Amazon has been known to come up with.
To compare the other product available from Amazon, at $229 there is the 7 inch model of the same Kindle Fire which has a screen resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels. About tablets that command a higher price tag is the iPad Mini with 7.9 inch Retina display which comes for $400.
Another aspect to consider is that this tablet from Amazon has limited third party app compatibility. Users would get access to apps, music, eBooks and movies that are available at Amazon stores alone, even though the tablet is Android based. The iPad if one compares would have far greater third party app available to it.
Users could consider joining the Prime membership club of Amazon for $79 as annual subscription. There would be ample apps, free video streaming and access to Kindle Owners Lending Library, member would be able to check out one book per month from this library. The tablet therefore must not be totally written off due its high price. There are however other tablets like those form Samsung, Kobo etc which would come at a lower price and more third party app support.
