Amazon Unveils New Fire HD 8 Tablet with Alexa Support, Prices Start at $90

The latest Fire HD tablet has been detailed.  

Amazon has announced the newest addition to its Fire line of products. The upgraded Fire HD 8 offers improved performance over the previous model and introduces Alexa voice service support. 

"We believe in a different approach to tablets—providing premium products at non-premium prices—and customers love it. In fact, we've seen Fire tablet sales more than double year-over-year as a result," said Kevin Keith, General Manager, Fire Tablets. "The all-new Fire HD 8 packs more battery life, more storage, faster performance, plus Alexa—all for less than $90."

The tablet features an 8-inch HD display and is powered by a quad-core processor. Likewise, the device offers up to 12 hours of battery life and includes a 2MP rear camera and a front-facing VGA camera. In addition, the Fire HD 8 also incorporates Alexa voice service support -- a first for Fire tablets.

Here's a full rundown of major specs and features per the press release:

- High-definition display—8” widescreen (1280 x 800) HD display with over a million pixels (189 ppi) for bright, vivid image quality.
- Fast performance—With a quad-core 1.3 GHz processor and 1.5 GB of RAM—50% more RAM than the previous generation Fire HD 8 for faster performance when playing games or launching apps.
- 2x more storage—With options for 16 GB or 32 GB, and support for up to 200 GB of expandable storage via microSD.
- All-day battery—4,750 mAh battery for up to 12 hours of mixed use battery life for a full day of power.
- Incredible reliability—As measured in tumble tests, Fire HD 8 is 2x more durable than the iPad Mini 4—and costs $300 less.
- Front- and rear-facing cameras—Video chat with friends and family with the front-facing camera, take and share photos, and save them for later with free, unlimited cloud storage for all photos taken on Fire devices.
- Dolby Audio—Fire HD 8 stereo speakers are custom-tuned for immersive, high-quality sound.
- Fire OS 5—Includes a user interface that replicates the look and feel of a magazine, making browsing and searching for your content easier than ever—now with support for Comixology and Twitch.
- Alexa—Simply press and ask to enjoy music, listen to audiobooks, ask questions, shop, find news, hear the weather, and more on your Fire tablet.
- Amazon Underground—A one-of-a-kind app store experience where thousands of premium apps, games, and even in-app items are 100% free—including extra lives, unlocked levels, unlimited add-on packs, and more.
- On Deck—For Prime members, On Deck automatically keeps your Fire tablet current with popular Prime movies and TV shows, as well as Amazon Original Series. For customers that aren’t yet Prime members, On Deck downloads first episodes of Amazon Original Series—so you always have something great to watch.
- World’s best content ecosystem—Access to millions of movies, TV shows, songs, books, magazines, apps, and games—with free, unlimited cloud storage for all Amazon content.
- Amazon-exclusive features—ASAP, X-Ray, Second Screen, Family Library, Amazon FreeTime, Prime Video downloads, Blue Shade, Word Runner, and more.
- Screen sharing—Let an Amazon expert guide you remotely through any feature on your screen, available 24x7, 365 days a year—for free.
- Four fun color options—Black, magenta, blue, and tangerine.

The new Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet will start shipping on September 21 in 16GB ($90) and 32GB ($120) models. In addition to the new Fire HD 8, Alexa support is also coming to the Fire HD 10, Fire, and last year's Fire HD 8 tablets through a free software update in the coming months.

Source: Amazon