After giving its cheap Fire HD 10 tablet a spec bump last year, Amazon has turned its attention to the Fire HD 8 – adding a Plus version with Qi wireless charging and a Kids Edition.
The Fire HD 8 comes with a 1,280 x 800 resolution 8-inch display, a 2-GHz quad-core processor and 2 GB of RAM. Storage is offered as either 32 GB or 64 GB, which can be expanded up to 1 TB via microSD. Amazon is also bundling in unlimited cloud storage, though this is restricted to Amazon content and photos taken using Fire tablets.
Up to 12 hours of mixed-use up time is promised, with a full charge over USB-C taking less than five hours. Dual-band Wi-Fi is onboard, there are dual speakers with support for Dolby Atmos, and the Alexa digital voice assistant is ready to help with your spoken queries. There's also a Game Mode that prevents notifications from popping up for distraction-free gaming.
The Plus variant comes with 3 GB of RAM and its battery can be charged wirelessly using a Qi-compatible charging dock. Should you opt to use the USB-C port though, topping up the battery using the included 9-W adapter will shave off an hour compared to the standard model. And buyers get six months of Kindle Unlimited access included in the ticket price.
The Kids Edition comprises a standard HD8 with 32 GB of storage, a child-proof case and a year's access to Amazon FreeTime Unlimited. FreeTime makes more than 20,000 age-appropriate books, audiobooks, education apps, games and videos available from brands like Smartstudy, Sega, and Mattel. For an unspecified limited time, premium content form HOMER and PBS Kids is included, and over 2,000 Spanish language titles are also up for grabs with this package.
"The all-new Fire HD 8 Kids Edition is built from the ground up to offer the FreeTime Unlimited content kids love and the parental controls parents trust – all wrapped in a colorful kid-proof case with a two-year worry-free guarantee," said Amazon's Director of Kids and Family, Kurt Beidler.
Due for release early next month, the Fire HD 8 is priced at US$89.99, the Fire HD Plus comes in at $109.99 and the Kids Edition costs $139.99.
Source: Amazon