New tablets from Amazon as it seeks e-commerce boost

Friday, September 27, 2013 - 09:46 by Graham Miller

Amazon is hoping that the launch of a few new tablets in its Kindle Fire range will encourage more British consumers to carry out safe shopping online using its own-brand devices, while presumably exclusively harnessing Amazon's e-commerce platform to part with their cash.

The Kindle Fire range has expanded significantly since its first seven inch iteration arrived and now there are both budget and premium options.

The base-model Kindle Fire HD sticks with a seven inch screen and ditches the usual bells and whistles that other tablets include, so there are no cameras whatsoever, for example. What you do get is a modestly powerful device that can connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot and let you play games, stream media content and, most importantly, buy products via safe shopping online.

The Kindle Fire HDX range, with a seven inch and 8.9 inch model, is a little more technically advanced and expensive. Higher resolution displays, quad core processors, more onboard storage and even 4G LTE connectivity are available.

The inclusion of 4G on the top end Kindle Fire models is particularly noteworthy because it shows that Amazon is keen to keep people online and with the option to make purchases, even if they are out of the house.

While most people use their tablets to browse e-commerce sites while sitting on the sofa, if they can also achieve this from any location at superfast speeds when Wi-Fi is not available, then Amazon has a greater chance of capturing more of their spending.

The Kindle Fire range is aggressively priced and offers much more bang for your buck when compared with contemporaries like the iPad Mini, at least on a technical standpoint. However, with the iPad Mini 2 on the way, Amazon's time in the sun could be short lived.