The Kindle Fire HD 7 and 8.9 are now available in over 170 countries, while the Amazon Appstore is now open in nearly 200, the company has announced in two press releases today.
If the Kindle Fire HD wasn’t available until now in your country, you’ll be happy to hear that Amazon has announced that both the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD and the 8.9-inch model are now available to pre-order in over 170 countries, and there’s a serious chance that yours is among them.
A list of the countries is not provided, but the press release does mention the date when you’ll be able to get your hands on the tablet, should you pre-order today: June 13. The models are the same ones that sell in the U.S., some European countries and the UK.
The press release also mentions that if you live in Ireland or Gibraltar, you’ll be able to get a Kindle Fire HD from the UK Amazon site, from the German one if you’re from Austria or Luxembourg, and from Amazon France if you live in Monaco.
And since the devices don’t have access to the Google Play Store, like the Nook tablets do, you’ll be getting your apps from the Amazon App Store. The store, which uses Amazon Coins (announced earlier this year), has expanded its availability to nearly 200 countries all over the world. Amazon has notified its developers about this about a month ago, and now the expansion is here.
This move turns the Amazon Appstore into a competitor for the Google Play Store (which has, as you would expect, beaten it in terms of downloads in a recent Distimo study), as it will have a much larger possible user base. Well, competition can only be a good thing for us users.
If you’ve used both stores, which one do you prefer? Why is that?
Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HD 8.9” Now Available for Pre-Order for Customers in over 170 Countries Around the World, Shipping June 13
Kindle Fire HD—with a stunning custom 7” or 8.9” HD display, ultra-fast Wi-Fi, and exceptional battery life—perfect for web browsing, apps, games and books
Instant access to the most popular apps and games, including Where’s My Perry?, Pinterest, NBA JAM, and Asphalt 7—each one optimized for Kindle Fire HD
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May. 23, 2013– (NASDAQ:AMZN)—Today Amazon announced that Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HD 8.9” are now available to customers in over 170 countries and territories around the world for pre-order through Amazon.com, giving customers access to millions of apps, games, books, audiobooks and magazines, including more than 300,000 books that are exclusive to the Kindle Store.
Designed for entertainment, Kindle Fire HD is perfect for web browsing, apps, games and books. Features include:
Stunning customized HD display with in-plane switching, Advanced True Wide polarizing filter and customized laminated touch sensor for 25% less glare with rich color and deep contrast from any viewing angle; ideal for movies, apps, and gaming.
Custom Dolby audio and dual stereo speakers for crisp, rich sound.
The most popular apps and games.
Ultra-fast web browsing and streaming with built-in dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi.
Front-facing HD camera for taking photos or making video calls.
Exceptional battery life—Kindle Fire HD gets over 10 hours of battery life.
Easy-to-use e-mail, calendar, and contacts for work or home, including Gmail, Hotmail, Exchange, and more.
Amazon-exclusive features like, Whispersync for Voice and Whispersync for Games.
“Buy Once, Read Everywhere” with the free Kindle app available on the largest number of platforms so customers can use their Kindle books on any of their devices.
Amazon’s top-rated, world-class customer service.
“Kindle Fire HD is the #1 best-selling item in the world for Amazon since its launch, and we’re thrilled to make it available to even more customers around the globe today,” said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “Not only does Kindle Fire feature advanced hardware, it’s also a service. When combined with our content ecosystem, great email and browsing and top-rated customer service, we hope people around the world will agree that Kindle Fire HD is the best tablet for an incredible price.”
Kindle Fire is a Service
Kindle Fire is more than just great hardware—it’s a service. When a customer orders a Kindle Fire, it arrives pre-registered to their Amazon account and greets them by name. All of the customer’s Kindle content is there waiting for them to download and start enjoying—no long set-up process, and no syncing with a cable. Kindle Fire also comes with instant access to Amazon’s digital content right from the device, including all of the features customers love about shopping on Amazon—customer reviews, one-click purchasing and more. Whenever customers shop on Amazon, or buy a Kindle they know that they are also getting Amazon’s world-class customer service. Customers have been shopping on Amazon for over 15 years, and they continue to do so because of the unparalleled, end-to-end customer experience.
Arrives Pre-Registered
Kindle Fire HD comes automatically pre-registered so customers can immediately start enjoying their digital content purchased from Amazon or shop for new content.
Connect with Bluetooth and HDMI
Kindle Fire HD supports Bluetooth, enabling customers to connect their wireless Bluetooth headphones or Bluetooth speakers to listen to songs or audiobooks. With Bluetooth connectivity, customers can also easily connect to a wide range of Bluetooth-enabled keyboards. HDMI out makes it easy for customers to connect Kindle Fire HD to their big-screen TV to enjoy their favorite videos and photos.
Stunning Custom HD Display
The 8.9” display on Kindle Fire HD features an incredible 254 pixels per inch with a resolution of 1920×1200, meaning that pixels are indistinguishable to the human eye. The 7” Kindle Fire HD features a stunning HD display with 1280×800 resolution that delivers deep, detailed contrast and rich, natural color. Kindle Fire HD a laminated touch sensor to reduce glare and make the display easy to view even in overhead light, and an Advanced True Wide polarizing filter that results in a display that shows the same deep contrast and rich, detailed color from any angle.
High-End Laptop-Quality Wi-Fi—Fast Downloads and High-Speed Streaming
Kindle Fire HD comes with dual-band Wi-Fi and can automatically switch between the 2.4 GHz network and the less crowded 5 GHz network, resulting in better range and less interference.
Stay in Touch with Front-Facing HD Camera
Kindle Fire HD features a front-facing HD camera. Skype created a customized app tailored for Kindle Fire HD that is ready to use out of the box for free HD video calls at home and abroad. Kindle Fire HD makes it easy for the over 250 million customers already using Skype to get in touch with friends and family.
Email and Calendar
The Kindle Fire family features world-class Microsoft Exchange integration, with fine-tuned performance on many of the most critical email functions. For example, typical Exchange accounts sync with the oldest emails first, ending with the most recent emails—Kindle Fire instead syncs with newer emails first, then with older emails, getting customers access to the most recent emails they are looking for. Kindle Fire also features a new calendar app, making it easy for customers to stay connected and keep track of their schedules. The new email client offers support for the world’s most popular email providers—including Gmail, Microsoft Exchange, Hotmail and more.
Photos Brought to Life
Photos come alive in stunning high-resolution on Kindle Fire HD. Fire’s mosaic view arranges personal photos beautifully, and customers will be delighted to see their best shots on their TV with HDMI out. Kindle Fire lets customers easily import their photos from Facebook and because their photos are securely stored in the Amazon cloud, they never have to worry about losing their favorite pictures
Millions of Apps, Games, Books, Audiobooks and Magazines
Kindle Fire provides customers an incredibly large selection of digital content, including thousands of exclusives:
Instant access to the most popular apps and games, including Where’s My Perry?, Pinterest, NBA JAM, and Asphalt 7—each one optimized for Kindle Fire HD.
Millions of books, including over 300,000 titles that are exclusive to the Kindle Store. Over 650,000 books are priced at $4.99 or less; over 1.2 million are $9.99 or less. Hundreds of magazines and newspapers—including Vogue, Esquire, National Geographic and Better Homes and Gardens—with glossy full-color layouts, HD photography, and beautifully detailed illustrations.
Over 100,000 professionally-narrated audiobook titles available, with free samples to listen to before buying.
16 or 32 GB of On-Device Storage, Plus Free Cloud Storage for Amazon Content
Kindle Fire HD is available with 16 GB or 32 GB of on-device storage. This large on-device storage capacity is in addition to the free storage Amazon provides for Amazon digital content in the Amazon Cloud. Amazon digital content is automatically backed up for free in the Amazon Cloud’s Worry-Free Archive where it’s available anytime.
Powerful World-Class Processor—Snappy and Smooth
An HD display and HD content must be driven by a powerful processor and optimized software. The Kindle Fire HD family features world-class processors and an Imagination Technologies graphics engine for lightning-fast HD graphics and excellent fluidity. The 8.9” Kindle Fire HD is powered by the latest generation OMAP4 4470 processor and Imagination SGX544 graphics engine capable of over 12 billion floating point operations per second, and both Kindle Fire HD 7” and 8.9” come with higher memory bandwidth than Tegra 3. Combining the latest generation processors with significant customization of the Kindle Fire software by Amazon engineers results in a snappy and smooth experience for the user.
Dual Stereo Speakers and Exclusive Dolby Audio
Kindle Fire HD combines dual stereo speakers with the Dolby Digital Plus audio platform—the standard in high-performance audio—to offer a world-class audio experience. Dolby’s audio suite for Kindle Fire HD includes technology used to adjust volume and deliver easy-to-understand dialogue, and also optimizes for headphones versus speakers. All of these pieces combine to create an exceptional audio experience that results in clear, crisp and balanced sound quality.
10 Hours of Battery Life
Kindle Fire HD is optimized to deliver high performance without sacrificing battery life, delivering over 10 hours of battery life.
Thin and Light
Even with a custom display, a powerful processor, extra speakers and dual-band/dual-antenna Wi-Fi, Kindle Fire HD 8.9” weighs only 20 ounces and is just 8.8 mm thin.
Beautiful Leather Covers
Covers for Kindle Fire HD feature a premium textured leather exterior in a variety of colors and a subtle woven nylon interior to provide our lightest and thinnest form of protection. The integrated magnetic clasp ensures the cover remains securely closed while in a backpack, purse, or briefcase. The cover automatically wakes Kindle Fire HD upon opening and puts it to sleep when closed, making it easy to dive right back into whatever content a customer is enjoying.
Customers can discover full details and order Kindle Fire HD at www.amazon.com/kindlefirehd.
Pricing and Availability
Kindle Fire HD 8.9” is available for preorder starting today for just $284 at www.amazon.com/kindlefirehd.
Kindle Fire HD 7” is available for preorder starting today for just $214 at www.amazon.com/kindlefirehd.
Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HD 8.9” will be available for order and ship June 13 to customers in Ireland and Gibraltar from www.amazon.co.uk; for customers in Austria and Luxembourg from www.amazon.de; and for customers in Monaco from www.amazon.fr.
Kindle Fire HD is also available at various retailers around the world. Customers can discover stores and location at www.amazon.com/KindleRetailers.
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Amazon Appstore for Android Now Open in Nearly 200 Countries Worldwide
Millions of Amazon customers can now discover their favorite apps and games online, from their Android mobile devices and Kindle Fires with Amazon Appstore
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May. 23, 2013– (NASDAQ:AMZN) – Amazon.com announced today that the Amazon Appstore is now available to millions of customers in nearly 200 countries, giving them access to apps and games from top brands like Disney and Electronic Arts, new releases including “Angry Birds Friends” and “Iron Man 3,” all-time favorites like “Temple Run 2” and “Plants vs. Zombies,” and indie titles like “The Room” and “Beach Buggy Blitz.” Customers around the world can now buy apps and games directly from the Amazon Appstore on Macs, PCs or Android phones and tablets (including Kindle Fire). Amazon also announced that Kindle Fire will be available in over 170 new countries on June 13.
To celebrate the launch, the Amazon Appstore is bringing back one of its most popular Free Apps of the Day, “Fruit Ninja,” along with “Cut the Rope: Experiments.” These will be available, for free, on May 23 and May 24, respectively. With the Amazon Appstore, customers will have access to popular features like the “Free App of the Day,” which offers a paid app for free every day. In addition, the Amazon Appstore includes popular Amazon features like personalized recommendations, customer reviews and 1-Click payments. One of the important benefits of the Amazon Appstore is that Amazon tests apps and games to make sure they function and perform properly before they are made available to customers. In addition, Amazon backs its apps and games with its own world-class Customer Service. Apps and games purchased from Amazon can be used across any compatible Android device, enabling customers to buy an app or game once and enjoy it everywhere. For a limited time, consumers will also find great promotions and discounts on popular games from leading brands such as Ubisoft, Sega and Rovio, including Angry Birds Space for free through June 3. Customers can visit www.amazon.com/appstore to start browsing apps.
“We are thrilled to be expanding the reach of our global app distribution to nearly 200 countries. We think our customers will love the app selection we have to offer and also find features such as Free App of the Day and personalized recommendations very helpful as they discover and explore new apps and games,” said Mike George, Vice President of Apps and Games at Amazon. “By further expanding the distribution of apps to millions of customers around the world, we are continuing to make it easy for customers to enjoy their Amazon apps on Kindle Fire and any Android device.”
This announcement is the latest in a series of global expansions, including the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, China and Japan. Amazon Appstore will come to Brazil in the coming months.
