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Amazon unveils new Kindle Fire, other devices

Sep 6, 2012, 5:22 AM | Updated: 11:48 am

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos shows off the company’s new Kindle Fire at a press event in Santa M...

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos shows off the company's new Kindle Fire at a press event in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo courtesy Geekwire.com)

(Photo courtesy Geekwire.com)

Amazon has unveiled two new versions of its popular Kindle Fire and several other new readers at a news conference in Santa Monica, Calif.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos debuted the the Fire HD, saying it is 20 percent faster, has more RAM and a longer battery life, and an 8.9-inch HD screen with a 1920 by 1200 resolution display, according to All Things D.

Bezos also announced several new versions of the Kindle reader. The “Paperwhite” features a new display with better contrast, whiter whites and blacker blacks and improved battery life. It has a touchscreen and boasts eight weeks of battery life on a single charge. The base model is $119. A 3G version will be available for $179.

The event is ongoing and we’ll update as details become available.

The company offered a tease with an unprecedented sneak peak during Wednesday night’s NFL opener between the Cowboys and Giants.

In a new commercial, it offered glimpses of a new Kindle reader with the new “Paperwhite” display, plus an unidentified tablet that could very well be a larger Kindle Fire, according to Geekwire.

“Connecting your mouse to your front door was our moon landing. Creating Kindle, our four-minute mile. Customer reviews, our light bulb. And when we build you something new, you can expect everything to change a little more. Look around. What once seemed wildly impractical is now completely normal. And normal just begs to be messed with,” the commercial touts.

Amazon recently announced it sold out of the original Kindle Fire.

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