Amazon is moving into 4K content with a new Fire TV box and ultra-high definition content through its video streaming service. “The sub-$100 tablet market is growing the fastest”, said Limp, “But those products are usually compromised”.
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Amazon has built a reputation for selling at low profit margins to build customer loyalty, and getting consumers into its ecosystem for shopping, music, online video and other services.
The $99.99 Fire TV set-top box integrates Amazon‘s cloud-based virtual assistant Alexa, allowing viewers to check the weather, look up sports scores and play music.
In addition to the Fire tablet, Amazon also announced the Fire HD 8. Connection speeds of at least 15Mbps will be required for 4K content. Its Fire TV Gaming Version contains the Fire TV, new game operator, the 32GB microSD storage and two integrated games.
Both of the new Fire HD models will come equipped with 5-megapixel rear cameras and 720p front-facing cameras (for video conferencing), dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapters, and microSD card slots that enable you to add up to 128GB of additional storage.
Fire TV, which has been on sale for a year in the US and Europe, already had suggestions, voice search and the company’s X-ray information system for movies and TV shows, as well as games and apps.
Amazon’s smaller streaming device, the plug-in Fire TV Stick, also gets support for voice searches, although it can’t stream at 4K resolution.
The Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet is part of a new range unveiled by the company to try and take on Apple in the run up to Christmas.
The traditional remote-packing Fire TV Stick is still available alongside a £34.99 price tag. Both are available for pre-order Thursday and will begin shipping Sept. 30, Amazon said.
At yesterday’s briefing, Limp said Amazon wanted the new tablets to have a 16:10 aspect ratio to eliminate letterboxing. “It’s more of a productivity use“, which isn’t how Amazon’s customers typically use their tablets. Senior Manager of Fire Tablets Aaron Bromberg described the new UI stating that it is “designed to mimic the layout of high-quality magazines with an eye toward making it easier for users to browse and discover new movies, songs, and books.”
Amazon, which appeared to stop sales of its Fire Phone earlier this month after a lacklustre response, is making an aggressive push into the living room at the low end of the electronics market as rival Apple launches its high-end tablets and phones.
The algorithm also slows down slightly at punctuation, paragraph breaks and difficult or long words. “If you’re Amazon and you know this is going to happen, you might as well join in”.
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Global tablet sales are sputtering because many markets are saturated and low prices may not spark a turnaround, O’Donnell said.
