Amazon brings refreshed range of 4G tablets to the UK

Amazon has announced its latest range of Kindle Fire tablets will begin shipping from November.

The Kindle Fire HDX will ship in two different sizes: a 7-inch and an 8.9-inch, aiming to take on the Nexus 7 and Apple iPad respectively.

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Both sizes boast top of the range spec sheets that feature the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor running at 2.2GHz, 2GB of RAM and claim vastly improved screens.

The 7-inch model, which has a 1920x1080 resolution and 323ppi (on par with the Nexus 7), will ship for £199 for the Wi-Fi only model. If you want to add 4G connectivity you can expect to pay £269. The 8.9-inch model however, will feature a 2560x1600 resolution giving it 339ppi. These will ship for £329 for Wi-Fi only and £399 for 4G.

One feature that Amazon feels will tempt buyers is a 'Mayday' button, which will give users immediate access to Amazon customer care support, 24/7 – and all for free.

A representitive will be able to take control of the user's screen, drawing on it if need be to point out the buttons. They can interact by audio or video depending on connection quality.

The Kindle Fire HD meanwhile will receive a processor upgrade to 1.5GHz from 1.2 and a new thinner, lighter outer shell. Amazon are now selling this at just £119, in a bid to keep consumers from snapping up the budget tabs recently released by Tesco and Argos.

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The HDX 7-inch will start shipping from 13th November for the Wi-Fi only and 27th for the 4G. The 8.9 will start rolling out from 19th November for Wi-Fi only. 4G customers will have to wait until 13th December to get their hands on the tablet.

Both new models look more than capable of stealing away consumers from Google or Apple. All eyes are now on Cupertino to see what Apple will unveil at the iPad launch event next week.

by Max Langridge

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Max is a staff writer for What Hi-Fi?'s sister site, TechRadar, in Australia. But being the wonderful English guy he is, he helps out with content across a number of Future sites, including What Hi-Fi?. It wouldn't be his first exposure to the world of all things hi-fi and home cinema, as his first role in technology journalism was with What Hi-Fi? in the UK. Clearly he pined to return after making the move to Australia and the team have welcomed him back with arms wide open.