Amazon Kindle Fire HD Arrives In The UK

The Amazon Kindle Fire HD has been released in the UK, increasing competition in the hotly contested seven-inch tablet market.

The tablet is the successor to the successful Kindle Fire, which was popular in the US, but was never released in the UK. The new tablet will compete with the likes of the Google Nexus 7, the Barnes & Noble Nook and the recently announced iPad Mini.

The online retailer has also launched the latest version of its Kindle e-reader, the Kindle Paperwhite, a device it calls the “most advanced e-reader ever built.” It boasts 62 percent more pixels and a frontlight so that users can read in all lighting conditions.

Amazon Kindle Fire HD

The Kindle Fire HD unsurprisingly features a high definition display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, an 11 hour battery life and promises that its dual antenna, dual-band Wi-Fi will deliver the fastest Wi-Fi of any tablet.

Users will also receive a free one month subscription to LoveFilm and next-day delivery service Amazon Prime, which also gives access to the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library which will launch soon. Books can be read on any K device at no additional cost and no due dates.

Proud owners will be able to fill their devices with the 22 million films, TV shows, books, apps and games on the Amazon marketplace. Amazon will be hoping that they do as it doesn’t expect to make any money on the sale of the hardware, instead focussing on the sale of content. The same strategy was employed with the Kindle Fire HD’s predecessor.

“Kindle Fire HD is our most advanced 7” tablet and is already the bestselling product for Amazon worldwide. Kindle Paperwhite is the e-reader we always wanted to build and pre-orders have exceeded all expectations,” said Jorrit Van der Meulen, vice president for Kindle, at Amazon EU. “We’re excited that Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD are available to customers in the UK today.”

What do you know about tablets? Find out with our quiz!