Amazon Refreshes Kindle Lineup-Meet the Kindle Fire HDX

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Amazon has brought out its next generation Kindle Fires with new models that have greater resolution, faster processors and in one case the ability to hit a button and get help for issues that may be plaguing the tablet.

The company has also started to take the tablet battle into a new space — the enterprise — as it has added what it calls enterprise and productivity features as tablets are increasingly seen as replacements for PCs in the corporate environment.

The Kindle Fire HDX will be available in both a 7-inch and 8.9-inch model and are both powered by Qualcomm’s 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, which the company said was 3x faster than what powered its older models.

The company has also increased the pixels per inch to 2560 x 1600 on the 8.9-inch and reduced its weight 34% to 13.2 ounces while the 7-inch model has 1920 x 1200 resolution. The amount of RAM has been doubled to 2GB and they have a new graphics subsystem for faster gaming. There are a host of additional features including longer battery life and improved cameras.

An interesting feature is the “Mayday Button” that is in the Quick Settings. It calls up an Amazon expert on the device who can walk you through a feature or issue. This feature is available 24/7/365.

One area that the company has created a technology that will likely both further differentiate its products and help open new markets is its Fire OS 3.0 “Mojito” operating system that couples the Android operating system environment with Amazon-only features and cloud coverage.

Mojito may be a strong tool for the company to establish itself in the corporate environment where the “Bring your own device” (BYOD) mentality is becoming strongly entrenched. It has a number of features targeted directly at the enterprise including encryption, Kerberos support for intranet access, secure Wi-Fi, and a native VPN client, among other capabilities.

The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDX starts at $379 for 8 GB of memory, while the 7-inch starts at $229 also with 8 GB. Buyers can pre-order starting Sept. 25. The 7-inch will ship Oct. 18, while the 8.9-inch will ship starting Nov. 7. There will also be new colored covers that will be available in seven shades and cost between $45 and $70.

Older models have seen their price cut as the new models come on line with entry-level 7-inch tablet, the Kindle Fire HD with 8GB, to $139 from a $199 version that had 16 GB model.

It will be interesting to see how these models compare with the forthcoming iPads from Apple, widely expected sometime next month. The drive for the corporate space could catch Apple unprepared, and it will be interesting to see what Apple’s message will be when it takes its turn on stage. The corporate push is also where Microsoft has been positioning its Surface Pro tablets for some time, and it just recently announced the latest generation platforms.

Friday Grab Bag: New iPhones Next Week-FIFA Qualifiers this Weekend

The Major League Baseball Advanced Media arm has signed a multiyear deal with baseball sabermetrics research firm Baseball Prospectus that will call for the two of them to share data and analysis that will result in new features from both parties.

The relation starts immediately with Postseason Probabilities, an interactive visualization of each teams’ current standings and their chances of winning the division or wild card, or securing a postseason berth. If you have never heard on Baseball Prospectus before, it is where ESPN analyst Nate Silver got his start.

Apple having press event next week
For those waiting for the official announcement of the next generation iPhone from Apple, it looks like that wait is just about over as the company has sent out press invites for an event that is scheduled to take place Sept. 10, kudos to All Things Digital which was the first to nail the date.

If you are considering buying a new iPhone, traditionally available about two weeks after introduction, Apple and some of its partners are doing a buyback program on older phones. Now about the pending iPads — well the rumors seem to indicate that there will not be a September rollout so don’t hold your breath for one just yet.

Microsoft’s next–gen tablet details leaked
Amid all of the hubbub of new tablets this week was a rumor about the features for the next generation tablets from Microsoft, called the Surface Pro 2. According to Slash Gear it will be powered by a next generation Intel Haswell-based Core i5 processor.

Other details are that it will go from 4GB to 8GB in memory, improved battery life and will have a new kickstand. No pricing or rollout date was mentioned. Meanwhile the current Surface Pro now has a permanent $100 price cut.

Don’t bite this Kit Kat
New versions of Google’s Android operating systems have been named after candy for some time — most reading this are running a version of Jelly Bean right now. Well in the future it looks like you will be Kit Kat.

It looks like Google and Hershey, the candy bar maker, have entered into a financial relationship that allows Google to use the trademarked name.

ESPN to develop RedZone for Soccer?
Fans of the NFL know the program called RedZone, a program in the NFL Network that switches between games as teams enter the Red Zone, or inside the opponents 20 yard line for those of you not on the know, and shows the team scoring, or failing to.

Now it looks like ESPN is taking that successful format and moving it to to its broadcasts of the World Cup qualifiers this weekend. It is launching a program called “FIFA World Cup Whiparound-Quest to Qualify” for 36 matches, mostly of which are only available on ESPN3 that will feature live look-ins and highlights from all of the major matches taking place, according to Awful Announcing.

Friday Grab Bag: Apple Watch, Smaller Surface Tablets?

The New York Times has reported that Apple is developing a watch that will run the same operating system as its popular iPhones and iPads, iOS. That is about the sum total of the information provided but it is fun to think of all of the interesting things that you can do with such a device. I suspect schools will not be looking forward to students having access to answers via such a device.

Smart watches have been in vogue for the last few years, with Kickstarter favorite Pebbles probably leading the pack. There is also a range of task specific watches for activities such as golf, biking and other outdoor activities.

Changes in 2020 Olympic Sports

What do wrestling, softball and baseball have in common? Well for one they have all been dropped as Olympic sports, with a final vote now pending to drop wrestling starting with the 2020 games. The other two sports were dropped in 2005.

Still there is a line of sports seeking to be allowed at the Olympics including baseball and softball, which are seeking reinstatement. Others include karate, roller sports, squash, sport climbing and wakeboarding while rugby and golf have made the cut and will be played at the next games in 2016.


Nike says no to Android

Users of Nike’s Nike+ Fuelband are being left out if they are also users of an Android smartphone as the company has said that it will not be developing apps for that platform in the near future, but will stay the course by continuing to support Apple’s iOS.

Nike tweeted the news, which was reported by a number of outlets such as Engadget, and said that it will be focusing both on the Apple side of things and that users can also use nikeplus.com to sync their activity.

Microsoft to have smaller sized Surface tablets?
Microsoft’s chief financial officer Peter Klein hinted that the company was looking at developing next generation Surface tablets in a wide array of new sizes at the recent Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, according to geek.com.

He said that the company was prepared to meet demand from its customer base and that anything from 4-inches to 13 inches are on the table. The company had slow sales for its Surface RT models but appears to have strong sales in the Surface Pro lineup, particularly at the high end.

Apple has iOS fix in the works

Users of Apple’s iPad and iPhone devices that have its iOS 6.1 operating system might have noticed that the operating system appears to have issues with Microsoft’s Exchange servers. Well it looks like Apple is acknowledging the issue and has a fix in the works.

Issues such as reoccurring calendar items and excessive calling back to the servers and thus killing battery life were two of the principal issues associated with the bug.

Microsoft Surface Pro Sells Out — More this Weekend

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After the lackluster news about the holiday sales of its first generation tablet, the Surface RT, and then more bad news about its Pro version just prior to shipping Microsoft has some good news to report. It’s sold out!
It was reported that just a day into its widespread availability Microsoft was out of its 128GB version of its Surface Pro tablet, although its 64GB version remained on the shelves for prospective customers.

Well that might not be so great since it could mean loss of sales but it looks to be a short term issue as the company has a new round of tablets on the way and they are expected to hit store shelves as well as Microsoft’s own online store by this weekend.

Some have questioned if the tablets actually sold out, or if it was an artificial shortage designed to get solid publicity for the company by showing demand for the tablet. PCWorld posed that question and has provided similar comments from others.

Still it is hard to say for sure since it is doubtful that Microsoft is going to provide its roadmap and strategic plans for use to look at. The question I have is if the demand for the highest capacity tablets was driven by the news of how little space was actually available for users?

I guess we will see the true popularity of the tablets, both from Microsoft and others when IDC releases its next quarterly tablet report. Other Windows tablets have received popular acclaim, such as the most recent offering from Lenovo. This should help break open the market even more, providing Samsung, Apple, Google and Amazon with a new generation of competition.