Amazon US halves price of Fire, its house-brand tablet

Amazon has just announced a new Fire 8 HD tablet that is now available for pre-order for $89.99.

With options for 16 GB or 32 GB, and support for up to 200 GB of expandable storage via microSD – that’s a 50% increase in memory so you can store all the classics (and those guilty pleasures) without fear of running out of space.

Amazon unveiled a new Fire HD 8 tablet on Thursday. Google plans to release an Echo competitor called Google Home, putting more pressure on Amazon to make Alexa the leading voice assistant, and fast. The Amazon Fire HD 8 will be priced at $89.99.

Current Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 owners need not worry about being left in the dust. You can pre-order the new tablet right here.

“We believe in a different approach to tablets-providing premium products at non-premium prices-and customers love it”. For instance, the tablet’s 1280 x 800 resolution works out to 189ppi and “certainly isn’t Amazon’s best”. Just like the previous model it has front and rear facing cameras and Dolby Audio. The company has also done a fantastic job of spreading the word about Alexa, even going so far as to feature the software in a Super Bowl commercial. There’s a quad-core 1.3GHz chip humming along under the hood as well while the 4,750mAh battery is said to provide around 12 hours of mixed usage.

Amazon’s Alexa is present in millions of living rooms by way of the Echo speaker and the Fire TV. The slate will go on sale September 21st and is priced at $90 for the 16GB model or $119 for the 32GB edition.

Kevin Keith, Amazon’s general manager of Fire tablets said he expects tablet users to use Alexa mainly while using tablets for entertainment like movies and e-books. As before it’s available in four glossy colours: black, blue, mageneta and tangerine, and there are also a range of first-party accessories, including screen protectors and cases for both adults and kids too.