Good news for all you Amazon fans. Their new line of Kindle Fire tablets is set to begin shipping over next few months. Bad news - it looks like all of them will have ad-supported "Special Offers."
This means that when the tablets are locked, the screen will have an ad displayed on it with links.
If this is a real annoyance to you, Amazon has announced that for $15, you can opt out of the ads and have an ad-free tablet. Amazon has offered a similar opt-out option with previous Kindle products.
The Seattle-based company just unveiled a wide range of new tablets that will hit the market in the coming fall.
Their original Kindle Fire opened up the $199, budget tablet market last year in 2011. Google's Nexus 7, another 7-inch-$199 tablet is the current star, but Amazon will be offering a compelling alternative this fall.
Although Google's Play Store is more robust than Amazon's app offerings, Amazon does have a large media content offering. Everything from books, movies, and songs will be available on the new Kindle Fire tablets from the get go.
The Kindle Fire HDs will also feature a dual-band, dual-antenna that is supposed to offer faster Wi-Fi than either the Nexus 7 or the iPad 3, according to Amazon.Google's Nexus 7, however, won't feature the ad "Special Offers" that the Kindle Fire HD's will have and will come with some features, such as GPS, that the Kindle Fire HDs lack.
What Amazon is offering, however, is larger storage options and the ability to opt for an 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD instead of the standard 7 inches. There is also a 4G 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD that will start at $499. The data plan for the 4G Kindle Fire can deliver up to $400 in savings a year over the iPad 3, according to Amazon.
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