Amazon today announced its long-awaited tablet, the Kindle Fire. The 7-inch tablet will be available in November for $199. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also announced out two new Kindles: the $99 touchscreen Kindle Touch, and a $79 version of the traditional Kindle. Both will include “Special Offers.” Ad-free versions will be available at higher prices.

As expected, the Fire is an Android-based tablet with 8GB of storage. The device emphasizes the content and services that Amazon sells, including books (of course) as well as video and music. Unlike most Android tablets, however, you can’t download any apps from the Android Marketplace to the Fire. Like the Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color, the Fire has a curated selection of apps, culled from those in Amazon’s own apps store for Android devices.

Most early rumors put the price of the Fire at $250, on par with the Nook Color.

The Kindle Touch, which will also ship in November, uses the same E Ink screen as current Kindles. The ad-free version will be available for $139, the same price as B&N’s Nook Simple Touch.

The $79 Kindle is similar to current models, but does away with the keyboard and weighs 30% less. The ad-free version will sell for $109. Amazon’s least expensive Kindle was previously a $114 ad-supported version.

Amazon promises both new versions will turn pages 10 per cent faster than those predecessors.

Amazon introduces $199 Kindle Fire tablet [Consumer Reports News]
Amazon introduces $99 Kindle Touch, its first touchscreen e-book reader [Consumer Reports News]
Amazon introduces $79 Kindle: lightest and cheapest ever [Consumer Reports News]

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