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Amazon unveils new e-readers and Silk browser

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New Kindle and Kindle Touch unveiled at New York conference

Amazon has had a busy day at their New York press conference, and the new goodies keep pouring out. After announcing their Kindle Fire tablet, Amazon has also updated their line of e-readers with a pair of new devices.

 

Amazon Kindle and Kindle Touch

Amazon’s biggest seller has been their Kindle e-reader, and they definitely weren't going to let it go unnoticed on their big day. First in line, the company announced an improved Kindle, which is now silver in color and goes for only $79. The device features normal navigation buttons, but forgoes a physical keyboard and includes integrated ads to allow for the lower price.  

On the other hand, Amazon is also a introducing a new e-reader, this time with touch-screen capabilities. Named the Kindle Touch, the device features no physical buttons, is controlled via touchscreen taps and gestures and features the same silver color scheme as the $79 Kindle.  The new device is thinner and lighter than the current generation, and features a more advanced e-ink display as well. Similar to the current Kindle, the Touch will be available in Wi-Fi and 3G variants, with the 3G model having access to free 3G in the US and around 100 other countries. The Wi-Fi Kindle Touch will sell for $99 while the 3G Touch goes for $149.

For the time being, only the $79 Kindle can be ordered, but the Kindle Touch (Wi-Fi/3G) and Kindle Fire are currently available for pre-order with a respective shipping date of Nov. 21st and Nov 15th.

Amazon Silk

Amazon's conference did bring some intriguing new gadgets, but the company also introduced a new tech that should help improve the tablet browsing experience. Bundled with the Kindle Fire, Amazon's new Silk browser apparently splits the workload between the company's server and the tablet in order to increase browsing speeds on the device. 

While the browser is similar to other mobile explorers that load via proxy, Amazon  is hoping that their "dynamic decisions" regarding what to load on the server vs. the tablet will make a big difference. The Silk browser is currently only available on the Fire, but if successful it could make its way to other devices soon.

 

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Omar Qudsi, 2011-09-28 (Update: 2021-05-18)