Amazon reveals Kindle Fire HD

Today during a press event in Santa Monica, California, Amazon revealed the Kindle Fire HD, a larger and more feature-rich version of the tablet line it launched last November. The new $299 model boasts an 8.9-inch display that the online retail giant claims has 25 percent less glare, with 1900x1200 resolution, a front-facing HD camera, HDMI out, and Dolby digital stereo speakers.

The Kindle Fire HD measures 8.8mm in thickness, features better Wi-Fi connectivity (the result of dual antennas and dual band 2.4GHz and 5GHz support), an OMAP 4470 processor from Texas Instruments, and 16GB of storage. The tablet will also come in a $199 7-inch model. That version ships first on September 14, with the 8.9-inch model arriving November 20.

In addition, Amazon unveiled a $500 Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE wireless. The tablet will come with 32GB of storage, and users can expect to pay $50 per year for 250MB of data per month. Amazon did not say which plan provider(s) it had partnered with.

Amazon also announced that it will launch an upgraded version of the original Kindle Fire later this month. The new iteration includes a 20 percent faster processor, 16GB of storage, and longer battery life. The new Kindle Fire ships on September 14 at $159.