Amazon cuts price on Kindle Fire HD 8.9 to celebrate launch in Europe and Japan

By Meghan McDonough March 14, 2013

Holding out for an 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD (or a hero)? Was that $300 price tag keeping you from clicking “Add to cart?” Starting today, Amazon has permanently dropped the price on the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 tablet to $270 for the 16GB Wi-Fi version. The company has also lopped $100 off the price of the 32GB 4G LTE version bringing it from $500 to $400. The price drop coincides with the launch of the Kindle Fire HD in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Japan.

In addition to the 16GB Wi-Fi version dropping to $270, the 32GB Wi-Fi model has dropped to $300, while the 64GB 4G LTE model is now available for $500. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is the big brother to the original 7-inch Kindle Fire and features a 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution display. In our review of the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9, we praised the tablet’s excellent battery life, solid Dolby audio experience, and easy access to Amazon’s content. Aside from the iPad, it’s the only tablet that is able to access Amazon’s video content such as Amazon Instant Video.

While it may not be the best tablet on the market, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 provides a solid guided experience for users who may be new to Android and to tablets. The tablet also features “Kindle FreeTime,” a tablet experience tailored for kids that gives parents control over their kids viewable content and screen time. Amazon’s curated app store eliminates most of the riff-raff found in the Google Play Store, while providing access to many of the most popular apps. Plus, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 does it for over $100 less than a full size iPad. Now with the new price cut, the barrier to entry for the large screen Kindle experience just got a little lower.

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Meghan McDonough

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Meghan J. McDonough is a Chicago-based purveyor of consumer technology and music. She previously wrote for LAPTOP Magazine…

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