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Fully crossplatform LEGO Minifigures Online is coming to the Kindle Fire HDX
Funcom has today announced a partnership with Amazon that will put LEGO Minifigures Online on Amazon Fire TV as well as the Kindle Fire HDX line of tablets. Says the studio, Working with Amazon on this project includes support for the Fire TV game controller as well as Amazon's store and payment systems. Fire TV is currently widely available in North America and Germany, and is launching in the United Kingdom in November 2014. LEGO Minifigures Online is scheduled to go live on Fire TV at the end of 2014. Funcom will also be bringing LEGO Minifigures Online to the HDX line of Fire tablets. The game will be optimized for these devices and will fully support Amazon's store and payment systems for these devices. This version of LEGO Minifigures Online is set to go live at the end of Q1 2015. Of note, Funcom promises that the family-friendly MMO will feature full cross-platform play across "Windows PC, Mac, iOS tablets, Android tablets, Fire TV and Fire tablets," making it one of the few MMOs playable on pretty much everything with the possible exception of your toaster. We've included the game's recent Space World trailer below.
Amazon gives its flagship Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 a modest spec boost
If you've ever seen a TV commercial for Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets, you know the company isn't shy about comparing itself to Apple. Indeed, the retail giant is hoping you'll buy its flagship Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 this holiday season instead of a boring iPad Air. This year, though, Amazon appears to be competing purely on specs: The company just refreshed the HDX 8.9, and while it has the same design as last year's model (20 percent lighter than the iPad, as Amazon is quick to point out!), everything under the hood is just a bit better. A bit faster. The tablet is up for pre-order today for $379, the same price as last year's HDX 8.9. Which makes sense: All things considered, this is a fairly modest upgrade.
Get £80 off Amazon's 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX for today only
If you've been thinking about picking up an Amazon tablet, the internet retailer could well force your hand with its latest deal. For today only, the company will sell you the 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX at an £80 discount, meaning you'll be able to grab the 32GB model for just £149 or the 64GB model for £179. Surprisingly, the low-cost 16GB model isn't included, nor is the 8.9-inch version of the tablet. In our review, we liked the tablet's bright and vibrant display, long battery life and Amazon's enhancements to Fire OS -- if that grabs you, act quickly, because the deal will end at midnight tonight.
Switched On: Amazon's Puzzling Prime Directive
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. More Info Amazon likely to announce media streamer at April 2nd event Showtime's Anytime app arrives on Roku Amazon will reportedly launch a free video streaming service Apple makes its money by selling devices. As such, it's incentivized to have content -- or at least the delivery of it -- exclusive to its devices. For years, the company implemented DRM (digital rights management) on music sold through iTunes. It fought such restrictions, but nonetheless benefited from them. Even today it proclaims its leadership position in the number of applications available for its platforms; many of these arrive on the iPhone exclusively, at least for a while. Netflix, on the other hand, makes its money selling content subscriptions. As such, it's incentivized to have its content available on all suitable devices that consumers use. Indeed, the streaming company has covered an unmatched number of displays. One can access the service from PCs and Macs; iOS, Android and Windows devices; nearly every connected TV and Blu-ray player; major game consoles; Chrome devices; TiVo; and Apple TV. The Roku broadband video box began as a product that ran only Netflix.
Amazon celebrates another 'best ever' holiday weekend, still won't make with the specifics
Another holiday weekend, another 'best ever' notch for the Kindle sales post. As ever, Amazon's not giving any specific information about such claims, but the Kindle family is doing just fine, thank you very much, thanks in no small part to its two HDX tablet offerings and a revamped Paperwhite e-reader. The smaller HDX and the repackaged HD also managed to top the retail giant's sales chart over the weekend. If Amazon's looking to keep this party going into the future, it's bound to have some seriously busy drones on its hands.
Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide 2013: Tablets
Welcome to Engadget's holiday gift guide! Head back to our hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Tablets are right up there with 3D-enabled 4K TVs in terms of gift appeal; no one can resist firing them up the moment they've been unwrapped. Maybe it's their super-thin form factors; maybe it's because they make great couch companions; or maybe it's because they're just plain fun. Whether it's an Android, Windows 8.1 or iOS slate you're shopping for, you'll find suitable picks across all budgets below.
Goodreads and Second Screen integration finally hitting Kindle Fire HD and HDX
Today marks the debut of two features we've been waiting for since Amazon first announced its new Kindle Fire line lo so many weeks ago. Goodreads and Second Screen integration will be rolling out to Fire HD and HDX owners over-the-air in the next couple of weeks - or you can just go to Amazon's site and download Fire OS 3.1 right now. Goodreads brings social book reading features to the tablet, so you can rate and review books and find out what your friends are reading. Also, good news for those who like showing off their virtual bookshelves - you can actually import all of the print and e-books you've bought from Amazon over the years. Second Screen, meanwhile, lets you "fling" shows from your Fire to Samsung TVs and sets with a PS3 attached (PS4 support is coming before year's end). Also new for OS 3.1 is added enterprise support, Cloud Collections for organizing content off-device and voice diction. You can download the above in the source link below.
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX review (8.9-inch): a high-end tablet at a mid-range price
It's worth noting just how far Amazon has come since the early days of the Fire line. With the first generation, it was tough to see the tablet as anything more than a content-delivery device designed to keep users locked into the Kindle ecosystem. It was an uninspired bit of hardware that seemingly arrived off the same factory line as the BlackBerry PlayBook. Granted, Amazon's new HDX tablets still aren't the sexiest devices around, but the company's taken great pains to ensure they're some of the best. That means a stellar screen, some zippy internals and a slimmed-down body. Starting at $379 for the 8.9-inch model, the price has come along for the ride as well. It's hardly expensive, but we've long since stopped using the word "budget" to describe it. Still, Amazon's managed to keep pricing down thanks to its content-centric business model, which assumes you'll continue buying stuff long after you open the box. This comes with some drawbacks, of course -- namely, an ecosystem that's far more closed-off than regular Android would be. But as long as you're stuck with Fire OS, the company's going to do what it can to provide the best experience possible with the addition of some compelling features. Does all that add up to a truly competitive device? Or has Amazon strayed too far from its budget roots?
PSA: Amazon's 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX now shipping
The holidays are still a ways off, but the wait is (soon to be) over. The seven-inch version of Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX just started shipping. With a starting price of $229, the slate brings a new version of Fire OS (the update formerly known as "Mojito"), a lovely 323 ppi display and, of course, some on-screen customer support in the form of MayDay. That'll help with the inevitable troubleshooting for those friends and family members who can turn the thing on, but can't figure out much else. We reviewed (and really liked) the latest addition to the Fire family earlier this month. Video evidence of that can be found after the break, just above an extremely enthusiastic press release.
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX review (7-inch)
There was surprisingly little fanfare surrounding the announcement of Amazon's latest Fire tablets. Where last year's unveiling involved renting out an airplane hangar at the Santa Monica airport, the new tablet trio was quietly shown off to a small gathering of journalists at the company's Seattle headquarters. Asked why Amazon opted for something so low-key, a rep answered, that CEO Jeff Bezos "just likes to mix things up." (Those wacky billionaires.) Indeed, there was little rhyme or reason to the scaling back. After all, the new HDX tablets, available in 7- and 9-inch sizes, bring a number of key upgrades to the Kindle Fire line on both the hardware and software fronts. And that's a good thing: between the Nexus 7, iPad mini and a seemingly endless parade of pocket-sized tablets, Amazon has more competition to contend with than ever. But while the company's acknowledged that its tablets are basically just content delivery vessels, it's chosen to compete on specs as well, with a 1,920 x 1,200, 323-ppi display, a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and new software features that include baked-in video customer support and a "Second Screen" TV feature. So is that enough to keep the Kindle Fire competitive?
Amazon brings Verizon LTE to Kindle Fire HDX
Okay, okay, one more bit of info to share from Amazon tonight. Those snazzy new Fire HDX tablets are, as expected, getting cellular options. This time out, however, the company is adding an additional carrier. In addition to AT&T, Fire buyers will be able to go with a Verizon version. That upgrade will cost you an extra $100 on top of the base price, bringing the 7-inch version to $329 and the 8.9-inch one to $479. According to Amazon, "standard plans" will be supported for the two carriers. A breakdown of that pricing can be found after the break.
Amazon offering up Origami covers for those fancy new Kindle Fires
So, imagine you just shelled out $200 or $300 for one of those new Kindle Fire HDXs, only to have it scratch in your backpack as you pull it out to gloat to one of your friends. Oh, you poor, poor soul. If only you'd had the foresight to pick up an Origami cover. Like the new tablets, the case goes up for pre-order today -- and will start shipping at the same time as their respective devices. Jeff Bezos was pretty keen to show the accessories off today, demonstrating how built-in magnets allow them to fold together in such a way that the tablets can be positioned in either landscape or portrait modes. Neater still for the 8.9-inch version (the one with the rear-facing camera, mind), is a feature that triggers the photo app when the cover is slid down on the slate. Behold, magnetic magic that would leave the Insane Clown Posse pondering scientific inquiry for months to come. Amazon's made cases for both HDX models and the new HD. The polyurethane versions of the 7- and 8.9-inch HDX cases run $50 and $55, respectively, with the leather versions coming in at $65 and $70. The covers for the HD run $45 and $60. Philip Palermo contributed to this report.
Amazon debuts Kindle Fire HDX 7- and 8.9-inch tablets, we go hands-on (update: video)
"Today, we're going to show you the third leg of our device business strategy," Jeff Bezos begins. His audience is modest: four people sitting around a table in an Amazon conference room. It's a far cry from the Santa Monica airplane hangar his company rented out for last year's event. Bezos picks up a dry erase marker and begins breaking down the first two parts, elements the company has focused on since it first began building Kindles. "One," he says, narrating the words as he goes along, like an enthusiastic high school teacher, "premium products at non-premium prices. Two: make money when people use our devices, not when they buy our devices." "We sell our hardware and roughly break even and then when they use the devices and buy content," he adds. "Our point of view is that this is more aligned with the customer. We don't have to get discouraged when we see people using fourth-generation Kindles. Bezos draws a Venn diagram to illustrate the third part of the puzzle. He writes "customer delight" on one side and "deep integration throughout the entire stack" on the other. The intersection houses the "hardest" and "coolest things," which utilize OS, key apps, the hardware stack and the cloud. "It's a little abstract," he adds, "but I think it will be extremely clear when I show it to you." The template for the third piece of the puzzle is the new Kindle Fire HDX series -- the company's latest premium tablets.
