Buying movies and TV shows to watch on the Kindle Fire will be a lot more appealing now that Amazon's tablet computer sports a much more vibrant screen.

The screen in the Fire's new HD models is such a major improvement that I can't see why you would purchase a regular model, even if it means saving $40.

The HD models were among the new devices Amazon unveiled Thursday. They start at $199 for the smaller one, with a screen that measures 7 inches diagonally. That will start shipping next Friday. Two models with larger screens will go on sale in November.

Amazon is also refreshing the regular model. It promises to be 40 percent faster than the original one, which came out last November. It also comes with a price cut to $159, instead of the original $199. The regular Kindle Fire will also start shipping next Friday.

The new offerings bring the Fire into closer competition with Apple's market-leading iPad. The HD screens will have a higher resolution, just as Apple introduced a higher-resolution screen earlier this year. The larger models will have 8.9-inch screens, slightly smaller than the iPad's.

By the numbers, the difference between the HD and the regular screens doesn't seem that big.






The smaller Kindle Fire HD has a screen resolution of 1280 by 800. Last year's 7-inch model and the upgraded version with better innards both have screens with 1024 by 600 pixels.

That doesn't come close to the latest iPad, which has a resolution of 2048 by 1536. Nonetheless, this upgrade feels like a big leap for Amazon. It means a sharp picture instead of one that seems made up of lots of pixels, a welcome relief that feels even better when you consider the price. At $199, compared with $499 for the latest iPad, I can see this being a popular stocking stuffer this Christmas.

Amazon has also made a couple of important design changes in its new HD models. For one, the speakers are now on both sides of the device when held in landscape mode like a movie screen, meaning you can watch movies in Dolby Digital Plus stereo sound without headphones. The old Kindle Fire had stereo speakers off to one side when held this way, and that hasn't changed with the upgraded non-HD model.

Both the upgraded Kindle Fire and new HD 7-inch models also come with a full suite of new features that are nifty but not game-changing.

Both devices will feature the "X-Ray" series of features that provide insights into the book or movie you're enjoying.

An on-screen tap during a movie will list actors in the scene. With more clicks, you can learn more about them from Amazon's movie information service IMDb. In books, X-Ray has been a popular feature on the Kindle Touch e-reader. That now works on Kindle Fire and gives you a bird's eye view of where characters or ideas appear later on in a book.

Amazon.com Inc. has also upgraded its audio book offerings. "Immersion Reading" allows you to read a book while hearing narration from a famous actor. I find this feature to be a distraction, but some book lovers will appreciate it.

For parents, Amazon has added a system that can control how much time a child can spend on various media. So, you could limit how much your kids can watch video and play games, but let them read as much as they want.

I was only able to test the 7-inch models this week. The larger ones, which cost at least $299, won't ship until Nov. 20. Their screens will be 1920 by 1200 - just short of the iPad's.

Some aspects about the Kindle Fire HD sounded great but couldn't be tested in the short time that Amazon gave reporters to try out the devices Thursday.

For instance, it was impossible to tell whether Kindle Fire HD's two antennas made its performance in Wi-Fi noticeably faster than the latest iPad or Google's Nexus 7. Also unknown was whether its promised 11-hour battery life held up for real.

In handling the device, though, I found that video played well and images looked sharp. But it was not as responsive as I would have liked. It seemed to lag when swiping through pictures or through the news feed on the custom-built Facebook app.



There was no app that independently controlled the front-facing camera, which is new to the Kindle Fire HD. The Facebook picture I took with the device turned out upside down, even though the camera was clearly meant to be at the top of the device when held in landscape mode. Amazon's representatives said the camera was mainly for use with a Skype app made for the device.

People looking to buy a new tablet might be able to overlook these minor annoyances because of the sharper screen.

Ultimately, the decision to buy a Kindle Fire HD could be determined by the array of content that comes with the device if you join the $79 annual free-shipping program known as Amazon Prime.

Amazon has made plenty of big investments lately that make Prime a more compelling offer. On Tuesday, it announced a deal with the Epix pay TV channel that allows Prime members to watch 2,000 movies like "The Avengers" and "The Hunger Games" for free, on top of some 23,000 movies and TV shows it had already.

Prime members can also "borrow" books from the Kindle Owners Lending Library, including all seven "Harry Potter" books, for no extra charge.

Backstage at Thursday's news conference, CEO Jeff Bezos said in an interview that the company has been investing hundreds of millions of dollars in digital content for Amazon Prime.

"Licensing 'Harry Potter'? Not inexpensive," he said with a belly laugh.

It's that kind of investment in content, paired with a device that can show video in HD, that I think could open a lot of wallets this holiday season.

Beautifully simple

No Set-up Required
Kindle Fire HD arrives pre-registered to your Amazon.com account so you can get started right away, including having immediate access to any previously purchased content you may have.

Intuitive Interface
Spin through recent content straight from your home screen. Pin favorites and access at a touch. Whether you're in the mood to watch, read, listen, or play, Kindle Fire HD gets you started quickly and easily.

1-Click Shopping
No switching between apps, no juggling passwords and profiles - Kindle Fire HD is seamlessly integrated with Amazon's content stores so you can shop new books, movies, games, and apps with a single tap.
Discover More of What You Love
Kindle Fire HD makes it easy to find content you'll love by using Amazon's powerful recommendation engine to compare your purchases and favorites with over 15 years of consumer purchase history and suggest content to you, right from your homescreen.

Integrated Bluetooth Connectivity
Kindle Fire HD features built-in Bluetooth support, so you can connect to a variety of different wireless accessories such as stereo headphones, speakers, keyboards, and more.

Share Your Screen with HDMI Out
Share your favorite videos and photos on your TV or other display in rich high definition via the built-in HDMI out port.

Huge Music Selection With over 20 million songs from thousands of artists, Amazon's MP3 music store is home to one of the largest music libraries on earth. Music you buy from Amazon is saved to the cloud for free, and you can play or download it anytime.

Your Music. Everywhere. Import the rest of your music library to Amazon Cloud Player and play it wirelessly on your Kindle Fire HD - just tap Music on the Home screen to get started. Browse and search your library, create and manage playlists, play your music from the cloud, or download for offline playback. All your Amazon MP3 purchases and your first 250 imported songs are stored free.

Technical Details

Display	7" 10 point capacitive touch high definition color display; 1280x800 resolution, video playback at 720p, with IPS (in-plane switching) technology, advanced polarizing filter, and anti-glare technology
Size	7.6" x 5.4" x 0.4" (193 mm x 137 mm x 10.3 mm)
Weight	13.9 ounces (395 grams)
System Requirements	None. Kindle Fire HD is ready to use right out of the box - no setup, no software to install, no computer required to download content
Storage	16GB internal storage (approximately 12.6GB available for user content) or 32GB internal storage (approximately 26.9GB available for user content)
Battery Life	Over 11 hours of reading, surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music. Battery life will vary based on device settings, usage, and other factors such as web browsing and downloading content. Actual results may vary
Charge Time	Fully charges in under 4 hours via the Kindle PowerFast charging accessory, or slightly longer with other micro-USB power adapters that you may already have. Charges in approximately 13.5 hours from your computer via the included USB charging cable
Wi-Fi Connectivity	Dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi (MIMO) for faster streaming and fewer dropped connections than standard Wi-Fi. Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks
Ports	USB 2.0 (micro-B connector) port for connection to a PC or Macintosh computer or to connect to the Kindle PowerFast charging accessory. Micro-HDMI (micro-D connector) port for high definition video output to televisions or A/V receivers
Audio	3.5 mm stereo jack and integrated stereo speakers with exclusive Dolby audio engine. Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) support for streaming audio to compatible headphones and speakers. Built-in microphone
Content Formats Supported	Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible Enhanced format (AAX), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, PCM/WAVE, OGG, WAV, MP4, AAC LC/LTP, HE-AACv1, HE-AACv2, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, HTML5, CSS3, MP4, 3GP, VP8(.webm)
Warranty and Service	1-year Limited Warranty and service included. Optional 2-year Extended Warranty available for U.S. customers sold separately. Use of Kindle is subject to the terms found here.
Included in the Box	Kindle Fire HD tablet, USB 2.0 cable, and Quick Start Guide.