Amazon adds colors, ups storage (barely) on Fire tablets

The online retailer announced late yesterday that it had adding more colors and storage options on its Fire tablets (see press release below.

But as you will see, the storage is ridiculously low, 8 GB and 16 GB. It is 2016, no tablet should come with less than 64 GB of storage.

Then again, these are low-end, cheap tablets, meant to get consumers locked into the platform.  The display resolution is low, the camera is low-end, etc. But if you really need a tablet, these are certainly affordable.

TNM has been critical of Apple in the past for its storage options. By having the iPad Air 2's base model be at 16 GB it basically precludes users from downloading native digital magazines, encouraging replicas, and eventually encouraging readers from giving up on digital reading altogether. That is an incredibly self-defeating strategy when it comes to tablet sales. But I am sure it adds a few pennies to Apple's bottom line.

Here, we have Amazon going further.

Here is Amazon's press release from April 21:

SEATTLE, Wash. – April 21, 2016 — Amazon today announced that Fire, Amazon's fastest-selling tablet ever, is getting even better with new colors and more storage options. Fire will be available in three new colors: magenta, blue, and tangerine, and with either 8 GB of internal storage for $49.99 or with 16 GB for $69.99 so that customers can take even more movies, TV shows, songs, books, apps, and games with them on-the-go. The new Fire colors and storage options are available starting today at: www.amazon.com/fire. Fire Kids Edition will also be available with 16 GB of internal storage for just $119.99 starting today at www.amazon.com/FireKET.

Amazon Fire in blue, magenta, tangerine and black. (Photo: Business Wire)

"Fire is the fastest-selling Amazon tablet ever, with millions sold since its launch," said Kevin Keith, GM, Fire Tablets. "We're excited to introduce Fire with bright new colors and even more storage—so that customers can enjoy a great entertainment experience on a fun, colorful tablet starting at less than $50."

Millions of customers are already enjoying Fire. For less than $50 it includes:

Beautiful 7" IPS display—A great viewing experience with vivid and accurate color reproduction that can be seen at all angles.

Quad-core 1.3 GHz processor—Quickly and easily switch between apps, stream movies, and browse the web without waiting for your tablet to catch up.

Front- and rear-facing cameras—Video chat with friends and family with the front-facing camera, take and share photos, and save them for later with free, unlimited cloud storage for all photos taken on Fire devices.

Up to 128 GB of expandable storage via microSD—In addition to internal storage options, with support for microSD cards, Fire offers plenty of storage to enjoy even more videos, music, games, and photos while offline.

All-day battery life—With up to 7 hours of mixed use battery life, Fire gives you the flexibility to go wherever the day takes you.

Fire OS 5 "Bellini"—Including an updated user interface that replicates the look and feel of a magazine, making browsing and searching for your content easier than ever.

Blue Shade—Uses specialized filters to limit exposure to blue light for a more comfortable nighttime reading experience on a tablet.

Amazon-exclusive features—ASAP, X-Ray, Second Screen, Amazon FreeTime, Family Library, Word Runner, and more.

World's best content ecosystem—Access to 38 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, magazines, apps, and games—with free, unlimited cloud storage for all Amazon content.

Fire Kids Edition

Because we don't want kids to miss out on the fun, we've also added a new color and storage option for Fire Kids Edition. Already available in pink or blue, Fire Kids Edition is now also available with a green kid-proof case, and parents can also choose between a Fire Kids Edition with 8 GB or 16 GB of internal storage. Fire Kids Edition comes with one year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited featuring over 10,000 age-appropriate books, videos, educational apps, and games, access to over 40,000 hand-curated YouTube videos and websites, and our same 2-year, worry-free guarantee—if anything happens, simply return the tablet and Amazon will replace it for free. Fire Kids Edition is available with 8 GB for $99.99, and starting today, with 16 GB for just $119.99 at www.amazon.com/FireKET.

Source: Amazon adds colors, ups storage (barely) on Fire tablets