Amazon.com officially entered the tablet race Wednesday with the long-awaited launch of its answer to Apple's dominant iPad—the Kindle Fire. At a packed press event in New York, Amazon unveiled
a tablet with the features reported in recent days including a 7-inch touchscreen with access to the retail giant's app store, streaming video, music, books and other content. It also packs a new
browser optimized for the device called Amazon Silk.
The Kindle Fire is priced at $199 and will ship Nov. 15. In addition, Amazon rolled out a trio of new Kindle e-readers, including a pair of
new touchscreen models. The top-of-the-line Kindle touch 3g will sell for $149, the Kindle touch, $99, and the Kindle, $79. The lowest priced Kindle previously was $114, and the Fire will cost about
$300 less than the iPad.
"We're building premium products at non-premium prices," Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos repeated several times during the press conference. The aggressive pricing will
certainly present challenges to both Apple and Barnes & Noble, which sells the rival Nook e-reader. More to come.