Amazon has backpedaled on its 2012 decision of not launching an 8GB tablet by releasing a new Kindle Fire HD model with 8GB storage just a few days back.
The online retailer launched its Kindle Fire HDX family of tablets and also refreshed its existing Kindle Fire HD range of tablets at an exclusive media event at its Seattle headquarters. Back in 2012 Jeff Bezos was against the idea of a high-definition tablet with 8GB storage space.
“For a high-def device, 8 gigabytes is dead on arrival,” Bezos had said at the time. While the statement was being made, the presentation screen even flashed a “RIP 8GB” image.
The question is why did Amazon launch an 8GB variant of its Kindle Fire HD now? It seems that the overcrowded low-budget tablet market is the obvious reason. Amazon needs to compete with not only big brands like Google, Asus and Samsung in the low-budget tablet segment there are those white-box tablets that are steadily grabbing a lot of attention.
Amazon has a lot to offer beyond just hardware and one of the main after-sales services it banks on is the streaming service which actually doesn’t require awful lot of storage – 8GB would just do fine. Streaming movies and music have taken the place of CDs, DVDs and even USB based music and movies.
A $139 Amazon Kindle Fire HD is a great buy and the low price point is the primary reason behind resurrection of 8GB storage.
