A Six-Pack of Fun

From USA Today -

Amazon selling six-packs of its $50 tablet computers
 Elizabeth Weise, USATODAY 11:25 a.m. EDT September 17, 2015

Amazon_Fire_six_pack

SAN FRANCISCO – Holiday shopping could get interesting this year with Amazon's announcement of a new 7" Fire tablet for $49.99.

While not exactly a stocking-stuffer price, the Seattle company is also selling the tablets in a six-pack for just under $250, bringing them down to $41 each.

The new tablets specifically go for what David Limp, a senior vice president for Amazon devices, calls its "sweet spot, the consumption of media."

The tablets feature a quad-core processor, front- and rear-facing cameras and up to 128 gigabytes of expandable storage

The new tablets are available for pre-order on Thursday and will begin shipping on Sept. 30.

While Apple has taken aim at the enterprise market with its new iPad Pro, Amazon sees its future in entertainment. On Thursday it is also introducing two new Fire HD tablets, one 8" and one 10.1".

Designed for entertainment, they're just 7.7 millimeters thick and set to the aspect ratio of a wide-screen movie.

The 8" tablet will sell for $149.99 and the 10" for $229.99. Both are available for preorder Thursday and will begin shipping Sept. 30, Amazon said.

There's also a new version of Amazon's Fire Kids Edition. The 7" tablet comes with a kid-proof case and a two-year replacement guarantee, in case it turns out not to be kid-proof. It will retail for $99.99.

With these new products, Amazon is also rolling out its latest operating system, Fire OS 5, code-named "Bellini."

A surprising new reading feature comes on all the new tablets, built into Fire OS 5.

Called "Word Runner," it shows a book's text one word at a time. Amazon calls this a speed reading feature.

Some research has shown that this format allows the user to read more quickly because they don't need to move their eyes as they follow the words across a line.

The technique is called rapid serial visual presentation and has been long studied by scientists as a way to increase reading speeds and improve understanding.

Several apps exist which display text in this format, but Amazon appears to be the first reader to build it into the operating system.

Amazon's Word Runner allows readers to go to up to 900 words a minute, though that's far too fast for anyone but Mr. Spock to actually take anything in.

Word Runner starts slow and allows the user to increase their reading to a speed that is comfortable. It's easy to stop and scan a line if you missed something and a tap takes you back to the regular page view.

The algorithm also slows down slightly at punctuation, paragraph breaks and difficult or long words.

Amazon on Thursday also announced new versions of its Amazon Fire TV. The streaming media player is now faster and more powerful than last year. It also comes with a voice remote that allows users to search and play media merely by speaking.

Fire TV will sell for $99.99. A gaming edition, which comes with a game controller, more memory and two free games, will sell for $139.99. The Fire TV stick, a streaming dongle that plugs into a TV, is available with the voice remote for $49.99.

The TV systems will begin shipping on October 5.