The Kindle Fire 8.9” HD, a direct competitor to Apple’s beloved iPad, starts at $299 and boasts a 8.9 inch screen, 16GB or 32 GB of memory, longer battery life, a processor that is 40% faster, scalpel sharp display, 25% less glare and a front facing high resolution camera perfect for video chat. Amazon has created a truly formidable tablet with the option of the 4G LTE (starts at $499 and $50 per year for the date plan), that will provide readers with a speedy download of books, movies and media onto their device without ever searching for WiFi. Amazon has also done the exact opposite of media giant Apple, by creating three versions of this tablet to make it affordable and in the words of Bezos, Amazon front man, “We want to make money when people use our devices, not when they buy our devices“. This is a slick move for Amazon, especially with its large market share, by giving readers an affordable tablet that links directly to their Kindle Store filled with millions of eBooks. With the 7 inch Kindle Fire HD starting at $199, affording a tablet – a window into the digital reading world – just became a lot easier.

The Kindle Paperwhite, ($119) which looks similar to the original Kindle, at first glance appears as a throwback compared to the colorful Kindle Fire HD devices. The touch screen Paperwhite has been toted by Amazon as “the most advanced e-reader ever constructed“. With a closer look at the Paperwhite’s features, one can understand this bold claim, even in a world of vivid tablets and 9 inch screens. The Kindle Paperwhite boasts 8 weeks of battery life and has Amazon’s patented front-lit display that guides light underneath an anti-glare coating that helps prevent eye fatigue and allow readers to read longer and in turn, buy more books. The display has 62% more pixels that creates clear and crisp text in any size, with images that are richer and more vivid and a higher contrast – all which adds to a more comfortable and enjoyable reading experience for all eyes. There is a Kindle Paperwhite 3G model ($179) so readers can download books from anywhere and at any time, creating a superior sense of convenience.  One addition that I am personally grateful for is the new touch features on this device. As any owner of a smart phone can attest, once you go touch its hard to go back to static screens that don’t obey you. The touch feature on this device will let you customize your reading experience with a slide of a fingertip, something us android and apple users are already familiar with.

New e-readers that offer convenience, comfort and affordability can only mean one thing to Premier Digital Publishing – more readers! This is so important to us because we try to offer our authors works in multiple formats to  make sure that no “reader (or e-reader for that matter) is left behind”. Sharing stories, helping to foster creative outlets and working for our authors and their readership isn’t just what we do, it’s who we are. Exciting times for digital readers and digital publishers!