Amazon unveiled a Reader’s Edition of its recently launched Fire HD 8 tablet, bundling in a year of Kindle Unlimited access to books and a limited-edition book-like leather case at $249.
The tablet normally goes for $149 with 8GB embedded memory. The bundled $249 price is less than the $349.96 price of separately purchasing the tablet, a year’s worth of Kindle Unlimited service, and the leather cover, Amazon said.
The HD 8 Reader’s Edition is available for pre-order at www.amazon.com/FireHD8ReadersEdition and ships Dec. 9.
Kindle Unlimited costs $9.99/month and gives subscribers unlimited access to more than 1 million books and unlimited listening to thousands of audiobooks. The brown leather case provides the look and feel of a real book, protects the tablet from scratches, opens like a book, and folds flat for one-handed reading. The case also doubles as a stand to put the Fire HD in landscape or portrait orientation.
The tablet also features Blue Shade, which was launched this month as one of the new features available as a free over-air update for the Fire HD 10, Fire HD 8 and Fire tablets. When turned on, the feature optimizes the display for a more comfortable nighttime reading experience on a tablet. Blue Shade also uses specialized filters to limit exposure to blue light, which might prolong the time it takes to fall asleep, delay REM sleep, and reduce the level of alertness the next morning, Amazon said. The feature offers warm-color filters and the ability to lower brightness to an ultra-low level for comfortable nighttime reading in a dark room.
Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 were launched in September. The Fire HD 8 with 8GB or 16GB of storage is priced at $149.99 and $169, respectively. Fire HD 10 is available with 16GB or 32GB at $229.99 and $259.99. Both are touted as Amazon’s thinnest tablets to date at 7.7mm, and both share the same key performance metrics except for screen size and storage.
