Amazon has made another move to improve the reading experience on their tablets. The company has just announced Fire HD 8 Reader’s Edition.
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The new product is addressed to avid readers who use mobile devices mostly for reading but prefer tablets over e-readers.
Amazon Reader’s Edition starts selling on December 9, 2015. It is, in fact, a bundle that combines three products and services:
- the 2015 Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet – it costs $149.99 if you want to buy it separately,
- a year of Kindle Unlimited ebook subscription – for $9.99 per month ($120 a year) you get access to over 1 million Kindle books,
- a limited edition rustic leather case worth $80.
The total worth of the bundle is around $350, and you can get it for $249.99 if you decide to buy Fire HD 8 Reader’s Edition.
Let’s now have a closer look at the three elements.
Amazon Fire HD 8 with Blue Shade
The device was launched in September 2015, together with other 2015 Amazon Fire tablets.
It’s the 8-inch tablet with a high-definition 1280 × 800 display at 189 ppi and over 1 million pixels. It’s powered by 1.5 GHz Quad-core processor and has a microSD slot that will let you expand the memory by up to 128 GB.
Most importantly, the Fire HD 8 Reader’s Edition includes Blue Shade. It’s a new feature that optimizes the display to reduce blue light exposure before bedtime.
In the press release, we read more about why it’s important:
Studies have shown that evening exposure to blue light from tablets may suppress our bodies’ production of melatonin, which can prolong the time it takes to fall asleep, delay REM sleep, and reduce the level of alertness the next morning.
To limit user’s exposure to blue light, the Blue Shade uses specialized filters. On top of that it features warm color filters that you can adjust to your preferences.
Add to that the ability to lower the display brightness to an ultra-low level. All that to let you read in the low light without the need to switch the Kindle app settings to night mode.
One year of Kindle Unlimited for free
If you are an avid reader, you’ve probably considered signing up to Kindle Unlimited ebook subscription.
Kindle Unlimited has its pros and cons, but if you are not determined to get the top bestsellers from the big publishers, you may find the service pretty attractive.
Currently there are over 1.1 million Kindle Unlimited eligible titles in the Kindle Store. That’s almost one-third of the entire Kindle Store catalog.
The vast majority of the books were self-published on Amazon KDP platform, or published by one of Amazon’s imprints.
Limited Edition Leather Case
Amazon doesn’t link to this exclusive case because it’s not available separately. Based on the looks, it is the same premium leather origami case that’s offered for Kindle Voyage at $85.
The case “gives the look and feel of a real book” and protects the tablet from accidental bumps and scratches.
The most attractive feature is that the case can fold back completely so that you can enjoy reading one handed. It can also transform into a landscape or horizontal stand – because Fire HD 8 Reader’s Edition is meant for reading, but it’s good for movies as well.
Other features that enhance reading
Besides Blue Shade, there is quite a long list of other features that are designed to improve the reading experience:
- Bookerly Font – a special font designed from the ground up for reading on digital screens. It’s hand-crafted for great readability at any size, outperforming other digital reading fonts,
- Adjustable fonts – you can choose from eight text sizes to find the one that fits your level of comfort,
- Word Runner – a new speed reading feature that brings each word to the center of the screen to where your eyes are already focused,
- Audible – you can choose from more than 180,000 titles, including best sellers, romances, thrillers,
- Multi-colored highlights – simply tap a word and choose from pink, blue, orange and yellow to categorize your highlighted words and passages,
- Goodreads integration – Reader’s Edition is integrated with the world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations, with over 40 million members.
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