The "all-new Kindle family" features the Kindle Fire tablet, which will retail at $199 in the US and will play digital content from Amazon’s instant video, MP3 and book stores.
Kindle Fire customers will benefit from access to Android applications, a free three-month trial to 17 Conde Nast magazines and access to 100 exclusive graphic novels, including some that the retailer said had never before been available in digital format.
Amazon has also cut its prices for its Kindle e-readers, with the latest generation of its classic Kindle, which was launched on Wednesday, retailing at $79 and weighing just six ounces. The e-reader will cost £89 when it is launched in the UK on 12 October due to it being ad-free in the UK while supported by adverts in the US.
The next model up, the Kindle Touch, costs $99 and boasts a touchscreen as well as a new "X-ray feature" that lets readers see all the passages across a book which mention topics that interest them.
Its top-of-the-range, Kindle Touch 3G e-reader, will retail at $149 and offer the same design and features of Kindle Touch but with a free 3G connection.
Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said: "We’ve now reached the magical two-digit price point for Kindle – twice: the new Kindle and Kindle Touch are only $79 and $99. Kindle Fire brings together all of the things we’ve been working on at Amazon for over 15 years into a single, fully-integrated service for customers. We’re offering premium products, and we’re doing it at non-premium prices."
UK launch dates for Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire have yet to be confirmed.
Despite the Kindle Fire’s cheap retail price, industry experts said that they do not expect the Kindle Fire to pose a serious threat to the iPad.
Alan Bullock, associate director of Infotrends highlighted some of the key differences in his blog:
"The Kindle Fire will have just 8GB of on-board storage and appears to have limited creative and sharing capabilities compared to other Android devices and everyone’s favourite, the iPad." He wrote. "In fact, Barnes & Noble's Nook Color is probably the more accurate comparison."
Dino Bishop, CPI marketing and communications manager said that the new devices would provide more choice for ebook readers rather than impact significantly on printed book sales.
He said: "I’m not convinced that the new Amazon products will increase ebook sales but it will give people who choose to read books in ebook format a wider choice of gadgets with which to do so."
