10 Amazon Hardware Products Driving the e-Retailer’s Holiday Sales

Hardware products such as the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Kindle Fire tablet have helped the e-retailer behemoth set Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales records.

The Amazon Echo is one of the more popular options from the company. The device is a smart home appliance that can control everything from a house’s lights to a Nest thermostat. It also features a built-in speaker and microphone, allowing users to listen to music and issue vocal commands, respectively. It’s available for $180.

Those hoping for an affordable tablet should consider the Fire HD 8. The tablet comes with 16GB of onboard storage and an HD display. It runs Amazon’s tailored Android operating system on a 1.3GHz quad-core processor. A 32GB option is also available. The 16GB version goes for $90 when customers agree to watch Amazon ads on the device.

Amazon also sells an even cheaper tablet called the Fire Tablet. The device, which starts at just $50, runs on the same operating system as the Fire HD 8 and similarly comes with a 1.3GHz quad-core processor. However, its storage comes in 8GB and 16GB versions, and at 7 inches, its screen size is slightly smaller than Amazon’s alternative. The Fire Tablet offers up to seven hours of battery life.

The $120 Kindle Paperwhite is an e-reader designed to be read in direct sunlight. The device has a 300-pixel-per-inch display that measures 6 inches and features a built-in adjustable light to help users read comfortably night or day. The Kindle Paperwhite’s built-in battery lasts for weeks, and the device includes access to Amazon’s Kindle Store, which has more than a million titles for sale priced at $3 or less. It connects to the internet over WiFi.

The standard Amazon Kindle has about half the pixel resolution of the Paperwhite, but comes with a 6-inch glare-free screen. Like the Paperwhite, it runs on WiFi and gives users access to the Kindle Store. Amazon says the device’s battery can last weeks on a single charge and is capable of holding thousands of books before users need to worry about making space. The Kindle is available for $80.

Amazon’s Kindle Voyage is the company’s top e-reader. The device has a high-resolution, 6-inch screen that can adapt its backlighting automatically based on the ambient light to provide ideal brightness. Like the others, its battery lasts for weeks and the device includes access to the full Kindle Store. A feature called PagePress built into the Voyage lets users turn the page by simply increasing the pressure on its sensors.

The Echo Dot is simply the Amazon Echo without its top speaker. The device, which costs $50, has a built-in microphone that gives users voice control over their lighting, thermostats, calendar and much more. To use Echo Dot to listen to music, it needs to be connected to a speaker or set of speakers. Think of it as the brain of the Amazon Echo but not the speaker.

The Amazon Tap is essentially a Bluetooth speaker that can deliver up to nine hours of playback before it needs to be recharged. The Tap is similar to the speaker built into the Echo. And over a WiFi network or mobile hotspot, it utilizes Amazon’s virtual personal assistant Alexa, allowing users to do everything from requesting news headlines to ordering a pizza. The Tap is designed to be portable. It costs $130.

Those hoping to turn their dumb televisions into smart televisions might want to consider the Amazon Fire TV. The device, which costs $90, is a set-top box that connects to the television and allows users to stream content from Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube, Hulu and other services. It also supports apps and video games and works with Alexa. More than 7,000 apps are available through the device.

The Amazon Dash might be the cheapest item in this roundup, but it could also be the most useful. Amazon sells a slew of small buttons called Dash that customers can place strategically around the house. Pressing the button automatically sends a signal to Amazon to place an order to replenish the household item associated with that Dash. For instance, users can place a laundry detergent button on the washing machine. Once they’re close to running out, users can press the Dash button and place an order to replenish their favorite detergent. Amazon will then complete the order and ship it out without users ever going to a computer. Dash buttons cost $5, but come with a $5 rebate after the customer’s first purchase.