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Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch tablet with 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) capability will be available at AT&T stores starting April 5, the network operator announced.
Customers who purchase the $399 Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE with a two-year data-plan agreement at AT&T retail stores will receive up to $150 off, for a limited time, lowering the overall cost to $249. A company release noted there is a two-tablet purchase limit per account, and an additional $50 activation credit is available for customers who purchase their devices at AT&T retail stores.
Customers who want mobile Internet service for the tablet have a variety of options to choose from. For $10 per month, customers can connect the device with AT&T’s Mobile Share plans. With Mobile Share, new and existing customers can share a single bucket of data across smartphones, tablets and other compatible devices. Customers can select Mobile Share or choose one of AT&T’s individual or family plans. However, a smartphone is also required for the Mobile Share plan.
The Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch model is the highest-resolution, largest-display Kindle Fire available, and features custom Dolby audio and dual stereo speakers, a front-facing HD camera for taking photos or making video calls, 10 hours of battery life and Amazon-exclusive features such as X-Ray for Movies, X-Ray for Textbooks, Immersion Reading, Whispersync for Voice and Whispersync for Games.
“Being the first carrier to connect Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD to our 4G LTE network provides the best mobile Internet experience,” Chris Penrose, senior vice president of emerging devices at AT&T, said in a statement. “Combining our 4G LTE with Kindle Fire HD’s rich features at an incredible price point yields a great value and experience for our customers.”
The device is the first Kindle Fire to run on AT&T’s 4G LTE network, which the carrier claims covers 288 million people. AT&T has two 4G networks that work together for customers, LTE and Evolved High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+) with enhanced backhaul. That means AT&T customers are able to access a widespread 4G experience on their devices as they move in and out of LTE areas.
“We’re excited to work with AT&T to offer the 4G LTE version of Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch to AT&T customers across the country,” Mike McKenna, vice president for Amazon Kindle, said in a statement. “Customers tell us they love our large-screen Kindle Fire HD for browsing the Web, writing emails, watching movies, reading magazines and more—and with AT&T’s 4G LTE technology, everything is faster and more convenient.”
AT&T is also reaching out to businesses looking to increase their mobile work capabilities by offering expanded choices of shared data plans, including larger Mobile Share plans, new Mobile Share–Data (only) plans and new Business Pooled Nation for Data plans. The expansion builds on AT&T’s existing Mobile Share plans with new options of 30GB, 40GB and 50GB, including unlimited calls and texts.