It's kind of hard to get excited about another tablet release. There are so many of them, you can barely keep up. And do you really want to upgrade again?
That answer will be "yes" when you see the new Amazon Fire HDX 8.9.
But really, it's not so much what you'll be seeing as much as what you'll be hearing. The company just announced plans to include Dolby Atmos support on the tablet -- and it's the first manufacturer to do so.
As you probably already know, most tablets sound, well... bad. Like really bad. However, adding Dolby Atmos into the equation is downright intriguing. Of course, we know that Dolby Atmos can create sound from every direction in your local Cineplex and will do the same at home. However, is it all that great on a tablet? Dolby promises to create the same experience for headphone users, with multidimensional sound that seems to flow above and around you.
According to Dolby, the whole thing is possible thanks to two technologies. The first is "binaural headphone rendering," which uses head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) to create sound on the headphones. Next, it has "object-based audio," which is basically the foundation of Dolby Atmos.
Besides that and clear dialogue, Dolby is also including volume-leveling technology, so you don't get blown out when switching between movies, games and music. There's also a Volume Maximizer feature to give the device's built-in speakers a little boost.
Amazon is also packing the Fire HDX 8.9 with the all-new Fire OS 4 "Sangria," a 2.5GHz processor, the HDX display that promises "exceptional pixel density (over 4 million pixels, 339 ppi) and perfect color accuracy (100-percent sRGB)," and Dynamic Light Control. There's even a front-facing camera, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with an LED flash, and support for 802.11ac MIMO super-fast Wi-Fi. A 4G LTE wireless version will also be available.
A few other things worth mentioning is the option for a Family Library, free cloud storage, and Firefly for identifying everything from phone numbers and emails to songs and movies. There's even a Mayday button for instant access to live tech support 24 hours a day.
Amazon is now taking pre-orders on the Fire HDX 8.9, with plans to start shipping on October 21, 2014. It's priced at $379, with the 4G version selling for $479.
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