Lingering Micro-USB ports are the bane of consumer electronics. Every time I see an allegedly “new” gadget with one of those fragile, asymmetrical charging tips I cringe. Following in the footsteps of its Kindle e-readers, Amazon is updating its phenomenally popular base model Fire Android tablet with new hardware, and a USB-C charging port is first on the list. But it’s far from the only change. The 7-inch standard Fire hasn’t been updated since 2019, so the new model gets some dramatic refreshes. The new quad-core system-on-a-chip is allegedly 30 percent faster than the previous model, and perhaps more importantly, 2GB of RAM instead of just one. That’s still pretty sparse for any modern Android-powered device, but it should alleviate some of the multitasking and performance issues that are endemic to low-cost tablets. Amazon says it’s improved the battery life of the Fire 7 by 40 percent, up to 10 hours of video playback. With all those improvements (not to mention a pretty steep increase in component price and inflation over the last three years), it’s no surprise that the base price is jumping from $50 to $60 in the US. The new Fire 7 will launch on June 29th in black, blue, and pink hues. You can upgrade from 16GB to 32GB of storage for an extra $20, and remove lockscreen ads for $15 on top of that. Amazon As with previous versions, the Fire 7 will also come in a “Kid’s Edition,” packed with a spongy impact-resistant kickstand case in vibrant... Continue reading at 'PC World'
[ PC World | 2022-05-18 14:09:54 UTC ]
So you’re heading back to school and you need a new laptop—but you didn’t manage your finances over the summer. Your bank account is nearly tapped out, and you still need to buy text books and lay in enough ramen noodles to last through the winter. Yeah, we’ve all been there. Fortunately,... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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