New Amazon Fire HD 8 With Alexa Hands-Free

Amazon today announced the next generation Fire HD 8-now with always-available, hands-free access to Alexa and Show Mode. With Alexa hands-free, ask Alexa to play or pause a video, call your Alexa contacts, read aloud an Audible audiobook, show your home security camera, and more – simply by using your voice. When in Show Mode, transform your tablet into an immersive, full-screen Alexa experience optimized for visibility across the room. The Show Mode Charging Dock is also now available in the UK bundled with the all-new Fire HD 8, which automatically transitions the tablet into Show Mode and holds the device at an adjustable angle while charging.

“Last year, we introduced Alexa hands-free on the Fire HD 10 and customers love it – in fact, it’s our highest rated tablet in the UK,” said Eric Saarnio, Head of Amazon Devices, Europe. “We are excited to bring this always-available feature to the all-new Fire HD 8 and take the Alexa experience one step further by introducing Show Mode and the Show Mode Charging Dock. Simply place the Fire HD 8 into the dock for a more visual, full-screen Alexa experience – just ask Alexa to show trending news, see who is at the front door, view movie showtimes, get the weather, and more.”

The all-new Fire HD 8 offers a stunning 8″ HD display with over 1 million pixels, a quad-core processor, 16 GB of internal storage with support for up to 400 GB more via microSD, an HD 720p front-facing camera, Alexa hands-free, Show Mode, and up to 10 hours of mixed use battery life – only £79.99

Show Mode offers an immersive, full-screen Alexa experience for Fire tablets that is optimised for visibility across the room – just ask Alexa to show your calendar, video flash briefings, weather, timers, movie trailers, camera feeds, and more

Show Mode Charging Dock is now available, bundled with the all-new Fire HD 8 – simply place your Fire tablet into the Show Mode Charging Dock to automatically switch your tablet into Show Mode for a more immersive Alexa experience while charging your device

Hands-Free Access to Alexa
With always-available, hands-free access to Alexa on Fire HD 8, it’s now even easier to enjoy your favourite entertainment. When connected to Wi-Fi, ask Alexa to play a song, read aloud an Audible audiobook, launch an app, or control video playback-simply by using your voice, even when the screen is on standby. You can even ask Alexa to adjust the room temperature on your compatible smart home thermostat, show your security camera, or video call a friend or family member who has an Echo Show, Echo Spot, Fire tablet or the Alexa app.

A New Way to Experience Alexa – Introducing Show Mode and the Show Mode Charging Dock 
The all-new Fire HD 8 also comes with Show Mode, an immersive, full-screen Alexa experience optimised for visibility across the room. Just ask Alexa to see trending news, weather, your calendar, movie trailers, and more with full screen visuals that complement Alexa voice responses-or ask Alexa to play a song, station, or genre and Show Mode will display the song lyrics on your tablet screen. Show Mode will be delivered to the all-new Fire HD 8 tablet via an over-the-air software update after initial setup, and will be available later this year on the current generation Fire HD 10 and previous generation Fire HD 8.

You can also use your all-new Fire HD 8 with the new Show Mode Charging Dock for an enhanced Alexa experience. The Show Mode Charging Dock design is small enough to fit on a kitchen counter, bedside table, or desk and makes tablet use hands-free and easy while charging. It comes with a case and adjustable stand-just place your Fire tablet in the case, place it into the stand and watch it automatically switch into Show Mode; magnets on the case will guide the tablet into position for charging, while the stand holds your Fire tablet at an adjustable angle for easy viewing. Pick up your tablet to transition it back to portable tablet mode and enjoy your movies, TV shows, books, apps, and games wherever you want.

Starting at only £79.99, the all-new Fire HD 8 includes:

• • Beautiful display – Vibrant 8″ widescreen 1280 x 800 high definition display with over a million pixels for a bright, vivid picture.
  • Fast performance – Quad-core 1.3 GHz processor and 1.5GB of RAM to quickly and easily switch between apps, stream movies, and browse the web.
  • All-day battery life – Up to 10 hours of reading, listening to music, watching TV shows or movies, browsing the web, and more.
  • More expandable storage – 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage, plus support for up to 400 GB more via expandable storage. Now you can install apps to a microSD card so you can enjoy even more entertainment while on the go.
  • Alexa hands-free – Just ask Alexa to play a song, pause a movie, call a friend or family member on their Echo device, Fire tablet or through the Alexa app, read an audiobook, answer a question, show your calendar, control your smart home, and more-using only your voice, even when the screen is on standby.
  • Show Mode – A new, immersive experience for Fire tablets that provides full-screen visuals that complement voice responses from Alexa. Show Mode lets you ask Alexa to see trending news, weather, movies trailers, camera feeds, and more-all optimised for visibility across the room.
  • Front- and rear-facing cameras – Video chat with friends and family with the HD 720p front-facing camera; take and share photos with the 2MP rear-facing camera, and save them for later with, unlimited cloud storage for all photos taken on Fire tablets at no additional cost.
  • Durability – As measured in tumble tests, the all-new Fire HD 8 is 2x as durable as the iPad Mini 4.
  • Dolby Atmos Audio – Dual stereo speakers optimised for Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Atmos for enhanced realism and dynamic range.
  • Fast Wi-Fi connectivity – Dual-band Wi-Fi with support for more Wi-Fi networks and seamless video streaming.
  • Amazon-exclusive features – Alexa, ASAP, For You, X-Ray, Second Screen, Amazon Fire for Kids, Family Library, Blue Shade, On Deck, Prime Video downloads, and more.
  • World’s best content selection – Access to millions of movies, TV shows, songs, books, magazines, apps, and games-with unlimited cloud storage for all Amazon content at no additional cost.
  • Screen Sharing – Let an Amazon expert guide you remotely through any feature on your screen, available 24×7, 365 days a year at no additional cost.

 

   

Availability
The all-new Fire HD 8 comes in four fun colour options: Black, Marine Blue, Punch Red, and Canary Yellow, and is available for pre-order beginning today starting at £79.99. Fire HD 8 will begin shipping on 4 October; order the new Fire HD 8 today at www.amazon.co.uk/firehd8. Fire HD 8 will also be available in stores or online at Argos, Currys PC World, John Lewis, very.co.uk and littlewoods.com.

Show Mode Charging Dock will initially be available bundled with the all-new Fire HD 8 for £109.98. This bundle is now available for pre-order at www.amazon.co.uk/firehd8+chargingdock and will begin shipping to customers on 4 October. Later this year, the Show Mode Charging Dock will be available as a standalone device for the all-new Fire HD 8 and previous generation Fire HD 8 for £39.99 and for the current generation Fire HD 10 for £49.99. Sign up to receive availability updates at www.amazon.co.uk/showmodedock.

Fire HD 8 tablet cases are also available in Black, Blue, Purple, Red and Yellow and can stand in both landscape and portrait orientations-only £22.49.

In addition to the Fire HD 8, Amazon also today introduced the all-new Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablet for £129.99, available for pre-order at: www.amazon.co.uk/firehd8kidsedition. The Fire HD 8 Kids Edition will start shipping on 4 October.