Amazon Fire HD 8 provides 12 hours battery life, more storage and faster performance

Amazon has announced the all-new Amazon Fire HD 8, the next-generation Fire HD tablet with an incredible 12 hours battery life, more storage and faster performance.

With an 8" widescreen HD display and quad-core processor, Amazon Fire HD 8 now offers an incredible 12 hours of battery life, 50 percent more RAM for faster performance, and 2x the on-device storage, plus support for up to 200 GB of additional storage via a microSD card-all for only $89.99.

Amazon Fire HD 8 also introduces Alexa, the cloud-based voice service, for the first time on Fire tablets-just press and ask-Alexa can play music, launch games, read audiobooks, and more-coming soon.

"We believe in a different approach to tablets-providing premium products at non-premium prices-and customers love it. In fact, we've seen Fire tablet sales more than double year-over-year as a result," said Kevin Keith, general manager, Fire Tablets.

Amazon Fire HD 8 delivers access to millions of movies, TV shows, songs, books, apps and games, as well as exclusive features like X-Ray, ASAP, Second Screen, Underground and On Deck. With its 8" HD display and portable size, Fire HD 8 is the perfect tablet for entertainment.

It just got even easier to enjoy endless entertainment on your Fire tablet with Alexa, the cloud-based voice service that is the brain behind Amazon Echo. When connected to Wi-Fi, simply long-press the home button and ask Alexa to play your favorite song, open a game, or read you the latest audiobook-Alexa provides quick access to the entertainment you want. Plus, you can ask Alexa for the news, weather, jokes, questions, and more-Alexa provides natural-language responses, combined with on-screen information on the tablet's display.

Alexa will be available on the all-new Amazon Fire HD 8, Fire HD 10, Fire and last year's Fire HD 8 tablets via a free over-the-air software update in the coming months. Because Alexa is cloud-based, it gets smarter over time, meaning more Alexa capabilities for Fire tablets will be delivered in subsequent updates.