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New Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE tablet priced like $499 iPad, surprising analysts

06.09.2012
Amazon's new Kindle Fire HD tablet with 4G LTE wireless and 32GB of storage will sell for $499. new e-readers and tablets on Thursday -- the biggest surprise to analysts was a $499 Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE tablet.

The 8.9-in. tablet comes with a 4G LTE wireless data package that costs $49.99 a year for 250 MB of data a month, 20 GB of cloud storage and a $10 Amazon AppStore credit, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said.

The Fire HD with 4G LTE will come with 32 GB of storage and will ship Nov. 20.

In a press release, Amazon indicated that AT&T will allow customers to upgrade to 3 GB or 5 GB data plans directly from the device. The LTE radio chip inside the tablet will work across all 4G bands, Amazon said.

AT&T charges $30 for 3GB a month for tablets and $50 for 5GB a month for tablets under its individual plans.

The $499 tablet was the biggest surprise Thursday because Amazon had previously focused on lower-priced hardware, such as the $199 Kindle Fire launched about a year ago, analysts said.