Inside a small conference room at Amazon headquarters, Jeff Bezos is briskly writing on a dry erase board in black marker. The 49-year-old CEO is spelling out the three parts of his device strategy, which is behind a new line of tablets Amazon (AMZN) is announcing this week: the 7- and 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDX and a redesigned 7-inch Kindle Fire HD. When preorders start this week via Amazon.com, all three will be competitively priced. The 7-inch HDX will sell for $229, an 8.9-inch version for $379, and the HD will go for $139.

    "A third leg of our vision and strategy for the device business is going to come into focus today, especially when I show you one particular feature," says Bezos with a gleam in his eye.

    These new Kindles obey the first two laws of the Bezos philosophy -- that premium products should be sold at non-premium prices and that Amazon should make money when people use its devices, not when people buy them. Pricing of the Fire HDX matches that of Google's (GOOG) Nexus 7 and 10, but neither Android tablet quite sports the industrial design of Amazon's. They're also edged out when it comes to features, thanks to the HDX models' faster quad-core 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 800 processor and dual-core Adreno 330 graphics chip.

    在亚马逊（Amazon）总部的一间小会议室里，现年49岁的公司首席执行官杰夫•贝佐斯手持黑色记号笔在书写板上奋笔疾书，分三部分简要阐述他的设备战略。亚马逊将于本周发布一系列新的平板电脑产品，其中包括7寸和8.9寸的Kindle Fire HDX，以及经过重新设计的7英寸Kindle Fire HD。这三款产品本周将在Amazon.com上开始预订，届时三款产品的价格均将极具竞争力。7寸版HDX的售价将为229美元，8.9寸版HDX的售价将为379美元，而Kindle Fire HD的售价为139美元。

    贝佐斯目光灼灼地说：“我们设备业务的愿景和战略的第三点将在今天大白于天下，在此我想向诸位重点介绍一项功能。”

    上述新款Kindle设备遵循贝佐斯三大战略理念的前两条：好的产品应该物美而价廉；亚马逊应该在人们使用设备的过程中、而不是购买设备的那一刻赚钱。两款Fire HDX设备的定价与谷歌（Google）Nexus 7以及Nexus 10的大致相当，但谷歌这两款Android平板电脑的工业设计都不及亚马逊；另外，它们的功能也比不上亚马逊Fire HDX，后者采用四核2.2 GHz Snapdragon 800处理器以及双核Adreno 330图形芯片，速度更快。

    The 7-inch HDX has a 720p front-facing camera, but no rear camera, and a pixel resolution of 1,920 by 1,200; the 8.9-incher adds an 8-megapixel rear camera with flash and a pixel resolution of 2,560 by 1,600. Both include 16 gigabytes of built-in storage to start and come sheathed in a jet-black magnesium unibody chassis that's up to 34% lighter and 14% thinner than last year's models. Amazon claims the tablets will run for 11 hours between charges and as long as 17 hours if users only read e-books. That's thanks to a new, low-power mode that cuts down on chip usage during light tasks. 4G models running on AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) will also become available by December.

    When I grip both of the HDX models, I'm surprised at how light they are. The 8.9-inch HDX weighs 0.8 lbs, less than the 10-inch iPad, which weighs significantly more at 1.44 lbs. Frankly, it's the first tablet over 7 inches I could imagine comfortably holding for long stints.

    The revamped Fire HD also warrants attention. Just as Apple (AAPL) took many of the iPhone 5's components and wrapped them up in the 5c's "unapologetically plastic," candy-colored body, the Fire HD takes the same 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and 1,280 by 800 resolution display in last year's high-end model, repackages them in a soft-coated, plastic chassis resembling this year's HDX, and sells it for $139. (To compare, this year's Kindle Paperwhite e-reader is being sold for just $20 less.)

    Yes, it's last year's technology all gussied up for another pass but at an even lower price point few competitors dare go. It's a play for the lower end of the price range, where Bezos says people are more inclined to buy both an affordably priced tablet and an e-reader. "What we've found is we take heavy e-book buyers who are also tablet users, not just Kindle Fire tablet users ... and we show them the Kindle Paperwhite for the first time, we can't get it back from their hands," he explains.

    This brings Bezos to his third principle, a venn diagram where "customer delight" and "deep integration" overlap. He is keen to show off the improved software operating system-- dubbed Fire OS 3.0 "Mojito," using Google Android 4.2.2 Jelly bean as the underpinnings -- and how the latest Kindle Fire experience marries hardware and software services.

    7寸版HDX采用720p前置摄像头，分辨率为1920×1200像素，但没有后置摄像头；而8.9英寸版HDX增加了带闪光灯的8百万像素后置摄像头，分辨率为2560×1600。两款设备都配备了16 GB内存，并采用一体成型的漆黑色镁制底座，比去年的机型轻了34％、薄了14％。亚马逊称，由于采用了新的低功率模式，能在任务较轻时减少芯片使用，这几款新机型的续航时间达到了11小时。假如用户只读电子书的话，续航时间更可长达17小时。兼容美国电话电报公司（AT＆T）和威瑞森（Verizon）网络的4G机型也将于12月面市。

    当我拿起两种型号的HDX，第一感觉是轻得不可思议。8.9寸版HDX仅重0.8磅（约合363克），比10寸版的iPad轻盈了许多，后者的重量“足足”有1.44磅（约合653克）。市面上有许多7寸屏以上的平板电脑，我认为HDX是第一款我能长时间舒服地握在手中的产品。

    重制版的Fire HD同样引人注目。苹果（Apple）此前将大量iPhone 5部件塞入“高端大气”的彩色塑料壳中，诞生出iPhone 5C。亚马逊这次如法炮制，新款Fire HD的硬件和去年的高配版保持一致，依然是1.5GHz双核处理器和1280×800分辨率屏幕，不过外形进行了重新设计，采用了类似HDX的柔性塑料底座。售价则是业界良心的139美元。（对比一下，仅比今年新上市的Kindle Paperwhite电子书贵了20美元。）

    虽然仅仅将上一年的硬件产品进行了重新包装，但极具杀伤力的价格让竞争对手望尘莫及。贝佐斯曾说过，如果价格合适，用户愿意同时购买平板电脑和电子书，而亚马逊这次无疑在低端市场掀起了一场价格大战。贝佐斯解释称：“我们发现，我们第一次向大量购买电子书的平板电脑用户（不仅限于Kindle Fire平板用户）展示Kindle Paperwhite电子书设备的时候，他们对该产品可以说是爱不释手。”

    这由此导出了贝佐斯的第三个原则：“取悦用户”和“深度整合”之间有着千丝万缕联系。所以，他会不遗余力地推广亚马逊的新系统Fire OS 3.0 Mojito——基于谷歌Android 4.2.2果冻豆的定制系统。贝佐斯竭力向大家证明：最新款的Kindle Fire是硬件和软件的完美结合。

    Enter Mayday, a new, free 24/7 tech support service available over Wi-Fi for HDX owners. Bezos gets excited as he taps a virtual button on his demo unit, and voila: In seconds, a tech support employee named Dylan pops up in a small video chat window. Not only can employees offer virtual face-to-face advice on how to use a certain tablet feature, they can actually control the tablet, too, drawing arrows to menu options, even doing things like upping or dimming brightness at the users' request. "It's both the hardest to do and coolest you can do," Bezos says from a technological standpoint. He expects Mayday to be particularly popular initially as users show it off to their friends.

    亚马逊隆重推出Mayday，HDX上通过Wi-Fi连接的7×24小时客户支持服务。贝佐斯非常兴奋地点开展示机上的按钮，片刻之后，一位名叫迪伦的亚马逊员工出现在小视频窗口中。他不但能面对面地为你答疑解惑，还能手把手的指点你，在你的平板上画上几个指示箭头，甚至还能按照你的要求完成调节屏幕亮度等工作。贝佐斯从技术角度解读说：“这是最困难、当然也是最酷的事情。”他预计Mayday会迎来开门大吉，因为大家都迫不及待地想向朋友炫耀。

    When the Kindle Fire first launched, its software was criticized for being limited and occasionally sluggish. It essentially was a mono-tasking device. That's less so the case this year. Fire OS 3.0 includes a new multitasking feature called Quickswitch. Users pull up the pane by swiping up from the bottom edge of the screen. A row of open apps, publications, and books appear. They can then scroll through and select what they want. The transition is instant.

    Other software tweaks include a beefed-up version of X-Ray. Once limited to books, the feature now takes advantage of Amazon's ownership of the movie database IMDB and lets Kindle owners discover say, which actors are in a particular movie they've rented or purchased, or which song is playing in the background of a particular scene. The other, called "second screen," basically leverages a device like a PlayStation 3 loaded with Amazon Instant Video software attached to a TV, and turns the tablet into a similar console. Users can check out additional information about what they're watching and control video playback.

    A Fire OS update due later this year, dubbed 3.1, seems aimed at the enterprise, including compatibility with IT protocols and a more mature email app with features like threaded messaging. "People want one device that allows them to do their job and is their entertainment device," says Bezos. "They don't want to carry one for their job and entertainment consumption."

    Clearly, Bezos hopes his company's bolder design, ever-aggressive pricing, and new features like Mayday will be enough to entice customers into making the HDX their tablet of choice.

    Kindle Fire刚上市时，由于软件扩展性差和反应迟钝招来许多批评。因为当时的系统还是单任务的。现在情况大不一样了。Fire OS 3.0增加了一个叫做Quickswitch的多任务功能。用户可以从屏幕下方滑动拉出任务列表。其中包含打开的应用程序、出版物和书籍。用户可以随意选择。切换非常流畅。

    像X-Ray这类软件也得到了增强，从仅限于书籍扩展到电影领域。亚马逊充分利用了旗下的电影数据库IMDB。现在Kindle用户可以查阅到大量信息，比如说用户所购买或租赁的某部电影里有哪些演员；或者某个电影场景中的背景音乐是什么。亚马逊还推出了另一项功能“第二屏幕”（second screen）。顾名思义，用户可以将Kindle中的视频通过PlayStation 3等设备投射到电视上，而Kindle此时的角色就变成了遥控器。用户可以控制视频播放，还能随时查看视频的额外信息。

    Fire 3.1系统将于今年晚些时候推出，似乎是瞄准了企业级市场。它不但兼容IT协议，还有更成熟的电子邮件应用，可以支持threaded messaging等新特性。“人们想要的设备是能同时兼顾工作和娱乐两方面需求的。他们不想为了工作带一款设备，为了休闲再带一款设备。”

    显然，贝佐斯希望凭借更大胆的设计、更具竞争力的定价，以及Mayday等新功能吸引消费者将HDX作为首选平板产品。（财富中文网）

    译者：项航