I never took the old 10.1″ Amazon Fire tablet seriously as an ebook reader. The resolution of 1280 by 800 sucked on a screen that large.
But the just-announced 2017 revision, the “all-new Fire HD 10,” offers a 1920-by-1200 pixel display.
The weight is 17.7 ounces, a little heavy for some, but this still looks very promising, especially since you’ll most likely be able to add the Google Play Store. (more Play tips here).
You can preorder the Oct. 11 release today. The 32GB is $150 with ads; the 64GB one, $190. The ads cost $15 to remove. Meanwhile here are the specs from Amazon:
- Full HD display—Brilliant 10.1” widescreen 1080p display (1920 x 1200) with over 2 million pixels (224 ppi) for bright, vivid image quality.
- Faster performance—Quad-core processor with up to 1.8 GHz and 2GB of RAM—2x the RAM and 30% faster than the previous generation Fire HD 10—delivering quick app launches, smooth videos and games, and great overall performance.
- More storage—The most storage available on a Fire tablet with options for 32GB or 64GB, and support for up to 256GB of expandable storage via microSD. Plus, enjoy free unlimited cloud storage for all Amazon content and photos taken with Fire tablets.
- Longer battery life—Up to 10 hours of mixed use battery life, giving you the flexibility to go wherever the day takes you.
- Alexa hands-free—Just ask Alexa to play a song, pause a movie, read audiobooks, answer questions, show your calendar, control your smart home, and more on your Fire tablet.
- Dolby Atmos Audio—Custom-tuned, dual stereo speakers for immersive and high-quality sound.
- Incredible reliability—As measured in tumble tests, Fire HD 10 is more durable than the latest iPad Pro 10.5”—and costs hundreds of dollars less.
- Dual-band Wi-Fi—Seamlessly stream your favorite videos with dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi support.
- Front- and rear-facing cameras—Video chat with friends and family with the front-facing camera, take and share photos, and save them for later with free, unlimited cloud storage for all photos taken on Fire devices.
- World’s best content selection—Access to millions of movies, TV shows, songs, books, magazines, apps, and games. Watch downloaded videos anywhere with a Prime membership, Netflix plan, or Showtime subscription.
- Amazon-exclusive features—ASAP, X-Ray, Whispersync, Second Screen, Amazon FreeTime, Family Library, For You, Blue Shade, On Deck, and more.
- Screen Sharing—Let an Amazon expert guide you remotely through any feature on your screen, available 24×7, 365 days a year—for free.
Detail: View of screen. Looks like a typical Fire.
Related: Favorable Ars Technica review.
teleread.org 
The prices you quote are for the tablet without special offers – the lock screen advertising that Fire tablets have by default. Prices with special offers are $15 less.
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No, that’s WITH “special offers”. If you don’t want the ads, it’ll cost $15 more. The article is correct.
The cost without special offers is $164.99 for 32GB
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There are 2 buttons on their site. Click the one on the right which says “without special offers”
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When he made the original post he had included the prices without special offers. The original post has been changed since I posted my comment.
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@Shirley: You’re absolutely right, thanks. In the past Amazon’s site had shown me the prices with the ads, but this time the default was without the ads, which I wouldn’ve paid to remove anyway. I’m changing the copy.
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About the worst I can say about this (at least as described by them) are the hideously unattractive color choices. Most people will probably put this into a case anyway, but still.
Looks like a black one for me.
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If it’s the same blue as the HD8, it’s pretty subdued in real life, more than in the online pictures. The red is rather bright. It’s all about what you like… and black is always an option.
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@BDR: If you go ahead and buy one, keep us posted regarding your impressions. By the way, you may be able to find some bargains on eBay for this particular machine in the 2017 version.
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