Amazon Kindle Fire Sparks Price Wars

Starting at $199, Amazon's Kindle Fire set for release this Nov. 15 may be driving the price of its opponents down. With other tablets costing at least $100 more, the Kindle Fire is currently taking pre-orders on their website now.

The new 7-inch tablet seems to be the whole package. This e-reader upgrade will support web browsing, movie playback, gaming, apps, and much more. Retailers like Best Buy have already cut prices for the Blackberry PlayBook and the HP TouchPad. Combined with Amazon's cloud storage features and new Appstore, the Kindle Fire is quite the rival for Apple's undefeated iPads.

To add to that, Amazon is throwing in a ton of free trial bonuses with your purchase of the Kindle Fire. You get a free month of Amazon Prime, which gives you the access to over 10,000 movies and TV shows available for unlimited streaming. On the side, you would also get free two-day shipping with your Prime membership. To top things off, Amazon is also giving Kindle Fire owners free cloud storage for all their content. The selling point is exactly that: Affordability.

For almost two years since the iPad reached markets, competitors of Apple have put out tablets left and right. Still, Apple has managed to hold its ground as the number one seller. The Kindle Fire levels with the iPad in several areas, but Amazon is definitely making it a point that their tablet has a different focus than Apple's. Without a camera, microphone, or 3G capabilities, the Kindle Fire may not be as good a choice for those wanting to take pictures or video chat. In comparison, the Fire also has a lower estimated battery life than the iPad.

At a glance, the two manufacturers are targeting a difference customer base. If anything, it comes down to what you're looking to do with your tablet. Needless to say, with the holidays coming up, we may be seeing the most intense tablet competition yet.