Amazon confirmed Friday that the smaller of the two new Kindle Fire HDX tablets is shipping.
The little $229 tablet has garnered praise as a great value, and we concur: Its high-resolution screen and fast processor make it pleasant to use, and the crazy new Mayday feature, which brings up a customer-support technician — real, live and on video — at the touch of a button is something you have to see to believe. (Mayday is also a stress reliever for people who plan to buy a Kindle Fire HDX for a less tech-fluent relative.)
The only tablet shipping now is the standard Wi-Fi 7-in. model. The larger $379 8.9-in. HDX — with back-facing camera as well as a front-facing one — will ship in November, and so will the 4G LTE versions of both HDX models.
Don't forget, last year's Kindle Fire HD is marked down to $139. No Mayday, but it's still kind of a steal.
For more info on the Kindle Fire HDX line, have a look at our launch story, or listen to the podcast that we did with The Kindle Chronicles.
Wilson Rothman is the Technology & Science editor at NBC News Digital. Catch up with him on Twitter at @wjrothman, and join our conversation on Facebook.
