Amazon.com has announced its new Kindle Fire HDX 7" and 8.9" Tablets, as listed below. Both are purportedly three times as fast as the previous generation, with four times the graphics performance, and improved battery life (17 hours for the 7" model, and 18 hours for the 8.9"). New Amazon-specific functions include the Mayday virtual assistant, the ability to download Prime Instant Videos to watch offline, and X-Ray for music, movies, and TV. In addition, each tablet features a faster quad-core processor, multi-touch display (1920x1200 or 2560x1600 resolutions), 802.11n wireless, front-facing HD camera (plus a rear-facing camera on the 8.9" model), and Fire 3.0 OS (Mojito). They're available for preorder now with an estimated release date of October 18.

The tablets, each with free shipping:
Kindle Fire HDX 16GB 7" WiFi Tablet for $229
Kindle Fire HDX 32GB 7" WiFi Tablet for $269
Kindle Fire HDX 64GB 7" WiFi Tablet for $309
Kindle Fire HDX 16GB 7" WiFi + 4G LTE Tablet for AT&T or Verizon for $329
Kindle Fire HDX 32GB 7" WiFi + 4G LTE Tablet for AT&T or Verizon for $369
Kindle Fire HDX 16GB 8.9" WiFi Tablet for $379
Kindle Fire HDX 64GB 7" WiFi + 4G LTE Tablet for AT&T or Verizon for $409
Kindle Fire HDX 32GB 8.9" WiFi Tablet for $429
Kindle Fire HDX 64GB 8.9" WiFi Tablet for $479
Kindle Fire HDX 16GB 8.9" WiFi + 4G LTE Tablet for AT&T or Verizon for $479
Kindle Fire HDX 32GB 8.9" WiFi + 4G LTE Tablet for AT&T or Verizon for $529
Kindle Fire HDX 64GB 8.9" WiFi + 4G LTE Tablet for AT&T or Verizon for $579

NOTE: all models can be ordered without Special Offers for $15 more.