As expected, Amazon announced its updated 2012-2013 Kindle family this afternoon. In addition to two new eInk readers, three Android-based Kindle Fire tablets were also introduced, two with HD displays.

The Kindle Fire HD models are available with either a 7-inch or 8.9-inch touchscreen, the smaller costing $199 with 16GB of internal storage, the larger priced $100 more.  Both screens are HD, with the larger 8.9-inch model featuring an impressive 1920×1200 display with 254PPI (a slightly less-dense pixel count than the iPad 3).  New display construction methods are said to reduce glare and increase effective viewing angles. 

The larger Fire HD includes the new TI OMAP4 4470 ARM SoC processor, which Amazon says outperforms even the NVIDIA Tegra 3, currently considered to be the fastest tablet SoC.

Amazon also has a 4G version of the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD, which gives you 250MB of use per month for an annual fee of $50.  Impressive.  This model comes with double the storage, 32GB, and is $499 – $230 cheaper than a comparable iPad 3 and far more affordable once you factor in the monthly cost of 4G access on Apple’s tablet.

The standard Kindle Fire also received a reported 40% performance bump, improved battery life, and a price cut – now $159 rather than $199.

Pre-orders start today with the new Kindle Fire and 7-inch Kindle Fire HD shipping in mid-September.  The 8.9-inch models will ship in November. 

Few smartphones have generated as much buzz as the HTC One X, partly because we’ve known about it for so long prior to its U.S. release by AT&T and partly because of its impressive feature-set.

Well, that release occurred today, and AT&T is selling HTC’s latest handset for $199 with a two-year contract. 

But if you want to save yourself $50, you can head over to Amazon.com, where the same Android phone can be yours for $149 – with contract requirements of course – shipped free.

Upgrade fees may apply irrespective of where you purchase an AT&T Phone.

Learn more about the HTC One X Android 4 Smartphone…

Normally, smartphone prices fall steadily from their initial release price to free once they’re a bit long in the tooth; not so with the newest flagship Android phone, the Galaxy Nexus.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which sells for $299 with a  two-year Verizon Wireless contract, has been available for several weeks, and briefly fell as low as $189 from third-party smartphone seller Wirefly.  But it quickly went back up and as recently as yesterday was still well above $200 from every retailer. The price has fluctuated likely due to high demand.

Now, for the first time since mid-December, the Android 4 phone is back below $200.  If you’re a new Verizon customer and willing to sign a new two-year contract, you can grab the Galaxy Nexus for $199 at Amazon Wireless. 

Unlike hard drive prices, the cost of microSD cards continue to fall.  In fact, you can now get a Class 2 SanDisk 16GB microSDHC memory card at Amazon.com for just $5.95 plus shipping. 

This is a fantastic deal, particularly considering that at big-box retail stores like Wal-Mart and Office Depot a 16GB microSD card can cost as much as $25 or $30. 

Price may change at any time.

Amazon’s first Android tablet, the Kindle Fire, and its first touchscreen electronic paper eReader, the Kindle touch, are launching early.

The $199 Kindle Fire, which is a color eReader, media player, and general-use tablet, has begun shipping today (1 day early) for those first in line with pre-orders; new orders are expected to ship by the end of the week.  The Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G, which weren’t supposed to ship until next week, will begin shipping tomorrow, but again only for those with first priority pre-orders.  New Kindle Touch orders are expected to ship in the next 8 or 9 days.

The Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G come in both ad supported and non ad supported models.  The ad supported Kindle Touch (called the Kindle Touch with Special Offers) is $99 – the ad-free model costs $40 more.  The ad supported Kindle Touch 3G is $149, $189 without ads.  Be careful when ordering.