Amazon’s New Kindle Fire Has Digital Comic Readers In Mind

Amazon let loose its new lineup of Kindle readers today, but the arguably most impressive -- and the most sexy -- is the Fire, an iPad-like $199 multitouch tablet with an emphasis on multimedia entertainment. Though it doesn't pack the power of the $499+ iPad 2, the Fire's free Amazon cloud storage, Flash-supporting Silk web browser and other features might interest those in the market for a tablet. The device's 7" diagonal display may make it less attractive to consumers than the iPad 2's 9.7" status, but if you've got good eyes and/or don't mind a little zooming and panning, the Fire might still be a solid comics reader option. As pointed out by The Beat, comiXology already looks ready to roll on the device, with its Comics app logo sitting pretty in Amazon's official press images. Though comiXology is currently the only comics reading app that's been confirmed for the Fire, it stands to reason that Android apps -- like the Graphicly app -- will run on the device. Since Silk supports Flash, there's also reason to assume readers will be able to access comics from Web services like Marvel's Digital Comics Unlimited (free at Starbucks) without any trouble.

Both Watchmen and Superman: Earth One comic pages can be seen in official Fire promo images, with superhero films X-Men: First Class and Green Lantern popping up to demonstrate the player's movie capabilities. Though comics aren't really anywhere to be found in the device's TV commercial, it's nice to see them on Amazon.

As better tablets continue to enter the marketplace at cheaper prices, it should be interesting to see what, if any, noteworthy digital comics reading trends develop in the coming months.

Check out Amazon's comics-related Kindle Fire promo images below: