For Kindle Fire users, help is just a tap away.
In an appeal to tablet newbies, the new Amazon Kindle Fire HDX boasts a “Mayday” button for users to connect quickly with customer support when they have questions or can’t work the device.
Some critics called it an odd “feature” to promote, but given Amazon’s non-geek clientele, it could help grab first-time tablet buyers ahead of the holiday season.
The mayday button will offer free customer support round the clock, and the company promises to connect users to live staff within 15 seconds.
Amazon boss Jeff Bezos unveiled the new Kindle Fire HDX tablets in a posting on the company’s site at the stroke of midnight. The new tablets are available for pre-order and ship Oct. 18.
They start at $229 for the 7-inch version and $379 for the 8.9-inch model. A new regular Kindle Fire HD — sans the mayday option — starts at $139.
The new Kind Fire tablets are lighter and faster, but still far behind the like of Apple’s iPad in terms of apps and computing capabilities.
Amazon views its less expensive devices as windows for its online store to ship digital content and on-demand products to its customers.
When the Kindle Fire first came out for $200 two years ago, it started a push by rivals to produce ever cheaper tablets that eventually cut into iPad market dominance.
The smaller Kindle Fire, at 7 inches, also prompted Apple to develop its iPad Mini, a form factor it once found laughable.
Still, Amazon has also struggled in the tablet market, losing market share to Android-powered entrants from the likes of Samsung and Google.