Amazon didn't just introduce the tablet everyone expected today; the company completely revamped its Kindle line and introduced a new mobile browser that relies on Amazon's content distribution network and compute clusters in order to speed up mobile browsing.

All of this cried out for some hands-on time with the hardware after the live announcement in New York. Unfortunately, Amazon was extremely guarded about its new hardware; the only device we were allowed to pick up and use is that low-end Kindle, which is supposed to be shipping already. The new Kindle Touch could barely be touched, and hands-on time with the Fire was limited to a carefully monitored test of its weight.

Still, it was possible to get some feel for the hardware, which we'll go through in ascending price order.

At the bottom of the heap is the new base model of the Kindle, which is selling for $79 for the ad-supported version. With its compact form and very low weight (you barely notice it as you lift it), this thing matches its price. It feels like an impulse buy, one that you can happily throw into a bag and take anywhere. It'll hurt if it's lost, broken, or stolen, but it won't be a tragedy. The low weight doesn't seem to reflect a low build quality, though—the device feels solid and robust.

The bars that control page turning had started out being so large on the Kindle that they were easy to activate inadvertently. Those days, however, are long gone: the new hardware buttons are unobtrusive and might actually be a bit difficult to spot until you're used to the device. And of course, one of the weaker aspects of the previous generations of Kindle, the keyboard, is gone. There are four function buttons, but they're so small that their icons are a bit tough to understand; again, practice will probably make these easier to use.

The main navigation button, a four-way rocker, has been enlarged. It now operates a virtual on-screen keyboard, where you navigate to the letter you want before selecting it. Typing on the new Kindle will not be fun—it really is a dedicated reading machine.

A few dollars more, however, will get you the Kindle Touch. We didn't get enough time with this to determine if the infrared-sensitive screen worked better than a capacitative one. It will have to be good, however, since Amazon has eliminated all buttons and keys in favor of on-screen interactions, including a standard on-screen keyboard. (The dark object you can see at the bottom-center is a speaker grill.) The person who was demonstrating the device appeared quite adept at typing on it, and the screen seemed responsive to the touches we got to try. My expectation is that typing on this hardware will be a better experience than using a dedicated hardware keyboard.

Both of the traditional Kindles benefitted greatly from the latest e-ink screens. Refreshes still give the expected full-screen flash as it repaints, but the repaint is much quicker than in the earliest iterations on the Kindle. Owners of more recent models may not notice the difference, though.

The star of the show, however, was the Kindle Fire. As we noted above, we were only allowed to hold it briefly (and with the Amazon representative's hand hovering, ready to snatch it back) in order to assess its weight; they did not want us touching the screen. But, aside from the screen, there's not much to touch on the device. The only hardware buttons are on/off controls, and they flank its mini-USB port on the bottom. The only other interruption in the rubberized back comes from a pair of speakers along the top edge of the device.

The screen itself looks very good, and the demos that Amazon representatives performed seemed to indicate it was quite responsive to touches. The screen doesn't rotate with the hardware's orientation, though. Instead, content dictates the screen: books appear vertical, while movies and games are horizontal. Multitasking is clearly an option, since Bezos demonstrated that, when music is playing, you can bring up the player's controls within any app by touching the top bar.

More generally, the company appears to be trying to get users to think in terms of content rather than app/content divisions. Your recent items collection will fill up with books, movies, and apps, with the only distinction being when they were last used. All of the content, of course, will come from Amazon's own offerings, including its cloud music service and Android app store.

The Silk Web browser, which has some intriguing features, seemed to work well, but it's difficult to tell how relevant its performance is, given that it was being shown on an erratic WiFi network.

In general, the Android aspect of the Kindle Fire was kept in the background, barely mentioned by anyone from Amazon. This is really a Kindle device, but with capabilities that let it work with far more of Amazon's offerings. It definitely looks like a nice, responsive device, and the interface seems perfectly reasonable; it's also a fantastic price. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to find out whether that impression is more than skin deep sooner than later.