Amazon Launches Cheap Tablet, Offers Six-pack Deal For $250

Amazon.com Inc. launched a new 7-inch tablet on Thursday that it is offering for $49.99 - or a six pack for $249.95. The company is pushing the low-priced tablet, called Fire OS 5 Bellini, in an effort to gain market share among customers unwilling to pay a premium for Apple's fleet of iPads. Apple's lowest-tier iPad, the 7.9-inch iPad mini 2, starts at $269 with 16 gigabytes of storage. Amazon said its new tablet is two-times more durable than the iPad Air, and has two times more processing power than the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite. It also boasts having "the best display of any tablet under $50." The company also launched two next-generation Fire HD tablets, one with an eight-inch display that will retail for $149.99 and another with a 10.1-inch display that will retail for $229.99.