Amazon introduces Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire HD (pictures)

Amazon called the press to an event this morning in Santa Monica, Calif., and took the wraps off a new batch of Kindle devices. It unveiled the Kindle Paperwhite and the Kindle Fire HD.

Click on to see how the event unfolded.

The event took place in an airport hangar in Santa Monica, Calif.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos kicks off the event.

Kindle Fire is a service, Bezos says, making it very different from rival tablets.

Bezos shows off a chart illustrating how quickly e-books have surpassed physical book sales.

Bezos introduces the Kindle Paperwhite, which uses light tech that represents four years of R&D. The light guide is a "fiber optic cable flattened out." The light is directed down, toward the display. That's the opposite of an LCD display and makes it easy to read outside.

The "Time to Read" feature gives users a sense how long it will take them to finish a chapter and the entire book. It tracks reading speed and adjusts the times it estimates based on that.

The Kindle Paperwhite will cost $119. The 3G version will cost $179.

Bezos introduces a $69 model that's ad supported.

Bezos talks up Kindle Direct Publishing, which gives authors the ability to keep copyrights and reach audiences. "It's working," Bezos says.

Bezos announcing Kindle Serials. Buy once and receive all future installments of a book.

Bezos introduces the the Kindle Fire HD, an 8.9 inch device with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200. There's also a 7 inch version.

Bezos talks about the Kindle Fire HD's new display: "Is it more expensive? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely, because you get 25 percent less glare."

Bezos touts the Kindle Fire HD's specs, including MIMO (multiple input, multiple output). It's the first tablet with MIMO, which offers "ridiculous amounts of computation" and improves reception, Bezos says.

A new feature in Amazon's Whispersync function offers "biomodal reading." You can listen to an audio book on the way home from work, then pick up where you left off with the text book later. (Bezos later announces a Whispersync feature for games, too).

Another feature, immersion reading, lets users track audio reading with the text in the book.

Bezos says the Kindle Fire HD has the best integration with Microsoft Exchange of any tablet. That's a bonus for corporate users.

Bezos introduces Kindle FreeTime, a tool that sets screen time limits on the device for kids.

Bezos shows off X-Ray for movies, which pauses a movie and shows what actors are on in the screen.

Bezos blasts some characters in the game Skylanders on the Kindle Fire HD.

Bezos shows off an in-game offer for a physical product.

Kindle Fire HD hardware

Features of the the Kindle Fire HD

The 7-inch device will cost $199. The 8.9-inch device will cost $299. Both versions are 16GB.

One more thing... at $499, Amazon introduces the 8.9-inch Fire HD with 32GB and 4G LTE. The data plan is $50 a year for 250MB a month.