The Kindle Fire HDX's Mayday feature will allow one of the firm's employees to explain how to work the machine or take control if necessary. There is no additional cost involved.
One analyst said the facility should help Amazon to stand out from other tablets, including Google's Nexus and Apple's iPad. "The new Mayday feature is a clever way to reach out to new tablet users," said Thomas Husson, principal analyst at tech advisers Forrester. "Coupled with an affordable price for the lower-end Kindle Fire HD and new entertainment content and features, Amazon is clearly willing to appeal to the masses."
In addition to Mayday, Amazon is also introducing the ability to download selected movies and TV shows from its Prime Instant Video so that they can be viewed when the user does not have an internet connection. Rival on-demand services Netflix and Hulu do not offer this facility.
While the new features should help Amazon attract new customers, one expert warned that some might have security concerns about the firm building in software that allowed a third party to take over the tablet. "With any device that has any kind of remote access on it, there is always going to be that risk that it could be either hacked or abused," said Chris Green, from the Davies Murphy Group consultancy. But it's such a small danger that the benefits outweigh the risks, and the average consumer or business user shouldn't be put off from storing useful information because they fear it could be compromised."
Amazon has said that the Mayday feature can be disabled and stressed that it is a one-way video feed, so that the adviser cannot see the tablet owner. The firm has not revealed how many assistants it had employed, but said it was aiming for a response time of 15 seconds or less. Chief executive Jeff Bezos added that it would be "ready for Christmas morning" - likely to be one of the busiest days.
Source: BBC News
