Amazon is joining the stream of recent announcements heralding new devices with the debut of its newest Kindle Fire tablets, as it tries to regain market share lost to Apple, Samsung, ASUSTeK Computer and others.

The Kindle Fire HDX, for around $150, is faster and weighs less than its predecessor and comes with more colorful displays. It also comes in a 7-inch and 8.9-inch version.

And if you need help navigating the new device, Amazon is including on-screen access to live “Mayday” customer service that pops up in a window.

Amazon also reduced the price of its 7-inch Kindle Fire HD with 8 gigs of memory to $139 from a $199 device that had 16 gigs of memory.

Amazon  has a lot of territory to make up if it hopes to regain some of the ground lost to bigger tablet makers. Amazon shipped only 1 million Kindle Fires in the second quarter, ranking it No. 6 with a 2.2 percent market share, according International Data Corp.’s latest “tablet tracker.” In the same quarter a year ago, Amazon ranked No. 5 with a shipment of 1.2 million units.

Apple, the company behind the iPad, remains the leader when it comes to tablets shipped worldwide, with 14.6 million shipments in the second quarter, giving Apple 32 percent of the market, IDC said. Apple’s shipments, however, are down 14 percent from a year ago. IDC said the numbers may improve in the second half of this year, when the Cupertino, Calif., company is expected to unveil new tablet products, after introducing two new iPhones two weeks ago.

For now, Apple's market loss is Samsung’s gain. The company’s Android-powered tablets now account for 18 percent of the market with 8.1 million units shipped in the second quarter, up 277 percent from the same period a year ago. Samsung’s share of the market was followed by No. 2 ASUS, No. 3 Lenovo and No. 4 Acer.

Are you in the market for a new Kindle Fire?

Countdown to Obamacare marketplaces

As the countdown continues to Obamacare’s Oct. 1 introduction of new insurance marketplaces for consumers who have little or no insurance , the AJC is keeping track of efforts on both sides of the debate to either dismantle the Affordable Care Act, as it is formally called, or preserve its survival.

The Democratic-controlled Senate appears to be on a path toward defeating Republican attempts to defund Obamacare. Columnist Kyle Wingfield is keeping track of the filibuster-that’s-not-a-filibuster on Capitol Hiil. Also check out Wingfield’s blog on the government shutdown in which most federal employees would still go to work.

The AJC’s Daniel Malloy reports Georgia’s Republican U.S. senators, Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, aren’t backing the filibuster-that’s-not-a-filibuster and are siding with their party’s leadership rather than the right flank in a tactical debate over funding Obamacare. You can see this premium story here.

According to this Associated Press report, these are three things small businesses must do under the Affordable Care Act.

  Liberty Tax Service franchise faces federal suit

Liberty Tax Service says it's the fastest-growing tax preparation service in the country. The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit in federal court against a Stone Mountain tax preparer, alleging she and her Liberty Tax Service franchises understated clients’ tax liabilities and overstated federal refunds over a four-year period.

The action, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta against Joan Leger and the 1804 Tax Group, which does business as Liberty Tax Service, seeks to recover at least $2 million in lost federal taxes and a permanent injunction that bans Leger and her companies from providing tax preparation services. (See more here)

No guarantees when it comes to investment returns

The Securities and Exchange Commission is suing a Marietta investment adviser, accusing him and his company of defrauding investors in the U.S. and Great Britain of at least $800,000 with promises of guaranteed returns.

The SEC, which regulates the investment community, said Stephen Kirkland and the Kirkland Organization repeatedly made false and misleading statements to investors and potential investors to get them to let Kirkland manage their funds through a third party. The third party was Westover Energy Trading Partners of New York City.

The SEC said Kirkland was operating as an investment consultant but neither he nor his company had ever been associated with any entity registered with the SEC or the state. (See more here)