There are finally enough reports from reputable sources that we can feel comfortable reporting on the release of the Kindle Fire 2.
Wired’s Gadget Lab says:
On Sunday, AllThingsD reported that Amazon was working on a higher-resolution Kindle Fire that would be lighter than the current tablet…The display of the summer-bound tablet will reportedly leap from 1024×600 to 1280×800… The new display would deliver a crisp 216 pixels per inch, representing a 67 percent increase in total pixel density. It’s not a Retina display, but it’s a significant upgrade.
With the much anticipated release of Google’s Nexus 7 right around the corner, electronic retail giant Amazon is hoping to stifle the tablet competition with the release of their latest tablet, the Kindle Fire 2, at the end of July or in early August. The Amazon Kindle Fire 2 release date is expected between July 31 and Aug 7. Amazon doesn’t look to stop there, however. It’s also been reported that Amazon is revamping their first generation Kindle Fire with a quad-core processor and 10-inch screen and have a release date around the same time as the Kindle Fire 2…
The specs of the Kindle Fire 2 are impressive and will rival the Nexus 7 in aesthetics and functionality. The second generation tablet will feature a 7-inch screen with a 1280 x 800 resolution display and 216ppi pixel density. The outer casing also appears to be sleeker.
Over on PC Advisor, Chris Martin reports:
“The really interesting thing here is that the screen shape is changing slightly: From an aspect ratio of 1.71 (tall and narrow in its standard Portrait mode) to an aspect ratio of 1.60,” DisplayMate president Raymond Soneira told AllThingsD.
The Kindle Fire 2 will also reportedly have a thinner and lighter design compared to the original as well as including a camera. Soneira confirmed the Kindle Fire 2 will have a pixel density of 216ppi, the same as the Nexus 7 so it too will have a 7in screen.
Tech Source is saying:
It looks like one of the tablets will debut (or will be introduced) in August, somehow confirming last week’s rumor saying that Kindle Fire 2 release date is August 7th. The cheapest Kindle Fire 2 (most likely priced $199) will have a 7-inch display with a resolution of 1,024 x 600 pixels, no camera and it will be produced in August.
Another 7-inch Kindle Fire 2 will have a superior HD display with a resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels, incorporated camera and it will be produced in August, as well. A third 7-inch Kindle Fire 2 is also in the works, with 1,280 x 800 display, camera and 4G LTE capabilities, but its production will debut in September.
The most expensive model will not be a 10-inch tablet, but, surprisingly, a terminal with an 8.9-inch display, as it was speculated in late 2011. It will come with a resolution of 1,920 x 1280 and it will enter in production in Q4 2012.
World News Resource is even speculating about a Kindle Fire smart phone:
Believe it or not, at least one authoritative source has claimed that Amazon is lining up an Amazon Kindle Smartphone lineup to flank its already legendary Kindle Fire tablet…
According to those responsible for the reports, Amazon is working closely with Foxconn on the project – the Chinese corporation responsible for assembly of Apple’s iPhones and iPads. Furthermore, Amazon is said to have commences building its own portfolio of Smartphone patents, which would of course be entirely redundant were they not planning an own-brand Smartphone launch in the near future.
Amazon has yet to make any official announcements of its own in response to these reports and rumors, but the sources of information referenced by these reports seem pretty authoritative. We’ll keep an ear to the ground on this, and report any reliable news as soon as it becomes available.