Amazon about to unleash brand new 7-inch and 10-inch Kindle Fire tablets

31 Aug 2012

Existing models of the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet devices have sold out leading to speculation that the e-commerce giant is about to unleash a new generation of devices. The company is believed to be preparing a pair of 7-inch and 10-inch devices as well as a Kindle Touch with a new ‘paperwhite’ backlit E Ink display.

Pictures of a new device purporting to be a 7-inch model that also appears to be a custom design different to the OMAP4 reference design in the original file were published on gadget site The Verge last night.

The leaked image also shows a front-facing camera.

Amazon broke the mould on the hitherto expensive tablet market with its US$199 Kindle Fire device last year, taking a hit on the bill of materials with the gamble that such devices will result in sales of music, videos and e-books as well as other digital products.

In December sales of Kindle Fire devices were peaking in the US at a rate of 1m sold per week. In the fourth quarter of last year Amazon sold 4.7m Kindle Fire devices, according to IDC, beating Amazon’s own first quarter estimates.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com