While the new generation 7-inch tablets suddenly taking the market by surprise with already released devices like the Google Nexus 7, a report surfaced on Sunday stating that online retailer Amazon is gearing up to take on the tablet heavyweights towards the second half of this year, with a successor to the Kindle Fire.
According to a report from AllThingsD, which cited "sources familiar with Amazon's plans," the company is likely to release the next generation of the Kindle Fire tablet in the second half of this year, possibly in the third quarter. "To do so, Amazon has been approaching developers to bring them up to speed on the new hardware."
The sources also revealed some important alterations to the device. According to them, the new Kindle Fire model would be thinner and lighter than the original one. The device could also feature a built-in camera and an improved display (something that seems quite mandatory since Google has raised the bar higher in terms of the 7-inch tablets with its new Nexus 7).
The report also added that "developers familiar with the device" have already been told to build apps that would support a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, a substantial increase from the 1024 x 600 display of the current Kindle Fire. This is the same as other tablets such as the 10.1-inch Toshiba Thrive, the Acer Iconia tablets and, obviously, the Nexus 7.
The improved resolution has been decided to give the device a sharper and more vibrant display as well as a different aspect ratio.
"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," said DisplayMate President Raymond Soneira, as quoted by AllThingsD.
"That's a 67 percent increase in total pixels, and it is visually significant. It gives the display a PPI (pixels per inch) of 216."
The increase in resolution, nonetheless, also elevates alarm about the device's battery back-up and the overall form factor. However, as per DisplaySearch senior analyst Richard Shim, it shoudn’t be a problem.
"The increase in pixel density isn't as drastic as it was in the 1024 x 768 iPad 2 to 2048 x 1536 new iPad, so it's less likely to significantly alter battery life or thickness," Shim told AllThingsD.
