AllThingsD: Kindle Fire 2 - Thinner, lighter, camera, 1280x800, 1.60 aspect ratio...

[Jessica Lares]

And better display... And the source has a good reputation.

http://allthingsd.com/20120708/amazo...roved-display/

Sources familiar with Amazon’s plans tell AllThingsD that the company hopes to debut the next iteration of the Kindle Fire in the second half of this year; the current launch window is late in the third quarter. To do so, Amazon has been approaching developers to bring them up to speed on the new hardware.

Here are a few key changes in the device that we’ve learned about from talking to sources who have been briefed:

The next iteration of the Fire will be thinner and lighter than the original. It will also have a built-in camera and a much-improved display.

And, more importantly, developers familiar with the device have been instructed to build their apps for a display with a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, which is a bit different than the 1024 x 600 display of the current Kindle Fire.

Not only will that apparently make it sharper and more vibrant, it will give it a different aspect ratio, as well. In other words, the display has an entirely new width-to-height 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,” DisplayMate President Raymond Soneira told AllThingsD, when asked about what that means.

Notably, that’s a fairly common aspect ratio in the tablet market. The 10.1-inch Toshiba Thrive and the Acer Iconia tablets both use 1280 x 800 displays. So, too, does Google’s new Nexus 7 tablet.

And while raising the Fire’s resolution from 1024 x 600 to 1280 x 800 might not sound like a much of an increase, Soneira said it is an improvement.

“That’s a 67 percent increase in total pixels, and it is visually significant,” he said. “It gives the display a PPI (pixels per inch) of 216.”
That’s a pixel density 29 percent greater than that of the current Kindle Fire, which should improve visual clarity and image crispness.

So, how will that increase in resolution affect the new Kindle Fire’s battery life or its overall design?

Not all that much, apparently. Said DisplaySearch senior analyst Richard Shim, “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.”

Sounds like a reasonable improvement, if not a significant one. What other changes that Amazon has made to the device are unclear, although presumably we’ll see a faster chip, improved graphics, and an updated version of the company’s fork of Android to support that new display.

Time to build a new tripod I guess.

[tubemonkey]

Competition is good; keep it coming. For me though, this tablet will be DOA without a card slot.

[RainingLemur]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Competition is good; keep it coming. For me though, this tablet will be DOA without a card slot.

Agreed for the most part. At the least, if the price is low enough...I could swing selling the current Fire for a decent chunk towards getting the next one.

At the least, it would be worth considering. I would really hope for an SD slot, though. That would make it an immediate I'm-camping-out-in-front-of-the-nearest-Amazon-warehouse-for-pickup purchase for me.

[kennyc]

Cool! I want one!

I was a bit skeptical at first but have used my Fire constantly since acquiring it. It more or less replaced my Xoom (due to size and better integration with Amazon).

In fact I loved it so much I bought 4 more of them for my kids and ex-wife.

They can do their own upgrade though!

[kennyc]

And:
Rumor of 4 different models:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-574...4g-on-the-way/

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by kennyc

And:
Rumor of 4 different models:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-574...4g-on-the-way/

That would be great news. Tablets need to diversify. A product line needs multiple models with varying features and sizes. After all, HP doesn't make just one laptop model.

[jswinden]

This is all pure speculation, of course. Nothing in that supposedly inside info that couldn't be guessed at by a anyone with any sense. They seem to be describing a similar tablet to the Google Nexus 7. No surprise there.

Honestly though, seems like you are better off with a Google Nexus 7 as it has Android 4.1 without all the Amazon fiddlings with the system. A purer Android if you will. The Kindle for Android tablet seems to be better than the Fire's Kindle app. You wouldn't have the native Amazon support for magazines though, but you would have a more usable tablet right out of the box.

I honestly thought the Fire was a good reader until I got my Touch. The Touch does book reading much better. The interface is better and cleaner and looks more like we are use to with Kindles. It is a pity Amazon won't make the Fire's reading app more like a traditional Kindle and add more options for formatting. It is a really bland reading app for a device like the Fire. I personally think the Fire should be their flagship reading device and thus have their flagship reading app, but it doesn't.

I already sold my Fire. Used ones seem to be selling well on eBay right now, but if you wait until a new Fire is announced I suspect the sale prices will crater.

[hn333]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Competition is good; keep it coming. For me though, this tablet will be DOA without a card slot.

No one cares about card slots anymore. It's a dying format.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by hn333

No one cares about card slots anymore. It's a dying format.

Really???
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=183195

[hn333]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Really???
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=183195

A bias unscientific poll isn't proof.

[jswinden]

Originally Posted by hn333

No one cares about card slots anymore. It's a dying format.

I think one the most often heard/read complaints against any tablet that doesn't have an SD card slot is that it doesn't have an SD card slot. I still hear this complaint about eInk readers too. It has never been a deal breaker for me, but many people are very passionate about this kind of omission from the specs.

[booklover6]

I don't mind the lack of SD card slot on my Fire. I like the Amazon interface. I don't read many novels on it, but an improvement to the Amazon reader would be nice. I'd be interested in a Fire with a pay as you go 4G option. Although the pay as you go wifi device that Walmart sells might be a better buy (does up to 5 devices at once). I'll be considering one, if they are announced. It depends on price. I'm actually more interested in an updated e-ink Touch. But another Fire, we could use one. I have kids that like them, and I don't share MY Fire.

[tubemonkey]

I want a tablet primarily for watching videos while on vacation. Most of my vacation spots don't have WiFi. Therefore, I need a card slot in order to watch videos.

[Jessica Lares]

SD cards are good for cameras, and unloading those pictures/video from the camera, but other than that, I have no use for one either. Although I will admit that my Amazon MP3 library is larger than the current space that's in the KF, but I have 4G LTE tethering so it's not a big issue.

[jswinden]

Although I don't care if a tablet has an SD card slot or not, if I were a manufacturer I would insist on adding a micro-SD slot to my tablets simply because people are so use to having them come standard on smartphones and many other electronic devices. It gets expensive adding more RAM, so they could add an inexpensive micro-SD slot as an alternative. Assuming of course that Android can deal properly with these slots. If Android/iOS are flaky with a port I would leave it out of the spec.