Amazon’s Kindle Fire was one of the best things to have happened to the struggling Android tablet computer market. But then came Jeff Bezos who reinvented the wheel and showed people how to really make an iPad-killer. Well, of course, the Fire didn't kill the iPad, nor did it threaten its dominance, it did in fact pave the way for Google’s amazing new Nexus 7 tablet.Google’s Nexus 7 tablet was a testament to the fact that Kindle Fire has created a whole new market for tablet devices, a market that Apple failed to monopolize. That said, Kindle Fire’s stint at tablet dominance was short lived as Apple and Google quickly got hold of the market. Consequently, the onus is on Amazon to deliver something special again.
Kindle Fire 2, the rumored successor to Kindle Fire is all set to be released this year. No release date has been confirmed yet but rumors suggest that it might show up as early as August 31st. So, what will Fire 2 bring along? And what to expect from it? Let’s find out.
Bigger Screen: Rumors suggest that Kindle Fire 2 will feature a bigger screen. A 9-inch one? A 10-inch one maybe? We don’t know.
What We Expect: We hope Amazon sticks to its earlier strategy of 7-inch tablets. It’s much more convenient to carry, looks like a paperback, and weighs much less. Also, since it’s also a ‘Kindle’ it’s an amazing experience to read on a device.
What We Expect: We hope Amazon sticks to its earlier strategy of 7-inch tablets. It’s much more convenient to carry, looks like a paperback, and weighs much less. Also, since it’s also a ‘Kindle’ it’s an amazing experience to read on a device.
Price: Rumors suggest, Fire 2 will be priced at $199 and the older version will drop to as low as $149. It’s almost the same price as Nexus 7.
What We Expect: Kindle Fire’s price was one of its biggest killer features that made it so popular. We hope Amazon sticks to that price tag. Also, Nexus 7 comes at the same price. If, somehow, Fire 2 could lower the price to say $179, we might see a huge competition in the market.
Better Display: Kindle Fire 2 will have a better display as compared to its predecessor. Users will be upped from 1024 x 600 to 1280×800 in this new iteration of the popular tablet computer.
What We Expect: Though an updated resolution is always nice, we really hope that it’s much better than what Nexus 7 offers. Amazon already has a lot of HD movies and TV Shows on offer and users would be much more pleased to have a really awesome display to flaunt to their friends.
Better Performance: We have no ideas as to which processors or how much memory Fire 2 will come with. However, multiple rumors suggest that the tablet could come with Tegra 3 chip and a quad-core processor.
What We Expect: We hope it’s a quad-core processor that is fast enough to run games, HD movies, and other content.
Operating System: Amazon’s customized version of Android will make its appearance again. Though not everyone’s impressed by it, it does, however, make a nice OS for new users or Amazon junkies. Also, Amazon’s app store might get revamped or more apps might be added to it.
What We Expect: It’s about time Amazon dropped its custom OS and switch to something that is built upon Jelly Bean. Also, using Amazon’s app store is a pretty bad idea. Google Play store already houses millions of apps, most of which Kindle Fire users can’t install. This is a huge bottleneck when compared to what Nexus 7 offers. Also, with the arrival of Nexus 7, most developers will be thinking of making apps for 7-inch tablets. Kindle Fire 2 should be more open to make it much more appealing to end-users.
Camera, GPS might show up: Unlike its predecessor, Fire 2 might include cameras and/or GPS. We might also get to see microphone and other interesting features that might actually give Nexus 7 a run for its money.
What we expect: We expect a camera, at least a front-facing one for video calling and taking pictures. A rear camera like on the iPad is a strict no-no. On the other hand, omitting GPS might not be such a bad idea.
Overall, we hope that the Kindle Fire 2, apart from sticking to the strategies that worked for its predecessor, should bring something really unique and surprising to the table. Otherwise, Google Nexus 7 will simply crush Fire 2 even before it takes flight.
Written by: Abhishek, a regular TechSource contributor and a long-time FOSS advocate.
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