Amazon will not refresh its entire Kindle lineup including the Fire this month, as one previous rumor suggested. Instead, the Kindle maker plans to launch its Fire successor some time in the second half of this year, according to sources familiar with the matter who told AllThingsD.
Those same sources talked about a few “key changes” that will be seen in the next Fire, such as a thinner and lighter body, a built-in camera, and a much improved display. Moreover, developers who know about the device are being told to build their apps for a display that will rock a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution — this is the same screen currently on the Nexus 7 tablet (check out our review).
Raising the pixel density to 216 PPI (pixels per inch) is a big deal because it’s 29 percent greater than the current Kindle Fire. Other than that, we can expect to see the usual improvements like a faster chip, improved graphics, and an updated version of the company’s fork of Android to support the new display.
These rumored specs don’t seem too off base, as Amazon’s new Kindle Fire has to match up against Google’s Nexus 7 tablet. If the e-commerce giant can match specs, it’ll come down to the choice between who has the better ecosystem, which is one area Amazon has a clear advantage in at the moment.
[via AllThingsD]