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Exactly two weeks from today -- September 6, 2012, if you don't want to consult a calendar -- Amazon will hold a press conference in Santa Monica, California, according to invitations it sent out to members of the press. It's a safe bet Amazon will launch a new wave of Kindle products during that time, and if the e-tailer plans on releasing a full size Kindle Fire tablet, could there be a better time?
There have been rumors that Amazon is working on a 10-inch Kindle Fire tablet to compete with Apple's iPad device, though nothing concrete. As rumor has it, the enlarged Kindle Fire will blaze a quad-core processor, front-facing camera, micro USB port, and perhaps HDMI output.
This info isn't coming from sketchy sources, either. According to Reuters, Staples president Demos Parneros recently said Amazon is getting ready to introduce five or six tablet SKUs, among them a 10-inch model.
It will also be interesting to see if Amazon unveils a second generation 7-inch Kindle Fire device next week to compete with Google's recently launched Nexus 7 tablet. Unless you're invested in Amazon Prime and can't live without its catalog of streaming titles on your tablet device, there's really not much reason to choose a Kindle Fire over a Nexus 7, and at some point Amazon will have to address that. With the back-to-school shopping season upon us and the holiday shopping season right around the corner, next week would be as good of a time as any.
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eastbayrae
August 23, 2012 at 11:43pm
My fire was a piece of shit too. Exceptionally slow, terrible battery, app is garbage, etc.
jraschke11
August 23, 2012 at 6:12pm
The crippled and unresponsive Kindle Fire is a pretty terrible device as is. I purchased one for Christmas and I am extremely disappointed. The closed "Android" OS that it runs is a joke, the Amazon App Store is a total joke with terrible apps, and the battery life and touchscreen are terrible. What an absolute waste of $200.
theabsinthehare
August 23, 2012 at 10:29pm
I got mine for $130, from Amazon, "Refurbished" (AKA:Brand new but opened, with a 1 year warranty). Got rid of the Amazon OS and installed CM9 (AKA: Unofficial Ice Cream Sandwich ROM with more settings than the stock version, and held to the same standards.) I love it. Will be installing Jelly Bean as soon as it's out.
Lednaara
August 24, 2012 at 5:36am
After loading CM9 on yours could you get the Amazon Video on Demand stuff working again? That's what held me back from modding my Fire. I gots a bunch of movies and tv shows on Amazon from before the Fire ever came out, and I like being able to download them and watch them versus streaming them from the browser.
davelray
August 23, 2012 at 7:22pm
Maybe you got a dud. I got my Kindle Fire when they first came out. Battery life on it is still quite good. Screen is responsive and clear. I've only seen two other 7" tablets, the Samsung which sales for a much higher cost, and the Nexus 7, which just came out last month. Yes it is a closed Android OS heavily customized by the developers to the point where it's barely even Android anymore. This was done to meet the DRM requirements laid on Amazon so they could sell it as a content consumption device. It wasn't really intended to be used as a real Android tablet. It was intended to read books, watch movies/tv, and play games like Angry Birds and Plants vs Zombies on, which it does quite well. If you wanted the true Android experience, you should have gotten a real Android tablet. As for the Amazon app store, while it may not have quite the selection Google Play has, it's a far cry better than what you get on Barnes and Noble's Nook Tablet. If you think the Kindle Fire is bad, steer completely clear of the BnN Nook Tablet. The Kindle Fire, at the time of it's release all the way through to a few months ago, was the king of the 7" tablets. I've since gotten a Nexus 7 and turned my Fire over to my 8 year old son. Oh, and by the way, at least Amazon doesn't prevent you from sideloading apps on the Kindle Fire like BnN did their tablet.
Go pick up a Nexus 7 if you are looking for a good 200 dollar range Android tablet. If you don't mind the extra bucks, grab a Samsung Galaxy 7. Even the Lenovo tablet is pretty decent. The Nexus 7 will give you a better processor and screen than the others, but you give up a rear camera and expandable storage slot or HSPA connectivity.
don2041
August 23, 2012 at 5:34pm
These thing start out at 7 inch and then grow. Soon you will have to strap on a harness like the cigarette girls at a Vegas casino, back in the sixties.
Papaspud
August 23, 2012 at 3:55pm
Who decides what is "full size"? Full size is whatever you produce, dumb title..................
Paul_Lilly
August 23, 2012 at 5:09pm
The market place and manufacturers decide, and since there's competition in the 10ish-inch space versus the emerging 7-inch space, the larger tablets would (unofficially, I suppose) be considered full size. By your logic, Asus could produce a 1cm squared slate and call it a full size tablet.
Paul_Lilly
August 27, 2012 at 9:43am
Not sure if being obtuse or asking a legit question. But no, if you're asking for my opinion, an 11-inch tablet wouldn't qualify as extra large slate, but would fall into the "10ish" category (a class of full size tablets around 10 inches, give or take).
wolfing
August 23, 2012 at 2:32pm
they have to, as Google probably will unveil their Nexus 10 a couple of months later, which will probably be much better (functionality-wise). The 10" Kindle would have to be very cheap too or there would be no point.
