Kindle Fire 2 Release Date Approaches; Leaked Picture Surfaces And Shows Front-Facing Camera

Companies are scrambling to take advantage of the high-growth tablet market ever since the iPad's success. With the Kindle Fire, Amazon carved itself a niche in the market by offering a cheap, $199 tablet that was reliable and more portable than the iPad with a 7-inch screen. Following up on the success of the original, Amazon will be releasing a new round of Kindle Fire and Kindle tablets this fall.

While many expect Amazon to reveal the next-gen Kindle Fires at a September 6 press conference in Santa Monica, Calif., it seems website TheVerge has obtained a picture of what it claims is the Kindle Fire 2. The Kindle Fire 2 will most likely release sometime in October or November.

The leak comes on the heels of an announcement that Amazon has sold out of Kindle Fires forever.

If the picture is true, then the next-gen Kindle Fire will feature more round corners than the original Kindle Fire. It also shows that it could come with a front-facing camera, indicating video calling might be a new feature of the Kindle Fire series. This would also help support rumors that there will be a 4G model.

Although there is no screen size give, TheVerge speculates that this image is of a 7-inch Kindle Fire 2 based on the keyboard layout.

Amazon will most likely be releasing a number of Kindle Fire 2 models this fall. Analysts have predicted that there will be both 7-and-10-inch versions of the Kindle Fire, along with many models that include larger memories, a camera, and even 4G support.

A Staples retail executive mentioned earlier this year that Amazon was working on as many as five or six tablets.

Leaked FCC filings linked to an Amazon front company show a 10-inch Kindle Fire 2 and a device that looks suspiciously like a next-gen Kindle.

If these reports are true, and Amazon will offer many different models, then the Seattle-based company will have be able to offer consumers one of the most customizable and affordable tablet experiences out there this fall.