Kindle Fire 2: There May Be A Cheaper Ad-Supported Version

Amazon has called together the press for a Santa Monica, Calif., event on September 6 that will most likely reveal the next-gen lineup of Kindle Fires to the public. Rumors and reports point to Amazon releasing various Kindle Fire models, including a 7-inch and a 10-inch tablet. Now, another rumor says that there may be an ad-supported Kindle Fire 2, which could help bring down its price point.

If the rumor is true, Amazon's strategy is clear: provide a ton of options to consumers, so that they can nab buyers at price points no other company can  offer.

Amazon has done this in the past, offering an ad-supported Kindle e-Reader that drove its price down by up to $50.

Amazon's original Kindle Fire tablet came out in 2011 to great success thanks to its low $199 price tag and 7-inch portable size (it is now officially sold out forever). With no Apple iPad to compete with at that price or size point, Amazon's budget tablet reigned supreme until Google came out with the well-liked Nexus 7 tablet earlier this summer.

Now, companies are taking note of the success of budget tablets, and everyone wants in. Apple is planning on an iPad Mini, and companies such as Lenovo are beginning to offer tablets that are both smaller and cheaper. Amazon will clearly want to stay relevant and ahead in the market it helped create, and an ad-supported Kindle Fire 2 would certainly help it out. 

If the company can begin offering an ad-supported Kindle Fire 2 at around the $149-$175 price range, and will sell 7-and-10-inch versions of its next-gen Kindle Fires, then Amazon will have the most options for consumers to choose from. 

A Staples retail executive earlier this year said that Amazon was working on as many as five to six tablets. These could possibly include ones with/without cameras and even 4G capabilities.

With so many different models (including different storage sizes), Amazon could cover the largest price range of any tablet maker, make for any loss in the major $199 and $499 price points to Apple or Google by grabbing everything in between.