Amazon’s first media tablet hasn’t even started shipping yet, but details about the company’s next tablet are already starting to leak. According to DigiTimes, the next-generation Amazon Kindle Fire could have an 8.9 inch display.
DigiTimes tends to get its information from parts suppliers and manufacturers in Taiwain, who also say that future models could have 9.7 or 10.1 inch screens.
The first Kindle Fire tablet is expected to ship on November 15th. It will have a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel LCD display, a 1 GHz dual core processor, and 8GB of storage. Unlike many Android tablets the Kindle Fire won’t have a webcam, GPS, or even an SD card slot for expansion. But it will be cheap, selling for just $199.
What really sets the Kindle Fire apart is its integration with Amazon services. It will run a customized version of Android, run apps download from the Amazon Appstore, offer eBooks from the Kindle Store, music from Amazon MP3, and videos from Amazon’s Instant Video store.
A larger display would offer more screen real estate for watching movies, surfing the web, or reading eBooks — although I suspect that 7 inch tablets will be more popular with customers specifically looking for eReaders. The smaller devices are lighter, easier to hold, and about the size of a paperback book.
While Amazon continues to offer the Kindle DX 9.7 inch eReader with an E Ink display, the company’s focus over the past few years has been on smaller devices with 6 inch screens. Most of Amazon’s competitors have also settled on 6 to 7 inch displays.
Meanwhile Amazon’s top competitors in the digital book space are also getting into the tablet game. The Kobo Vox 7 inch tablet started shipping this week for $199.99.
Barnes & Noble is expected to drop the price of the original NOOK Color to $199 on Monday, while introducing a new NOOK Tablet with more storage and a more powerful processor for $249. The new NOOK Tablet is expected to ship on November 16th — a day after the Kindle Fire.
I’m still waiting for my e-ink / AMOLED dual mode screen. AMOLED is transparent, needs no backlight, why don’t they drop one in front of a regular e-ink screen is beyond me…
AM/OLED is still a developing technology though. So they still have to
work on making a wider range of screen sizes and reduce cost before we
see that option used. Especially in low cost products where even a IPS or PLS screen is rare because of cost.
However, there has been ongoing efforts to create similar type solution for years. The University of Cincinnati researchers, for example, have taken seven years from idea to prototype for their combo LCD/e-ink technology that they publically announced October of last year.
Along with competing technologies like Pixel Qi screens still in the running.
Unfortunately, screen technology doesn’t advance as quickly as the rest of the market and it can take a decade before we know which technology will win out over the others.
Though some companies may be able to just push their solution through. Like back in April Apple patented a hybrid e-ink/LCD design, though no word if they will actually make it.
No mic either on the Fire – a big disappointment. Not even bluetooth so you can use a bluetooth headset for voice recordings, voip or external speakers. I almost ordered one until I found that out.
Anyone know of any tablet coming with some sort of color e-ink, e-paper, Mirasol, etc. displays? Been waiting for one those.