Hasta La Gadget!

There have been surprisingly few if any concrete leaks of Amazon’s future Kindle Fire plans, even with the follow-up’s appearance likely just hours away. Thankfully, we may have been given a last-minute peek into the company’s strategy after an Engadget reader tipped us to some unusual activity in an app’s hardware usage logs. At least a pair of hits have come from a new device identifying itself as “AmazonKFTT” instead of the much plainer “AmazonKindleFire” language attached to the original model. There’s also signs that Amazon has upgraded the OS underneath to Android 4.0.3. We wouldn’t anticipate this particular slate carrying a quad-core chip to tackle the Nexus 7 head-on, though — unless the KFTT variant is just a firmware-updated Kindle Fire with a name change, the next generation should still have at least one dual-core tablet in the range. Here’s hoping there are a few more surprises in store by the time Amazon takes the stage on Thursday.

[Thanks, Jared]

Filed under: Tablets

Amazon Kindle Fire sequel may have surfaced in logs, points to Android 4.0 and return to dual-core originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon is reportedly going to introduce an ad-supported Kindle Fire next week, according to the WSJ. Like its Kindle with Special Offers, the ad-supported Kindle Fire would be cheaper but would also “display an ad after the user ‘wakes’ the gadget”. Would you care about ads on your tablet? More »

If you can’t quite scrounge up the $200 it takes to buy a quality 7-inch slab these days, Amazon may have a solution for you: sell them your attention. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company plans to develop a ad-supported tablet that would display advertisements whenever the screen is turned on. Sound familiar? Like the ad-supported Kindle readers Amazon’s already dabbled with, subsided tablets would ring in at a lower price tag then their ad-free counterparts. WSJ sources also mentioned that some versions of the device would be WiFi only, potentially lowering the price even further. No word yet, if you’ll be able to buy yourself out of the ads later, of course.

Update: Care for a thicker plot? CNET is now reporting that Amazon will reveal two new Kindle Fire tablets next week — an all new 7-inch wonder and a slightly reworked version of the original. While a brand new slab could be an obvious contender for the 7-inch tablet crown, a refreshed version of Amazon’s original hardware could very well fit the ad-supported bill. Check out CNET’s full report at the source link below.

Filed under: Tablets

WSJ: Amazon is building an ad-supported tablet (Update: two Kindle Fire devices coming next week) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 16:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon is widely assumed to be gearing up for a new Kindle Fire reveal next week, but recent rumors are also telling us that it might launch a new E Ink Kindle as well. If these new images from The Verge are the real deal, then we might be looking at the next E Ink Kindle, which appears to be a refresh of the Kindle Touch. As you can see from the images, Amazon is using the phrase “Paperwhite” to describe this Kindle, but whether or not that’s the name of this new device remains to be seen.

Obviously, the term Paperwhite refers to the new display we can clearly see in the images. This looks to improve on the Pearl E Ink displays we’ve been seeing lately, and in these promotional shots, Amazon is touting “higher contrast, high resolution, integrated lighting, and eight weeks of battery life.” Perhaps most importantly, this new Kindle appears to sport a backlit screen, which you can bet will go over well with consumers.

And why wouldn’t Amazon offer an E Ink Kindle with a backlight? That would align this new Kindle to be the perfect competitor to Barnes and Noble’s Nook SimpleTouch with GlowLight, and with that device on the scene, it makes a lot of sense that Amazon would want to offer a backlit eReader of its own. These images all seem legitimate too, which further reinforces the idea that Amazon is ready to pull the veil off a new Kindle Touch, perhaps alongside the next iteration of the Kindle Fire.

Of course, we’re still hesitant to call it a sure thing, but the good news is that we won’t have much longer to wait until these new devices are revealed. Amazon is holding a press conference on September 6, and all of new reveals are rumored to be going down there. Stay tuned, because we might just come away from that event next week with a number of new Kindle devices to talk about.

‘Paperwhite’ Kindle struts its stuff in leaked images is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It would appear that the next generation Amazon tablet has been “leaked”, so to speak, via a photo of its smaller iteration’s front side. This photo was sent to The Verge by an anonymous donor who has not been specific about the details. There’s apparently two different models in the pipeline, one 7-inch model and one 10-inch model, and a new streamlined user interface in the mix as well.

It does not appear to make a whole lot of sense that this tablet would have a more streamlined user interface over Android while it mysteriously grows a collection of buttons on its side. What you’re seeing here is a keyboard inside the software aside a bar of buttons also inside the screen. It seems as if this tablet too will have no physical buttons (other than a power button and maybe a volume rocket) and will continue the Google trend of on-screen controls with a wide mix.

This bar has a home key, back button, gray arrow button that more than likely reveals an expanded set of controls, full-screen button, menu button, search, and favorite star. The star will likely interact with online sales of digital content as well as with your Amazon shopping experience. The keyboard as well is nothing like the standard Android experience – unless you’re using Android 2.3 Gingerbread, that is.

The top bar above the search bar we’re seeing here has a battery symbol and wi-fi connectivity icon that appear to be part of Android, so we can probably use these and the rest of the clues to assume that Google will have built at least the software that this tablet will be based on. This is the same as the first Kindle Fire tablet, while Amazon will probably once again be heavily modifying the software to the point where Google will not certify it for Google Play. Amazon will be OK with this, of course, as the aim is to make the Amazon app store mainstream – or continue to do so – here in the next generation.

Join us on the 6th of September to see the full real deal via the Amazon event scheduled for that day – and expect something slightly advanced!

Amazon Kindle Fire 2 leaks in model photo is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.