Last time we talked to you about the Kindle Fire 2, we had heard that the tablet might launch on July 31. While that still might be when it’s announced, a more recent rumor suggests that the KF2 will get here a little farther out, shipping on August 7.
This date comes from Amazon’s manufacturing partners in Southeast Asia, and supposedly only concerns the seven-inch Kindle Fire 2. While it looks like larger 8.9 and 10-inch models are still possibilities, they wouldn’t become available until some later date.
With the Nexus 7 shipping this month, and the iPad Mini seeming more and more likely for early this fall, we could be looking at a close race to dominate the seven-inch tablet market as sales ramp-up towards the holiday season. That means that Amazon is going to have to be competitive when pricing the Kindle Fire 2, making a return to the first model’s $200 launch price seem likely. Even then, Amazon’s going to have quite the fight cut out it for it, going up against these heavyweights.