14 DAY TRIAL // Amazon's new Kindle Fire tablet has been delayed repeatedly, and there hasn't been a new e-reader for a while either, but whatever issues caused the launch plans to change are probably over and done with, assuming that a certain FCC filing means what we think it does.
We've known that Amazon will release a new tablet, one with a 10.1-inch display instead of 7 inches, for several months.
Due to the need to finish selling existing tablets though, and other matters, the slate wasn't unleashed when it was supposed to be.
According to what we were able to learn in the past, the Fire was supposed to appear on July 31 (2012) or August 7.
Obviously, both dates are long past. At least the Federal Communications Commission has some good news.
It turns out that, whenever that new Kindle decides to show up, it will be accompanied by an e-reader, one that has been cleared by the FCC.
Said Kindle has been found to possess both Wi-Fi wireless connectivity and 3G. It is dubbed EY21.
That's really all the information included in the filing, other than the position of the approval label and the lack of a front light (which is an unfortunate shortcoming).
The “diagram” on the left shows the Kindle device we are talking about. All it tells us is that the Amazon Kindle does not have rounded edges.
That said, there is another bit of interesting information: the Firedock brand, which Amazon will use for things like Kindle Fire speaker docks, even though it doesn't make them itself (though this may change).
We'll be keeping an eye out for anything new, whether or not it is official information. This whole situation is building up towards a tighter competition with B&N (soon up for order in the UK), Nook and Kobo (a very popular e-reader from Japan).
