Kindle Fire 2 and iPad 3 'to go head-to-head'

Amazon and Apple are preparing new versions of the Kindle fire and iPad tablets for a showdown in the first half of next year, according to the technology rumour mill. 

 

 

The updated Kindle Fire is said to have an 8.9-inch touch screen, compared to the current version's 7-inch display.\

According to the Taiwanese technology blog Digitimes the electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn will begin production of the new Kindle Fire in the first quarter of 2012, in time for launch in the second quarter.

Apple’s third-generation iPad will reportedly debut around the same time. It will be thicker than the iPad by 0.77mm, said iLounge, citing anonymous sources. The extra space will reportedly accommodate bulkier screen lights, required by a higher-resolution “Retina” screen, as first used in the iPhone 4.

The updated device is on track for a March release, iLounge said.

It would set up an intriguing head-to-head clash next spring between Amazon and Apple; the iPad has so far dominated the tablet computing market.

 

The Android-based Kindle Fire, introduced in the United States this month, is widely seen as the most credible challenger yet. It costs half the price of an iPad 2, but has received mixed reviews that said it lacks polish. A quick update with improved specifications could mark the start of the real contest with Apple.


The iPad 3 is expected to keep the technological pressure up on rivals with an upgraded processor for increasingly demanding tablet apps. The Apple A6 is thought to be based on the British firm ARM’s new four-core architecture. The iPad 2’s A5 processor has only two cores.