New Kindles to triple speed of current lineup, says report

Preliminary benchmark tests show a big boost in performance for new Fire tablets slated to launch this fall, says blog site Boy Genius Report.

Amazon will reportedly launch faster versions of its Kindle Fire this year.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)



Amazon's next-generation Kindle tablets will easily outrace the current models, according to Boy Genius Report.



Citing information from "multiple trusted sources," BGR cited pre-launch benchmark tests that measured the new lineup's performance as three times faster than that of the existing editions. Assuming the sources are on the money, Amazon is due to release three new Kindle tablets this fall.



Equipped with a 1,920x1,200-pixel display, the new 7-inch Kindle Fire will be outfitted with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, potentially revved up to around 2GHz.



Running Amazon's tweaked version of Android 4.2.2, the new 7-inch Kindle Fire HD will come with 2GB of memory, a front-facing camera, Wi-Fi, and optional cellular access. The screen will display 1,920x1,200 pixels, while the tablet itself will offer a choice of 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of built-in storage, BGR said.



Finally, the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD will match some of the specs of its smaller cousins -- a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip, 2GB of RAM, a range of internal storage sizes, and an option for a cellular connection. The 8.9-inch model will also add a rear camera to the front-facing one and offer a resolution of 2,560x1,600 pixels.



The new tablets are designed to be lighter and more comfortable than their predecessors. All three tablets are reportedly on track for a fall launch, possibly as early as late September, BGR's sources added.



CNET contacted Amazon for comment and will update the story with any further information. Amazon shook up its Kindle tablet lineup in September of 2012 when it announced the Kindle Fire HD.