Is Amazon Upgrading Kindle Fire to DEFEND Against Apple’s iPad Mini?

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is reportedly planning to upgrade its Kindle Fire tablet in the face of new competition, with specific improvements targeted at its display. The company is telling developers that the display on its next-generation Kindle Fire will be 1280 x 800, compared to the current 1024 x 600, according to AllThingsD.

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The will bring the Amazon tablet on par with the display on the new Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Nexus 7 tablet, as well as the 10.1-inch Toshiba Thrive and the Acer Iconia. The tablet may also receive a camera and a faster chip, and become thinner and lighter in design.

While Google’s newly announced Nexus 7 will start shipping this month, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is also said to be planning an iPad mini, or a smaller version of its market-leading device, to claim a niche in the lighter-tablet segment. That will put added pressure on Amazon, which has struggled to regain the sales it saw for the Kindle Fire in last year’s holiday quarter. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is also jumping into the market with its Surface tablet, though it has not announced the device’s price or detailed technical specifications yet.

Shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) closed at $225 per share on Monday.

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