Following the huge success of the Kindle Fire tablet/E-reader is the Kindle 2, the next-generation tab that’s been rumored to sport a larger 10-inch display. We’ve been waiting all this time for Amazon to announce a follow-up to the fiery Kindle Fire. Thankfully, the well-established Taiwanese China Times has recently released a publication citing Foxconn as Amazon’s newly nominated ODM to manufacture the Kindle 2.
This makes Foxconn the second major ODM next to Quanta – the sole developer of the original Kindle Fire. It’s also important to note that Amazon has a good list of manufacturers up its sleeve. Among them are ACES, Prime View, CviLux, Singatron and of course the aforementioned Quanta and Foxconn. The China Times also added that Amazon is now the one handling the selection and certification of components in order to cut the overall manufacturing cost.
Amazon has learned its lesson. When Amazon unveiled the Kindle Fire last year, the Bezos-led company decided to sell the device at a very low price of $199 in spite of the fact that each tablet costs nearly $250 to make. Amazon’s bold and risky strategy worked – at least for its customer-base. And, it proved to be worth it. With the rising demand of the Kindle Fire and with its popularity soaring high like never before, the market appears to be strongly established and ready for anything that will come.
Introducing the Kindle 2 should be easier for Amazon this time around. But, can we expect the pricing to increase as well? That we don’t know yet. Unfortunately, other than the 10-inch display, other detailed specs of the Kindle 2 have not been disclosed. But what we do know is that it will be released soon with the commencement of component deliveries in March and with shipments scheduled sometime in May or June.
