Kindle Fire

87 'Kindle Fire' stories September 2011 - July 2013

Flash video comes to (some) Kindle Fire tablets as Amazon tests streaming viewer

Ben Lovejoy Jul 9 2013 - 6:48 am PT

AllThingsD reports that Amazon has been quietly testing a way to offer Flash video on Kindle Fire tablets.

Since February, some Kindle Fire owners have been seeing an option to use an “experimental streaming viewer” when trying to watch video on sites such as NBC.com, CBS.com and Fox.com.

The effort is made possible by the fact that the Kindle Fire browser, known as Silk, divides work between the device and Amazon servers in the cloud.

Adobe stopped supporting Flash on mobile devices back in 2011, with Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) the last version to offer Flash. While most sites have now switched to HTML5 for mobile video, there are still some that require Flash, causing frustration for those accessing the sites on smartphones and tablets.

Although getting a server to convert Flash video to a format that can be viewed by a device without Flash is an approach used by a number of browsers, it has so far mostly been the preserve of geeks. If Amazon opens the service to all Kindle users – as seems likely from the company’s comments – it will turn it into a mainstream option.

“Because this feature is built on the AWS cloud, expanding our list of available sites is as simple as a configuration change that immediately propagates to customer devices and we can scale out elastically based upon customer demand,” said Kufeld, who heads Amazon’s Silk browser team. “It’s still early days but we’re very excited about this feature.”

Amazon gives $5 worth of Amazon Coins to Kindle Fire owners, enticing buyers to use new virtual currency

May 13 2013 - 6:07 am PT

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Following their announcement of the new “Coins” virtual currency, Amazon has given all Kindle Fire owners 500 coins for free, a $5 value. Coins can be used by Kindle Fire owners to purchase apps, in-app purchases, and other content from the Amazon Appstore. This generous offer by Amazon will result in them giving away “tens of millions of dollars’ worth of Amazon Coins” to Kindle Fire owners. The 500 free Amazon Coins should already be in your account if you are eligible for the giveaway.

This promotion comes just hours after Amazon’s Kindle Fire Mother’s Day sale has ended.

Full letter from Amazon C.E.O Jeff Bezos below:

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Amazon to expand hardware offerings with high-end smartphone with eye-tracking, 3D screen, other smartphones, audio device

Mark Gurman May 9 2013 - 10:41 am PT

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According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon is working to expand its hardware offerings, this year, beyond the Kindle e-readers and tablets (like the Kindle Fire). According to the new report, Amazon is working on two smartphones, including a high-end model with a 3D display. Like other smartphones currently on the market, this display could be interacted with via a user’s eyes:

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Amazon announces ‘Coins’ virtual currency for Appstore purchases on Kindle Fire

Jordan Kahn Feb 5 2013 - 6:38 am PT

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Amazon today announced that it will soon roll out a new virtual currency, known simply as “Coins,” that Kindle Fire owners can use to purchase apps, in-app purchases, and other content from the Amazon Appstore. Amazon said the service will launch for users in the United States in May and noted developers will still take their usual 70-percent revenue for purchases made with Coins. For the launch of Coins, Amazon will give away “tens of millions of dollars’ worth of Amazon Coins” to Kindle Fire users. This is definitely good news for developers who submit their apps by the April 25 deadline.

Amazon Coins is an easy way for Kindle Fire customers to spend money on developers’ apps in the Amazon Appstore, offering app and game developers another substantial opportunity to drive traffic, downloads and increase monetization even further.. Amazon will give customers tens of millions of dollars’ worth of Amazon Coins to use on developers’ apps in the Amazon Appstore—apps and games must be submitted and approved by April 25 to be ready when Amazon Coins arrive in customers’ accounts

Student (or play one)? Here, have $50 off a Kindle HD 8.9-inch, now starting at $249

Seth Weintraub Jan 1 2013 - 10:11 am PT

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From 9to5Toys.com:

If you are a student (or have access to a .edu email address), Amazon is having a special New Years Day deal on the Kindle HD 8.9. The online retailing giant is offering $50 off the price of an 8.9-inch Kindle Fire that yields a $249 price.

Exclusive Discount on Kindle Fire 8.9″
Special pricing available only to Amazon Student Members with an active Prime account (free six-month or $39/year plan). Join Amazon Student or start your [$39/year] discounted Prime membership to take advantage of this sale. The promo codes below will become available 24 hours after activation of your account, through January 30. New members, don’t forget to check your .edu email and verify your account.

How to Redeem This Deal
Place a Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ or a Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ 4G LTE Wireless in your cart. At checkout, enter the promo code KNDL4STU. If you are an Amazon Student member in a free or paid Prime plan, the discount will be applied to the items in your cart. This promo code may be redeemed once per customer. offer good only while supplies last.
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Amazon smartphone reportedly in production, set to go on sale in mid-2013

Jake Smith Dec 17 2012 - 10:10 am PT

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Rumors have been in the air for several months that claim Amazon will compete in the handset space with its own offering, much like it did with its Kindle Fire line of tablets. According to a new report from the Taiwan Economic News, the Internet retail giant has selected the infamous Foxconn to manufacture the handset. Additionally, Amazon is said to have ordered 5 million units and will launch the device at $100 to $200 sometime in the second quarter or third quarter of 2013.

The Kindle Fire line of tablets, which has software based off Android with many custom additions (and even more subtractions), has done wonders for Android’s tablet marketshare, helping the platform close the seemingly insurmountable gap with the iPad. Amazon was the first to offer a tablet at such a low cost, selling in seemingly big numbers. However, no specific figures have ever been given. With its large online marketplace and bevy of apps on its Amazon Appstore, we wouldn’t put it past the company to be a serious competitor in the handset game. (via Engadget)

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Kindle Fire HD review: Why can’t this just be an Android device?

Seth Weintraub Dec 11 2012 - 9:38 pm PT

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I (and, to be honest, more my kids) have used the Kindle Fire HD for over a month, and I thought I’d share some thoughts from an iPad/Android user’s perspective.

The hardware is excellent and a significant upgrade from the original Fire. It feels extremely solid and the 1,280-by-720 HD display looks great. The speakers are better than either the iPad Mini or the Nexus 7 and not barely — by a long shot. I wouldn’t go so far as to say they are “stereo speakers” (it is a 7-inch device obviously and there is little separation), but they are both louder and clearer than the competition. The HD is also noticeably thinner than the original Kindle Fire, but that comes at the expense of bigger bezels that give it a bigger footprint than the same-screened Nexus 7 and similar size to the bigger-screened iPad Mini. This is unfortunate because one of the nicest things about the size of a 7-inch tablet is either it can squeeze into a back pocket or, more likely, a coat pocket…and those inches count. Neither the iPad Mini nor the Kindle HD fit in my jacket pocket as well as the much more slender Nexus 7.

But, that’s not the biggest problem…

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This low-specced ASUS device could be the $99 Nexus tablet

Jordan Kahn Dec 3 2012 - 7:07 am PT

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The Digital Reader recently discovered benchmarks posted to the GLBenchmarks website for an unannounced Asus tablet that might be for Google’s much rumored $99 Nexus tablet. According to the specs listed in the benchmark data, the Asus ME172V will sport a 1,024-by-600-resolution display, Android 4.1.1, a 400MHz Mali GPU, and a 1GHz CPU. There’s a possibility this is just a low-cost Asus tablet, and not a Nexus. With the $159 Kindle Fire sporting a display with the same resolution, a $99 price point might be a bit of a stretch for this upcoming Asus tab—whether it’s a Nexus or not.

In recent months Digitimes, a publication with a spotty track record for predicting product launches, has reported several times that suppliers have confirmed a low-cost, $99 Nexus tablet is in the works. In October, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim also claimed that Google is working on a $99 tablet, adding that it could go into production as soon as December.

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Kindle Fire set record sales for Amazon on Black Friday

Jake Smith Nov 26 2012 - 3:57 am PT

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After reducing prices for the big shopping event known as “Black Friday,” Amazon said this morning that its Kindle Fire saw a record amount of sales of up to three times the previous record set. Amazon offered the base Kindle Fire at only £99, creating for an “incredible reaction” on Amazon.co.uk. The United States store surely saw similar numbers.

“In response to strong customer demand we included Kindle Fire in Black Friday deals week, dropping the price to just £99, and the reaction has been incredible. Customers purchased more than three times as many Kindle devices on Black Friday than on any other day in its history on Amazon.co.uk, and our previous record was impressive,” said Jorrit Van der Meulen, Vice President, Kindle EU. “This fantastic Kindle Fire offer runs until midnight, Monday 26th November, so customers still have time to snap up a Kindle Fire in time for Christmas.”

The full press release is below:

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Adobe launches Photoshop Touch app for Amazon Kindle Fire devices

Jordan Kahn Nov 15 2012 - 10:47 am PT

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Adobe just announced on its Photoshop blog that it is making the Photoshop Touch app available to Kindle Fire devices starting today for $9.99 in the Amazon Appstore. Adobe previously had version of the app available for other Android devices on Google Play, as well as an iOS version of the scaled down Photoshop app for Apple’s devices. The new app for Kindle Fire will be available on the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD, and the 7-inch Kindle Fire, and Kindle Fire HD models. The app is only compatible with devices running Android 4.0 and up, so it’s not available to first-gen Kindle Fire users.

We have worked closely with Amazon to enable Adobe Photoshop Touch on this device, and are proud to announce that it is available for purchase in the Amazon Appstore immediately for US$9.99… In addition, we are announcing support for the updated 7-inch Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD devices. This means that Photoshop Touch is optimized for both 8.9-inch and 7-inch screens, giving users a great experience on all recent Kindle Fire devices.

Amazon Appstore for Android offers free copy of Alphabet Car app

Élyse Betters Oct 5 2012 - 6:36 am PT

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The Alphabet Car app is free today on the Amazon Appstore for Android as one of the online retailer’s Daily Deal specials. The word game normally goes for $2.99, and it has a 4-star rating or higher on both Amazon and Google Play. Folks can even receive a complimentary $1 Amazon MP3 Credit with this download. One claim per Amazon account, however, until Dec. 31.

Check it out: Amazon | Alphabet Car by Animoca

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Pew: Android soars to 48 percent of US adult tablet ownership in 2012, pushes Apple down to 52 percent

Élyse Betters Oct 2 2012 - 8:45 am PT

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A new survey by research organization Pew Internet & American Life Project depicts how Android rose from 15 percent in 2011 to 48 percent in 2012, in terms of U.S. adult tablet ownership, due to the higher-priced iPads steadily losing traction.

Pew’s Journalism website elaborated:

Over the last year, tablet ownership has steadily increased from 11% of U.S. adults in July of 2011 to 18% in January of 2012, according to PEJ data. Currently, 22% own a tablet and another 3% regularly use a tablet owned by someone else in the home. This number is very close to new data, released here for the first time, conducted in a separate survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project on July 16 through August 7 2012 that found 25% of all U.S. adults have a tablet computer.

The growth in tablet adoption is likely related to the advent of the lower-priced tablets in late 2011. Overall, about two-thirds of tablet-owning adults, 68%, got their tablet in the last year, including 32% in 2012 alone. That has lessened Apple’s dominance in the market. Now, just over half, 52%, of tablet owners report owning an iPad, compared with 81% in the survey a year ago.

Android-based devices are now at 48 percent overall: approximately 21 percent own the Android-forked Kindle Fire, 8 percent own the Samsung Galaxy, and the remaining is a mix. It is worth noting Android would only hold 27 percent without the $199 Kindle Fire.

The survey did not include Google’s Nexus 7 or Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD, however, as they were not yet introduced. The final numbers also mirror world sales data, according to Pew, which place the iPad at 61 percent and Android at 31 percent.

Check out Pew for more related information on smartphone ownership and operating system loyalty.

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Walmart memo reveals retailer will no longer sell Amazon’s Kindle line

Élyse Betters Sep 20 2012 - 9:14 am PT

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Walmart apparently sent a memo to store managers on Sept. 19. announcing plans to stop selling Amazon’s line of Kindle products.

“We have recently made the business decision to not carry Amazon tablets and eReaders beyond our existing inventory and purchase commitments,” said Walmart in the memo. “This includes all Amazon Kindle models current and recently announced.”

Reuters, which cited the memo and an unidentified source “familiar with situation,” first reported the news:

In the memo, Wal-Mart said the decision was consistent with its overall merchandising strategy. While Wal-Mart dwarfs other retailers in overall sales, it trails Amazon and others online and has been stepping up efforts to increase its presence there. Consumers who buy Kindle tablets such as the new Kindle Fire HD can shop on the devices for more than just digital books, pushing Amazon into further competition with stores.

The publication did not provide additional details, but Walmart.com currently reflects the reported change. When searching for “Kindle” on the national retailer’s website, no Kindle-related products appear in the queue. It is unclear if Walmart’s website ever offered the tablets, however.

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Amazon releases Maps API for new Kindle Fires with interactive maps and custom overlays

Jordan Kahn Sep 17 2012 - 5:58 am PT

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Amazon took some time today to discuss the new Amazon Maps API it released alongside the Kindle Fire HD earlier this month. According to a post on the Amazon Mobile App Distribution blog, the new API will make it easy for developers “to integrate mapping functionality into apps that run on the all-new Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD.” The Maps API is now in beta and available through the Amazon Mobile App Distribution Portal.

If you are curious about exactly what the new API provides, Amazon provided a description of the core features:

Interactive Maps. You can embed a Map View in your app for customers to pan, zoom and fling around the world. You have the option to display a user’s current location, switch between standard maps and satellite view, and more.

Custom Overlays. You can display the locations of businesses, landmarks and other points of interest with your own customized markers and pins.

iFixit tears down Kindle Fire HD, finds completely new internals

Jordan Kahn Sep 17 2012 - 5:24 am PT

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The folks at iFixit are performing its usual teardown ritual today. This time it has a full breakdown of Amazon’s new Kindle Fire HD announced earlier this month. One of the teardown highlights: the device includes a 3.7 V, 4400 mAh, 16.43 Wh Li-ion battery that has about the same juice as the previous-generation Kindle Fires, which means the 11 hours of expected battery life is up for debate. Other findings: The Kindle Fire HD sports an upgraded Texas Instruments OMAP 4460 dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM from Elpida, a LCD from LG Display, and 16GB of flash memory from Samsung. Overall, the device scores a decent 7 out of 10 repairability score, which ties with the Nexus 7 and beats the third-generation iPad.

-Samsung KLMAG2GE4A eMMC 16 GB Flash Memory and Flash Memory Controller
-Elpida B8164B3PF-1D-F 8 Gb (1 GB) DDR2 RAM
-Texas Instruments TWL6032 Fully Integrated Power Management IC
-Broadcom BCM2076 GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, and FM Receiver/Transmitter
-Wolfson WM8962E Ultra-Low Power Stereo CODEC
-B50 5222 12507A9A10

iFixit’s notes on the teardown are below:

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Amazon Kindle Event Liveblog

Seth Weintraub Sep 6 2012 - 9:46 am PT

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Update: Here’s the full presentation video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYi1jZXz9Kg&list=UULN8H0cLurGAUgwwufetV3Q&index=2&feature=plcp

That’s it folks!

3:00: The ‘big kahuna’ is a $499 LTE 32GB version of the 8.9 inch Kindle HD. That’s exactly where Apple starts.

2:45 Bezos says Amazon wants to make money when people use its products. If someone puts it in a desk drawer, Amazon deserves nothing.

A lot of social media ties to games. Cloud streaming etc.

2:30 Devices called the Kindle SD and HD 7 and 8.9 inch respectively.

Parental controls for more multiple children.Kindle FreeTime: You can set different time limits for different kinds of content for your kids. Books? Unlimited. Games and TV? Limited.

“Sometimes you invent for customers. Sometimes you invent for yourself.” Bezos has four kids. He knows about negotiation over screens.

2:20 First time I’ve seen Amazon bring out speeds and feeds. Touting TI OMAP processor over Tegra 3 (as in Nexus 7) in floating point. Lots faster. Means wicked fast page turning. MIMO dual antenna radios help get content faster.”41% faster than iPad, even faster than Nexus 7.”

2:15: Kindle Fire: “In less than a year, Kindle Fire is 22 percent of tablet sales in the US.” #1 best selling device on Amazon.com

$159 is the new price of th 7-inch version including longer battery life and more RAM and better performance.

New 8.9″ version 1920×1200

The 8.9-inch Kindle has Dolby Digital Plus – the first tablet to have this. Dual speakers vs. singular speaker on iPad.

“Customers are smart. Last year, there were more than two dozen Android tablets launched into the marketplace, and nobody bought ‘em. Why? Because they’re gadgets, and people don’t want gadgets anymore. They want services that improve over time. They want services that improve every day, every week, and every month.”

2:00 Keeping the $79 Kindle with new Black plastic. Adding more fonts and faster pageturns and knocking off $10: $69

Via Verge

1:45: Kindle Paperwhite: 8week battery life, 7.7ozs/ 9mm thick. Patented backlighting. High Re screen – 212ppi. Don’t call it Retina.

Orders start today, it ships October 1: $119 for Wifi, 3G $179

[tweet https://twitter.com/markgurman/statuses/243769411838816256]

1:42: Lights go down. Commercial from the game last night plays

[tweet https://twitter.com/nickbilton/statuses/243765633240662016]

1:40 So the first 10 minutes are over an nothing to show for it. only 110 more!

1:30 here we go…

1:20 BREAKING:

[tweet https://twitter.com/adamlashinsky/statuses/243761459065143298]

1) Amazon CEO will be present. 2) there will be demos. 3) amazon has prepared.

1:18: Mobile Nations peeped Amazon Board member and former Apple/Palm/HP hardware design guru Jon “Ruby” Rubinstein. He’s here to “learn”

1:15: 2 hours eh? This is going to be a helluva show.

1:00: I just want to say for the record that a Streaming TV product makes more sense than a Phone for Amazon. That is all.

Show starts at 1:30PM ET folks.

Too bad to be fake: Amazon’s new Kindle Fire spotted? [Photo]

Report: FCC clears Amazon’s next Kindle Fire with larger display, possible fall release

Élyse Betters Aug 15 2012 - 9:12 am PT

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Label

Amazon’s next-generation Kindle Fire could land in the fall with a larger display.

At least that is what Nate Hoffelder of The Digital Reader reported after receiving a tip about a new Kindle Fire clearing the Federal Communications Commission yesterday:

A friend of mine has tipped me to an anonymous set of FCC documents which were posted yesterday. They don’t show any useful detail, but they do lead somewhere interesting. Like Amazon’s past FCC submissions, this paperwork belongs to a new front company. This time around the company is Harpers LLC.

Hoffelder did not find any details in the FCC filing beyond the eReader’s label, but he reviewed the dimensions given and said it looked like a 9.7-inch or 10-inch tablet:

The general screen geometry is likely going to be 4:3 (like the iPad), and not widescreen like many Android tablets. And since some of the hidden parts of the FCC paperwork will be revealed in December, this device will clearly be launched this fall.

The original Kindle Fire is a version of Amazon’s popular Kindle eReader. It announced in September 2011 with a color 7-inch multi-touch display and a forked version of Google’s Android operating system.

Go to The Digital Reader for the full report.

[FCC— OET Exhibits List]

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Amazon launches GameCircle for Kindle Fire [Video]

Élyse Betters Jul 11 2012 - 7:01 am PT

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdoxX0XGros&feature=player_embedded]

Amazon just announced a new gaming experience for developers and the Kindle Fire: GameCircle.

According to the Amazon Mobile App Distribution blog, GameCircle is a “new set of services designed to make it easier for you to create more engaging gaming experiences and grow your business on Kindle Fire,” by making “achievements, leaderboards and sync APIs accessible, simple and quick for you to integrate, and will give gamers a more seamless and entertaining in-game experience.”

Amazon offers a growing suite of developer services. Its new GameCircle is geared specifically for game developers too, which is great news for the Kindle Fire since it is facing a firestorm of Android-based content competition from the new Nexus 7. Game Circle also helps players to better experience their games through three key features —achievements, leaderboards, and sync—that will surely continue to entice folks to the dominating Android-based eReader.

Achievements allow players to “track all earned trophies, treasures, badges, awards, and more without leaving the gaming experience,” while leaderboards give an “in-game view of score comparison information and percentile ranking, allowing players to quickly and easily check standings against top players or competitors, without ever leaving your game.”

Sync autosaves players’ in-game progress to the cloud for immediate pick-up exactly where they ended when switching devices or restoring a deleted game. Losing progress, scores or achievements is not a problem with GameCircle, because as all data is safely stored in the cloud.

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iFixit delves inside the Nexus 7 [Photos]

Élyse Betters Jul 3 2012 - 6:44 am PT

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iFixit is hardcore when it comes to breaking open our favorite electronics to see what’s inside, and the website did it again today with the refreshed Google-flagship, Asus-built Nexus 7 that unveiled at the Google I/O conference last week.

Teardown highlights:

— The 7-inch tablet offers GPS, NFC, and Wi-Fi antennas all manufactured between April 20 and May 25, 20011.
— The Nexus 7 boasts a 4326 mAh battery that lasts 9:49 hours, whereas the Kindle Fire has a 4400 mAh battery that lasts 7:42 hours. Meanwhile, the new iPad battery, which is “significantly larger” at 11,500 mAh, only lasts 9:52 hours for HSPA and 9:37 hours for LTE.
— The official Nexus page stated there is one “speaker” in the back, but iFixit spotted
— Hydis manufactures the 7-inch, 1,280-by-800 HD display designated by model HV070WX2.

What’s inside:

— NVIDIA T30L Tegra 3 processor
— Hynix HTC2G83CFR DDR3 RAM
— Kingston KE44B-26BN/8GB 8GB flash
— Max 77612A inverting switching regulator
— AzureWave AW-NH665 wireless module
— Broadcom BCM4751 integrated monolithic GPS receiver
— Invensense MPU-6050 gyro and accelerometer

A gallery is below.

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Google announces Chrome for iPhone & iPad, coming to App Store today

Jordan Kahn Jun 28 2012 - 10:25 am PT

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSKZy2ayvMs&feature=player_embedded]

Update: The app is already available in some international App Stores and will hit the U.S. store soon.

Google just announced at Day 2 of Google I/O that Chrome for iPhone & iPad will come to the App Store later today for devices running iOS 4.3 or later. The app will feature many of the features present in other versions of the browser, including: Chrome sync, incognito mode, and its unique tab UI. Google also announced during the keynote that it would bring its recently launched Google Drive cloud service to iOS devices.

As noted by Daring Fireball, the Chrome iOS app will have to rely on WebKit:

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Report: Amazon’s Kindle Fire 2 aims for July 31 launch

Élyse Betters Jun 26 2012 - 8:58 am PT

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The next Kindle Fire is eyeing a July 31 launch date.

CNET just reported that Amazon’s next version of the widely popular Kindle Fire, otherwise dubbed the “Kindle Fire 2” or the second-generation Kindle Fire, would unveil next month. The publication cited “a credible source” but could not confirm the summer date, and it pointed to DigiTimes for specs, which claimed the rumored 7-inch eReader will release with a $199 price tag and 1,2800-by-800 pixel display at the beginning of the third quarter.

According to CNET:

The DigiTimes article cited the usual sources in the “upstream supply chain” and talked about how Amazon would reduce the price of the current Kindle Fire to $149. It also speculated that Amazon’s long-rumored larger tablet is still on hold but that new e-ink Kindles with integrated lighting were expected to be released alongside the Kindle Fire 2 (or whatever Amazon chooses to call it).

Our source didn’t mention the higher resolution display but did say that the new tablet would have a camera and physical volume-control buttons (many users complained that the Kindle Fire only has on-screen volume controls).

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Amazon’s Kindle app now supports 1000 titles for children’s books, graphic novels, and comics

Élyse Betters Jun 14 2012 - 8:46 am PT

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Amazon just bulked its Kindle app for Android, iOS, and its Cloud Reader by adding children’s books, comics, and graphic novels that were previously exclusive to Kindle Fire owners.

The apps now offer over 1,000 titles for children with features like Text Pop-Up, which help to improve and simplify the reading experience, and Kindle Panel view for comics and graphics to allow panel-by-panel viewing. A few of the literary additions include Brown Bear, Curious George, Batman, and Superman.

Android tablet owners, or those with Cloud Reader on a widescreen display, will also notice the ability to customize their reading experience with new margin and line spacing controls. The update also brings side-by-side viewing of two pages in landscape mode. Meanwhile, iOS users have a new Search option to locate content by title or author.

This article is cross-posted on 9to5Mac.

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Report: Google Nexus press shots leak online [Photos]

Élyse Betters Jun 6 2012 - 12:27 pm PT

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: Google Nexus Front

: Google Nexus Back

Display captures of press shots for the Google Nexus allegedly leaked online today, which show the Asus-manufactured tablet looking like a huge Galaxy Note and Galaxy S III cross.

PhoneArena posted the leaks of the highly anticipated 7-inch tablet. Google is long-rumored to launch the device with the latest version of Android for around $250 to directly compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire and the Barnes & Noble’s Nook.

The images showcase a white front with three dots in the upper-right corner that closely resemble Samsung’s Galaxy S III. Meanwhile, the back sports a two-tone white and black color scheme. The device also carries a bevy of sensors with indications of a video-capable camera on the front and a second camera on the back. The tipster, who leaked the drafts, mentioned a quad-core Tegra 3 as the CPU with the possibility of 1GB of RAM for additional specs.

It is worth noting that the source denied rumors about the Google Nexus featuring Android 5.0 Jelly Bean for the operating system, and instead claimed an updated version of Ice Cream Sandwich, i.e., Android 4.1, would power the tablet. This information corroborates the RightWare benchmark test from last month that suggested a “Google Asus Nexus 7″ would boast Android 4.1 with a quad-core Tegra 3 processor.

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Benchmark reveals Google-branded 7-inch tablet running Android 4.1, dubbed ‘Google Asus Nexus 7’

Élyse Betters May 30 2012 - 8:34 am PT

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Google’s much-rumored 7-inch Asus tablet surfaced in a RightWare benchmark test recently and teased those eagerly awaiting a Mountain View, Calif.-branded slate.

The outing revealed a “Google Asus Nexus 7″ that boasts a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, runs Android 4.1, and carries a 768-by-1,280 resolution. The screenshots above and below detail the full specs.

Mum’s the word for Google and Asus, but recent rumors suggest the 7-inch device will unveil at Google’s I/O Conference next month. It is worth mentioning, however, that past reports also indicated an April and May launch. One thing is for sure, with Asus on board for this project, many believe the Nexus 7 will look similar to other offerings by the Taiwanese manufacturer.

Google’s flagship Android-powered tablet is set to compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 2, so a $200 to $250 price tag is in the radar.

In related news, a Federal Communications Commission filing for the Asus MeMo Pad 370T appeared this morning. This, as one might recall, is the $249 CES device that put the rumor mill into overdrive regarding a potential Google tablet, and now it causing the blogosophere to brim with reports about a 7-inch form factor on the I/O horizon.

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