Amazon Kindle Fire sold out ahead of Fire 2 launch

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Amazon has sold out of its budget Kindle Fire tablet, the company says — adding fresh fuel to rumours it will be launching a Fire sequel next week.

The Internet’s king of the ecommerce jungle is holding a press event in California on 6 September, where it’s widely expected to unbox the Kindle Fire 2. And possibly even two versions of the tablet — a refreshed 7-inch device and a larger, 10-inch version to compete with the Apple iPad.

A new Kindle Touch could also be on the cards, according to The Verge — and potentially also refreshed versions of other E-Ink devices, such as the non-touchscreen Kindle and Kindle Keyboard.

Word on the street is the new Kindle Touch will look much the same as the existing Touch, but with no button below the display and a dark — rather than light — grey bezel. It also reports the refreshed Touch’s display will offer higher contrast and resolution plus integrated backlighting, while the device will boast eight weeks of battery life — even when using the light.

The refreshed Touch may get a new name too — possibly the Kindle Paperwhite — or this label could be used to describe its new, higher-res, backlit screen.

Earlier this week The Verge also noted that Amazon had yanked both versions of the Kindle Touch from its US site — fuelling speculation that new versions are incoming. Since the Touch is still up for grabs on the UK Amazon site, any Touch refresh may well be US-only.

This week Amazon also reported the $199 Kindle Fire slate has grabbed more than a fifth (22 per cent) of the US tablet market since it launched last year — leaving UK gadget fans to stare wistfully over the pond.

There are signs Amazon might be getting ready to fire the Fire into the UK though. Earlier this week it launched its Android Appstore here — a possible precursor to a UK launch of the Fire 2.

It certainly needs to get a wriggle on if it wants to grab a slice of the UK’s budget tablet market, now that Google’s £160 Nexus 7 slate has arrived. Not to mention rumours that Apple is preparing to launch an iPad mini this autumn.

Would you buy an Amazon Fire 2 if it launched in the UK? Or are you happy with the Nexus 7? Or waiting for an iPad mini? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, or chat to us over on our Facebook page.