Amazon is readying a new Kindle Fire for launch in July or August 2012, according to a report by China Times.

The device is being manufactured by Quanta - the Taiwanese company that handled the original Kindle Fire – with the site suggesting Amazon has already ordered 2 million units in preparation for launch.

No regions have been named for its debut, but with Kindle Fire currently US only, speculation suggests its successor could see Amazon attempt to make a mark overseas.

The budget battle

Talk of a new Kindle Fire follows the unveiling of Google's first banded tablet, Nexus 7, announced during the firm's I/O conference in San Francisco.

The 7-inch $199 tablet is powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and will begin shipping in mid-July – potentially putting it squarely up against any new device from Amazon.

Indeed, whether Amazon's plans for a Kindle Fire successor have been accelerated by the unveiling of Google's Nexus 7 is currently unclear, but the two tablets are set to target the same end of the market.

The Nexus and Fire share a sub-$200 price tag, and both Google and Amazon hope to generate revenue through on-device content rather than hardware sales.

The existing Kindle Fire is outclassed on a technical level by its new rival, however, meaning all eyes will be on the tablet's specs should China Times' chatter prove true.

[source: China Times via Engadget]