Amazon Kindle Fire
Amazon Kindle Fire Reuters

After Amazon.com Inc.'s official announcement this week introducing its 7-inch Kindle Fire tablet for just $199, rumors are rife the company may bring out its second-generation tablet with a 10.1-inch screen this year.

The bigger competitor for BlackBerry's PlayBook might hit the markets around Black Friday, according to Tom's Guide,

Even before Amazon officially revealed its 7-inch 'NOOK Color Killer' tablet, the Kindle Fire, we already heard reports that it would be just a teaser, that something bigger and better would follow close behind in early 2012, a report on the technology Web site said.

Amazon announced its Android-based handheld device on Wednesday, apparently forcing Research in Motion to cut the price of its BlackBerry PlayBook.

Amazon's 7-inch tablet will be released Nov. 15, and it can be pre-ordered now.

Here are the specifications of the initial Kindle Fire:

Display: 7 multi-touch display with in-plane switching (IPS) technology and anti-reflective treatment; 1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi; 16 million colors.

Size: 7.5 x 4.7 x 0.45 (190 mm x 120 mm x 11.4 mm).

Weight: 14.6 ounces (413 grams).

On-device storage: 8GB. (That's enough for 80 apps, plus 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books.)

Cloud storage: Free cloud storage for all Amazon content.

Battery life: Up to 8.0 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback, with wireless off. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as Web browsing and downloading content.

Charge time: Fully charges in approximately 4.0 hours via included U.S. power adapter. Also supports charging from your computer via USB connection.

Wi-Fi: Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or 802.1X standard with support for WEP, WPA, and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks.

USB: USB 2.0 (micro-B connector).

Audio: 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, top-mounted stereo speakers.

Content formats: Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8.

Warranty and service: 1-year limited warranty and service included. Optional 2-year Extended Warranty available for U.S. customers sold separately.