Kindle Fire 2 Release Date: New Amazon Kindle Fire HD Tablet Lacks FCC Approval?

Now that the Kindle Fire 2 release date has been unveiled for each of Amazon's newest tablets, a recent report shows why one of the higher-end versions will be delayed. Reportedly, the Kindle Fire HD with LG 4TE connectivity has yet to receive FCC approval to start selling.

While Kindle Fire HD pre-orders have already started, none of the new devices are actually available for customers just yet. The earliest shipments will be for the $199 model in the 7-inch size, which is expected to arrive to customers on its release date of next Friday, September 14th. Other models may not ship until October such as the $249 version of the tablet which offers 32 gigabytes of storage. One model won't be heading out for over two months.

That's the highest-priced model, the 8.9-inch 4G LTE tablet, which will not ship out until November 20th. Amazon has the wording, "Pre-order now and reserve your place in line," on this particular device. Part of the holdup may be due to a lack of approval from the Federal Communications Commission. All wireless communication products require the FCC's blessing for safe operation standards, and to make sure they aren't going to interfere with other signals out there.

To confirm that FCC approval is pending, Reuters reports pre-order emails from Amazon went out with the following in them:

"We will send you an email asking you to confirm your pre-order of Kindle Fire when it is approved for sale by the Federal Communications Commission."

Reuters also mentions in their article that it's a rare situation when companies announce a product for sale without FCC approval first. With that being said, it seems to make sense Amazon really wanted to go for that "Wow" factor and deliver on a high-value tablet, ahead of anything from Apple. Apple is expected to announce its iPad Mini sometime in October possibly.

The idea is obviously to get a jumpstart on the competition. The problem is that if Apple releases some new versions of the iPad around a similar price point, customers may decide to cancel those pre-orders in favor of a new iPad. The $50 a year deal for 4G LTE service may not be enough to satisfy customers using tablets on a heavy basis from month-to-month, so it will remain to be seen if Amazon offers additional service deals.

(Image Source: Amazon.com)

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