Amazon Kindle Fire was a huge sensation when it first hit the stores. Naturally, any talk about its successor can’t be ignored. We’ve heard rumors that the next-gen Kindle Fire, dubbed the Kindle Fire 2, will come with an upgraded display with a higher screen resolution.

Now, a source “familiar with Amazon’s plans” claims that Amazon hopes to debut the next iteration of the Kindle Fire in the second half of this year, probably in by the end of the third quarter.

Also, the Kindle Fire 2 is said to feature a 7-inch display with a 1280×800 resolution, the same as that of Google’s upcoming Nexus 7 tab. That’s a 67 percent increase in total pixels, and it is visually significant. That gives the display a PPI of 216, which is 29 percent greater than that of the current Kindle Fire.

Kindle Fire 2 will also get a new aspect ratio. The tablet is also said to be both lighter and thinner than the original Kindle Fire.

Kindle Fire and Google Nexus 7 will have to play the game hard if Apple proves all rumors correct and launches its first 7-inch iPad later this year.

You can imagine how excited we are; the war in the 7-inch tablet space has just begun. And there’s definitely more to come.