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Kindle Fire HD 4G Clears the FCC (For Real This Time)

Another of Amazon’s gadgets cleared the FCC yesterday and I have egg on my face again. It turns out that one of the filings I identified a few weeks ago as being the 4G variant of the Kindle Fire HD probably was not the device I thought it was. (It’s something unknown, and that’s even cooler.)

So new paperwork showed up at the FCC yesterday, and I didn’t think it was important. The good folks at Wireless Goodness posted the paperwork first, and they pointed out the slew of frequencies which were tested (and the double layered subterfuge which we all recognize from last time), and concluded that this was Amazon’s larger tablet.

After looking at it I am now convinced they are correct. This is the 4G model for the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″.

The telling detail, for me, was that the tablet which cleared the FCC yesterday had the same model number as one of the devices which showed up a few weeks ago. That older device (FCC ZHS-1013)was clearly tested for just Wifi and Bluetooth, while the newer device (FCC ZHT-1013) was tested for more frequencies than you could shake a stick at. I’d say that there is a better than even chance that both filings belong to one of the Kindle Fire 8.9″.

So all of Amazon’s gadgets have cleared the FCC. Good. Next question: There’s now N+1 sets of FCC paperwork for N Amazon devices. What the BLEEP is the extra set of paperwork for?

Seriously, this is an interesting puzzle here. It is identified as a module, has GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA support, and from the subterfuge with shell companies it likely belongs to Amazon.

I can’t wait for whatever Amazon unveils in the next few months. The embargo on the photos of the module will be lifted in March, so clearly if Amazon plans to announce something new they will have to do it by then.

And I have no idea what it is for. What fun.

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Comments


Andrys October 6, 2012 um 9:31 am

Nate, the 4G LTE 8.9″ Kindle Fire product page no longer carries the disclaimer on the FCC stuff.

Re what else down the pike? They’ve been said to be working on a 10″ for Spring and definitely a smart phone that’s probably not that far off… And then there’s that hybrid model that several wrote about. I can’t say that’s an attractive idea for me though.


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