It seems Amazon is gearing up to strike back at Google's newly released Nexus 7, with an improved Kindle Fire 2 tablet expected to launch on Aug. 7, the China Times reported Monday.

The report fits with the predictions of analyst Richard Shim, who told CNET that Amazon would be releasing four new Kindle Fire tablets in the next month.

These include:

A 7-inch Kindle Fire 2: 1,024x600 display, no camera; August production.

A 7-inch Kindle Fire 2: 1,280x800 display with camera; August production.

A 7-inch Kindle Fire 2: 1,280x800 display with camera and 4G; September production.

An 8.9-inch Kindle Fire 2: With 1,920x1, 200 display; Q4 production.

Shim said he obtained the information from the supply chain, but he told CNET the picture could change on a monthly basis.

If the information is accurate, a new Kindle Fire 2 will be launched with 4G and higher resolution. The report from the China Times also states that the plastic case will be replaced by a more durable metal chassis and the battery will have a different manufacturer.

There is no word on what processor the tablet will use, but according to ZDnet, Texas Instruments' OMAP CPU or a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 chip are the most likely.

In one year, the Kindle Fire became the most popular Android tablet, taking more than 54 percent of the market, according to ZDnet, but since the launch of the Nexus 7 the Kindle has entered some steep competition.

Google unveiled its own Android tablet in collaboration with Asus at its annual developer's conference in June.

The 7-inch Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Nexus tablet is as light as a paperback book at just 340 grams and is extremely portable. Yet, its small frame is packed with a host of features.

By tapping into Google's Play store, the tablet becomes a device for gaming, movies, apps, e-book and magazines. The Nexus 7 comes with a 1280 x 800 display and a Tegra 3 chipset. Its quadcore CPU, 12-core GPU makes navigation and gaming extremely smooth.

In addition to its front-facing camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, gyroscope and accelerometer, it also has up to nine hours of video playback. When the tablet was launched, an Asustek executive told Reuters that it would rival Amazon's Kindle Fire.

It's targeting Amazon. The Kindle is based on Google's platform but with its own service, so Google has to launch its own service, too, he told Reuters.

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