Amazon to launch a 7-inch tablet

After much anticipation, Amazon is expected to unveil its own tablet on Wednesday. Many believe an Amazon tablet stands the best chance of stealing some of the popularity thunder from Apple’s iPad.

On Friday, Amazon invited select media outlets to a mysterious event, which will be held this Wednesday, September 28. The company did not say why they are holding the event, or what will be launched. But it doesn’t take a genius to deduce that a tablet is in the pipeline – we’ve been hearing quite a few details about the device for some time.

According to earlier reports, Amazon will release a 7-inch tablet, which is expected to be an extension of its Kindle e-reader line, but one that runs on Google’s Android operating system. A 10.1 inch version will reportedly be released sometime next year. MG Seigler of TechCrunch, describes the “Amazon Kindle” tablet as “very similar” in look and “form-factor” to the BlackBerry PlayBook.

The timing of Amazon’s event is telling. If the rumors are true, Apple will unveil the iPhone 5 on October 4 – a little less than a week after the Amazon event. By holding an event this week, Amazon positions itself to steal the tech press spotlight in the lead-up to the alleged Apple event. After that, it’ll be all Apple all the time.

Amazon's 7-inch Android tablet coming in November

We have been hearing rumors about the upcoming Amazon tablet for months, but now we finally have some solid information according to TechCrunch. They have had hands-on contact with a 7-inch tablet which resembles BlackBerry’s PlayBook that is simply called the Amazon Kindle, no fancy code names here. The tablet is reported to be released sometime in November for just $250.

The $250 price point will put it in direct competition with Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color, and come in at half the price of Apple’s cheapest iPad. Both devices have 7-inch screens and highly modified versions of Android. The Kindle does not have a camera, or any buttons on the front of the device.

The version of Android on the Kindle is based around Android 2.2 Froyo, but is completely done-over by Amazon. The whole interface has been changed, and there is no sign of any Google applications on the device. Services go through Amazon for your reading, music listening, and app shopping needs. It also sounds like if the tablet receives any software updates that the end user most likely wouldn’t be able to notice due to how much the interface has been changed.

All rumors to date have predicted that Amazon would be releasing both a 7-inch and a 10-inch version as early as October. The fate of the larger tablet will be based on how well the first one sells, and if it matches Amazon’s expectations they will release the 10-inch tablet in early 2012.