Amazon's Kindle has been a massive success for the online retailer and they're now looking for the same kind of success with their Android-based tablet offering.
The LCD Android tablet is going to be powered by Texas Instruments processor and will be assembled by Taiwan-based Quanta Computer’s according to the latest rumours .
According to sources in the know the tablet could be on sale as early as August. The specs are still under wraps, but it would have to have certain level of spec as Android Honeycomb has a minimum spec-level for all Android 3.0 devices.
So a dual-core processor, some form of camera and a full-colour display capable of 720p viewing is a given – and if it wants to compete with the iPad it has to be on par with it’s competitors.
Amazon is hoping to sell 4 million devices in 2011 - which seems like a lot to us, but if it does happen it would be just the sort of boost that Google needs with its tablet operating system as it looks to snatch market share from Apple and it’s iPad .
For Amazon to come close to selling that amount it is likely that the will go down the same route as the Kindle and make it substantially cheaper than its competition - so don’t be surprised if it comes in at under £300.
Taiwan-based Quanta Computer has already received orders from to build the retail giant’s first tablet PC. The new tablet will apparently use E Ink’s Fringe Field Switching LCD technology, suggesting it will be a color LCD touch panel.
Sources said that Amazon has been under pressure to release a tablet to compete with the iPad since Kindle sales haven’t done well outside of North America and Europe. A new tablet would also tap into Amazon’s recently opened AppStore and its new Amazon Cloud Drive.
There is no word on the size of the first Android device that Amazon is looking at releasing, but it is either going to be 7 or 10.1 inches and whichever one it is, the opposite size will be on its way shortly after.
When asked last month by Consumer Reports about the possibility of Amazon selling its own tablet, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos cagely replied, “stay tuned.” Bezos also said during the interview that if Amazon were to do a tablet, it wouldn’t replace the Kindle but be sold alongside it.