Amazon: From E-Reader to 7'' Android Tablet

Following Amazon's successful launch of the Kindle e-book reader and the continuing buzz in the tablet market, we were kind of wondering when the world's most prominent e-tailer would join in the fun. Now it seems that reporters at TechCrunch have apparently seen an advanced prototype of Amazon's imminent tablet, which goes by the name of the Kindle Tablet. The prototype in question was a 7-inch tablet with a capacitive touchscreen similar to those already seen on the market—no innovative display technology in the pipeline here then.

The Kindle Tablet has a 6 GB memory that can be easily extended with an SD card and ... well, that's about all actually. These limited tech specs go some way to explain the tablet's relatively low price of under $250 in the US. One of the most interesting things TechCrunch noted in its brief hands-on was the presence of Android 2.2 Froyo with a totally new custom interface developed by Amazon.
Amazon has in fact swept all the Google tools out of the OS and has replaced them with Amazon applications and services arranged in a carousel-type menu. In fact, the tablet TechCruch saw had an entirely different interface to other Android devices, right down to the application store, as the Kindle Tablet apparently links directly to the Amazon Android Appstore rather than Google's Market. That said, we do have to wonder just how much Amazon can really set itself apart from the competition with a device that's nothing special on the tech front ...

Amazon's tablet seems to be on schedule for release before the end of the year with an official presentation lined for November.