Amazon’s tablet details revealed

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Rumours of an Amazon Kindle tablet have been traversing the interwebs for quite a while now and those of you holding out for the much-speculated mystery device will be glad to hear that some solid details have emerged at last, courtesy of the folks over at Tech Crunch.

Hardware

No official pictures are available as yet but the single core-powered device is reported to be very similar to the BlackBerry Playbook, thanks to its 7in capacitive backlit screen and black rubberised back, although there will be no camera present and only 6GB of memory available. The device will be a Wi-Fi-only affair at launch, although a 3G version is also in the works.

The new Kindle will be powered by a very heavily modified older version of Android, where Google’s apps and Market will be replaced by Amazon’s own App and Content Stores – no doubt an effort to increase its already tight grip on the online market.

Services

Amazon’s Cloud and Instant Video players are also included and with only 6GB of onboard storage, these cloud-based services will certainly see a lot of use. A Kindle app similar to the iOS and Android versions will of course also be included.

Price

A tantalisingly tempting price of US$250 has been announced, which competes directly with the Nook colour, and importantly slices the cost to half that of the cheapest iPad. Amazon is also offering a year’s free Amazon Prime subscription (worth $79) to sweeten the deal.

Overall the new Kindle is set to be a strong player, even in the increasingly saturated tablet market. Due to be released at the end of November, with a 10in version slated for a 2012 release, things look to be heating up even more in the tablet wars. Game on.

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Dan is Editor-in-chief of Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website. Our Editor-in-Chief is a regular at tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as well as at other launches and events. He has been a CES Innovation Awards judge. Dan is completely platform agnostic and very at home using and writing about Windows, macOS, Android and iOS/iPadOS plus lots and lots of gadgets including audio and smart home gear, laptops and smartphones. He's also been interviewed and quoted in a wide variety of places including The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4, Sky News Radio and BBC Local Radio.