The tablet, which would vie with Apple’s iPad 2, among other products, will be one of three new hardware products from Amazon coming in the third quarter, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The other devices are a touch-screen version of the Kindle and an “improved and cheaper adaptation” of the current Kindle, which sells for $139. (Amazon on Wednesday also cut the price of its Kindle 3G, which works off AT&T’s wireless network, from $189 to $139.) Though the report states that the tablet won’t have a camera, no further details were provided.
Rumors of an Amazon tablet have circulated since May. In particular, Peter Rojas of Gdgt speculated that an Android-based tablet made from Samsung was on the way.
Such a device might make sense since the market for ereaders seems to be splitting between single-function devices like the Kindle and the iPad. Amazon rival Barnes & Noble is attempting to address both segments of the market with its Nook Color — whose latest iteration includes support for Android 2.2 (Froyo) and Adobe Flash along with an app store with hundreds of apps — and Simple Touch, a $139 device that competes head-to-head with Kindle.
Amazon reps could not be reached for comment on the report.
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