Amazon has scheduled a press conference in New York for Wednesday with the word on the street that it will unveil a Kindle tablet running Android.
News website Tech Crunch claimed to have played with a prototype that it said had a seven-inch screen while a 10-inch device was expected to be launched next year. The rumoured price for the smaller Kindle was about $250 - less than half the starting price for the iPad 2.
It was expected to be inclusive of membership – normally $US79 ($A80.41) – to the bookseller's Prime service that provided access to digital content. A book subscription service was expected to soon be included.
Users would also have access to the expanding Android app store.
Amazon announced the Wednesday press conference last Friday but provided no details. But an analyst interviewed by Reuters said he had no doubt that it was to launch the new Kindle.
"Wednesday is tablet day," said BGC partners analyst Colin Gillis.
A recent shopper survey by US online tech retailer Retrevo revealed surprisingly strong interest in a colour Kindle tablet.
Book giant Barnes and Noble was expected to release a 10-inch version of its Nook e-reader before the end of the year, hoping to woo bookworms who preferred its bigger size.
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