Amazon tablet 'will launch in October'

Amazon’s much-anticipated tablet is set to launch in October, reports suggest.

The company, which already has its own Android app store and sells digital music and movies, has already seen significant success with its Kindle ereader. A tablet, likely to be based on Google’s Android operating system, is thought by many commentators to be one of a very few that could seriously challenge Apple’s iPad.

Sources told the Wall Street Journal that Amazon's tablet will “have a roughly nine-inch screen and will run on Google's Android platform”. Unlike the iPad or most other major tablets, however, it will apparently not have a camera.

The same reports claimed that Amazon was working on a tablet of its own design that would launch next year, but that it would launch one designed by another company this October.

On Thursday, Sony also previewed its S1 and S2 tablet devices, featuring a single screen in a teardrop casing, and two separate, connected screens respectively. At an event in London, spokespeople said that the devices would launch in the autumn in the UK, but no demonstration units were available.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that new Kindles, including a model with a touchscreen, were also set to be released later in the year.

Talking to Consumer Reports earlier in the year, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was keen to stress that the Kindle, Amazon’s dedicated ereader would not be replaced by a tablet. He said: “We will always be very mindful that we will want a dedicated reading device.”

He added: “In terms of any other product introductions, I shouldn’t answer.” However, Consumer Reports also said that Bezos said people should “stay tuned” for more news on the company’s plans.

Sources at technology manufacturer Quanta have also said that the Taiwanese company was preparing to produce up to 800,000 tablets per month for Amazon.