Amazon to release Android-powered tablet in Oct?

Amazon is reportedly gearing up to release its tablet later this year, but without any frills

The elusive but teasingly-hinted-at Amazon tablet has been on everyone’s mind since a report surfaced earlier this year suggesting that Amazon could beat Apple in the tablet market, given the extent of its brand awareness among consumers.  We may find out soon how true that is, as Amazon is reportedly gearing up to release its Android-powered tablet in October 2011. 

The news comes from sources close to Amazon who told the Wall Street Journal that the tablet will have a nine-inch screen, and unlike the iPad 2, it won’t have a camera.  Interestingly, Amazon doesn’t plan to stop there, according to the sources, who divulged the eCommerce giant’s plans to release a second tablet next year. 

The difference will be the fact that Amazon is not designing this tablet (according to the sources) and is having an Asian manufacturer produce the hardware for it.  But the next tablet will reportedly be an original Amazon design.

In another report from the New York Times, sources from within the company explained that one of the hurdles Amazon faces is the pricing issue.  The iPad ranges in price from $500 to $850, depending on the type, and there’s no point in trying to compete with an established brand like Apple if you can’t offer something better.  One way that Amazon is attempting to do this is by reportedly offering only the absolute bare-bones needed to make a tablet, thus: limited memory and no camera.

That better be one cheap-ass tablet. I don’t plan to pay $450 for a stripped down iPad look-alike when I can get the real deal in all its glory for another $50.

No word yet on what the pricing system for the new Amazon tablet will be (I made up the $450 to make a point—don’t quote me on it). 

Image source: guim.co.uk