The Amazon Kindle tablet will boast a 7-inch form-factor, a multi-touch screen, run on Android and cost about half the price of the Apple iPad, according to a writer who claims to have seen the device.
MG Siegler of the influential TechCrunch blog says he has seen and played with a Design Verification Testing unit of the heavily-rumoured device, which is expected to arrive in November.
Amazon has yet to officially confirm it will launch a tablet.
Siegler, who claims he could not post any pictures as part of a seemingly covert hands-on, says the device can be likened to that of the BlackBerry Playbook in terms of form-factor.
A colour, touchscreen Kindle with Android
His report claims says the Amazon tablet will still be called a Kindle and will be the first device under that banner to boast a full-colour touchscreen.
"The device is a 7-inch tablet with a capacitive touch screen. It is multi-touch, but from what I saw, I believe the reports that it relies on a two-finger multi-touch (instead of 10-finger, like the iPad uses) are accurate.
"This will be the first Kindle with a full-color screen. And yes, it is back-lit. There is no e-ink to be found anywhere on this device."
'Nothing like Android you're used to'
Siegler also confirms that the device will be running Android, although the experience is likely to be hugely different from other Android tablets like the Motorola Xoom.
He adds: "As anticipated, Amazon has forked Android to build their own version for the Kindle. Simply put: it looks nothing like the Android you're used to seeing.
"The interface is all Amazon and Kindle. It's black, dark blue, and a bunch of orange. The main screen is a carousel that looks like Cover Flow in iTunes which displays all the content you have on the device."
Half the price of the iPad
Perhaps most tellingly, TechCrunch says that the device will ship for around $250 (£170 as a direct conversion), which is half the price of the cheapest Apple iPad model in the US.
The recent HP TouchPad fire sale has shown that there is massive mainstream interest in competitively priced tablets.
Siegler also adds that a 10-inch version of the device is also on the way, but those plans have been delayed until early 2012.
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