Apple iPad may have been the lone cruiser among the tablet computers but now Amazon Kindle tablet may pose serious challenge.

Amazon Kindle e-reader has given the users the privilege to shop, download, browse and read e-books, newspapers, magazines, blogs and other digital media. Now MG Siegler from TechChrunch confirms that Amazon Kindle Tablet is a real bet.

Those who were fondly using the e-reader are in for a treat as Amazon Kindle tablet, powered by Android operating system, is expected to carry all the goodies to challenge the Apple iPad 2, the market leader.

The Amazon’s tablet features a 7-inch multi-touch capacitive screen with two-finger based gesture. Steve Jobs had once stated that 7-inch is not ideal for tablet: “These are among the reasons that the current crops of 7-inch tablets are going to be DOA — dead on arrival.” And it was true in the case of Samsung’s 7-inch tablet and RIM BlackBerry Playbook, which didn’t do well as expected. But this time around, it may be different with Amazon’s Kindle tablet.

When the first generation Kindle was launched, it sold out in five-and-a-half-hours and the device remained out of stock for over five months. And the e-reader was featuring a 6-inch display screen. The Kindle reader's popularity was so high that according to IDC study from March 2011, sales for all e-book readers worldwide gained to 12.8 millions in 2010 and 48 percent of them were Kindle models.

Also James McQuivey of Forrester Research estimated it to be around four million as of mid-2010. In March 2011, AT&T stores officially started sales of the Amazon Kindle. Amazon had earlier stated that digital books were outselling their traditional print counterparts for the first time ever on its site beginning of 2011 and Kindle 3 is considered to be the fastest selling Kindle ever.

Traditionally, the reason why Apple iPad has remained on top was due to Apple's focus on software experience to make it refined and polished for consumer’s usage rather than beefy specifications. Although other tablets outshine Apple iPad in terms of specifications and size, iPad with its innovative design and user-friendly features attracted the majority of users who are not geeks but simple users. As of now although iPhone remained the top selling smartphone, it is slowly losing credibility as many Android smartphones are offering the same or better user experience.

Similarly, the tide is expected to shift from Apple iPad towards Amazon Kindle tablet as Kindle e-reader is already a user-favorite machine. And with Kindle going to transform into a tablet, the users will have the privilege to see their favorite machine having colors and all those amazing features a tablet possesses. With Android operating system overtaking iOS quite a few times, the connection with Kindle is going to double its productivity.

Amazon has retained its customers by reducing the price of the Kindle e-reader and with Amazon tablet going to be priced at $250, half of the entry-level iPad consumers are in for a treat.

The technical specifications of the tablet are: 7-inch touch screen display, exterior look like Blackberry Playbook, 6GB of internal storage, single core CPU processor, Wi-Fi equipped, micro-USB port, dual speakers, and it runs custom forked build of Android OS, uses WebKit based web browser, with Cover Flow-like user interface to flip through content. It has a Dock for apps and favorite items, and has been integrated with Amazon Store, Kindle books, music from Amazon Cloud Player, default Google Search, video streaming, Amazon’s Android Appstore, free Amazon Prime account and 10 hours or more of battery life.

But Apple's iPad 2 has high end specifications like 9.7-inch screen, dual-core processor, iTunes Store, App Store, MobileMe, iBookstore, Safari, Game Center, Photo Booth and 10 hours of battery life.

Regardless of specifications, it depends how consumers look at iPad 2, Amazon Kindle tablet. Amazon has all the tools necessary to compete against Apple and with the tablet launch, we can expect a stiff rivalry.

However, the possibility of a 10-inch Amazon tablet is not ruled out as Amazon also has a Kindle DX e-reader version featuring a 9.7-inch display. MG Siegler thinks that the 10-inch version may contain the dual core chip.

And with Amazon testing a redesign of its website ahead of the tablet launch, serious efforts to promote the device via Amazon.com is expected soon. Secondly, it is also planning to give buyers a free subscription to Amazon Prime.

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