Amazon's 'Kindle Fire' tablet: What to expect

By JR Raphael (@jr_raphael)

Psst...have you heard? One of the industry's worst-kept secrets is about to be uncovered.

Amazon is expected to introduce its "Kindle Fire" tablet tomorrow. The long-discussed tablet is rumored to run a customized version of Android made to highlight Amazon's retail offerings.

While nothing official has been announced just yet, we've seen enough intentional plants by Amazon PR detailed leaks by anonymous sources to get a pretty good picture of what Amazon may have in store.

Here's what we're expecting.

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UPDATE: It's official! See my follow-up story, Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet: Some important perspective, for details and analysis.
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• Amazon's tablet will likely be 7 inches in size.

Some reports have suggested that a larger 10-inch tablet could arrive early next year. For now, though, a 7-incher is the size most people expect to see (insert "that's what she said" joke here).

• Amazon's tablet may not have the best hardware.

In its rush to get a tablet on the market, Amazon outsourced its hardware design to the same company that built the not-so-slick RIM PlayBook, according to the crew from gdgt.com. The gdgt gang says the inaugural Amazon tablet looks a lot like the PlayBook. It has a slower processor than Amazon had initially wanted, gdgt claims, and is considered to be a mere "stopgap" in order to get something on the shelves by the holiday season. The tablet is not expected to have any cameras.

• Amazon's tablet probably won't be available for another month.

Though the Amazon tablet is expected to be announced this week, it won't actually ship until the second week in November, according to TechCrunch (the recipient of most of the planted info leaked details). Odds are, we'll see an on-stage demo this week, at the very least -- but the product may not be ready for any real hands-on time just yet.

• The Amazon tablet will likely run Android -- but it won't look like Android.

Amazon is said to have effectively built its own interface off of the Android OS. Some reports suggest it may be based on a version as old as Android 2.1, but as a user, you probably won't be able to tell from general use; rumor has it Amazon has customized this thing out the yin-yang to create a unique look and feel that barely resembles the Android we know. That said, many apps require a minimum of Android 2.2 or Android 2.3 to operate -- not to mention the numerous tablet apps designed to run only on Android 3.0 and higher -- so there could potentially be some drawbacks there.

• The Amazon tablet probably won't revolve around Google services.

As part of its departure from Google's Android interface, Amazon is supposedly ditching the Google services and going with its own alternatives -- which certainly makes sense. Amazon, after all, wants you to buy apps from its app store. It wants you to rely on its storefront for your movie, book, and TV purchases. And it wants you to use its Amazon Cloud Drive service for all your music storing and purchasing needs. Why do you think it's making a tablet in the first place?

Make no mistake about it: If things progress the way they sound, this won't be an "Android tablet" in any recognizable way. It'll be an Amazon tablet, plain and simple.

• The Amazon tablet will be made for media consumption.

Amazon has already inked deals with numerous major magazine publishers, according to All Things D, and will be ready to offer integrated digital subscriptions within its new device. Other reports suggest deals have also been sealed with video-oriented companies like Fox in order to expand the tablet's streaming selection. When it comes to books, of course, Amazon is already set and ready to serve.

• The Amazon tablet could be pretty cheap to buy.

The specific numbers have varied, but most reports point to a fairly low price tag for Amazon's first tablet. The most common figures seem to be in the ballpark of $250 to $300, which may or may not include a free Amazon Prime membership.

• Oh, and about that name...

TechCrunch is the place that's predicting the Kindle Fire name. According to its report, that moniker is meant to "help differentiate the product" from Amazon's standard E Ink Kindles (which won't be going anywhere).

One way or another, this promises to bring an interesting new option into the tablet market -- one that's bound to attract a lot of consumer attention. We're about to have a major new player in the game, folks, and from the looks of it, it'll be playing on a team all its own. 

Amazon's news conference kicks off at 10 a.m. ET Wednesday, so the mystery -- or, more likely, lack thereof -- will be over soon. Stay tuned.

JR Raphael writes about smartphones and other tasty technology. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

Article copyright 2011 JR Raphael. All rights reserved.