Amazon Expected to Unveil Tablet-Like Kindle Fire Wednesday

Amazon is set to bring color to the Kindle when it unveils Kindle Fire at an announcement expected Wednesday.

The Kindle, the world's most popular e-book reader, will become a color, touch-screen tablet device to be known as Kindle Fire, according to the blog TechCrunch.

Last Friday, Amazon sent invitations to a press event scheduled for Wednesday. The company didn't say what would be presented, but Tech Crunch was told earlier in September that it would be a new Kindle tablet.

The blog has since said it has confirmed that the Kindle Fire will be unveiled Wednesday in New York City.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is expected to give a demonstration of the Kindle Fire on stage. But the device won't be ready for shipment until the second week of November, according to Tech Crunch.

Here are the specs, according to Tech Crunch:

- A 7-inch backlit display tablet that looks similar to the BlackBerry PlayBook;

- Wi-Fi only (no 3G version);

- Touch-screen navigation;

- Glowing LED screen instead of paper-like e-ink;

- Android operating system.

The current Kindle will remain on sale.

Amazon has also been inking last-minute deals with the likes of Fox for movies and TV shows through their streaming video service, which will be a key part of the Fire, the blog said. And they have several publishers on board for magazine offerings, as Peter Kafka reports. ... The Fire will rely heavily on Amazon's MP3 service and, of course, the Kindle bookstore.

The price of the device is uncertain at this time, but the blog was initially told it would be between $250 and $300.