Amazon Kindle Fire tablet reportedly to be unveiled Wednesday

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Hype about the long awaited tablet computer from Amazon.com has caught fire as media speculated it would offer the first serious competition to the Apple iPad.

Perhaps appropriately, the Amazon tablet will be called the Kindle Fire, according to tech site TechCrunch, and will be unveiled Wednesday at a news conference.

Amazon undoubtedly wanted to differentiate the Fire from Kindle e-readers already on sale from the retailer, and hopes to win big with holiday shoppers when it starts shipping in November, TechCrunch said.

Previous reports have indicated that the gadget will be a 7-inch tablet with a full-color touchscreen, running a version of Android customized by Amazon.

Originally, unnamed sources indicated a $250 price tag, but now TechCrunch said that device may retail for $300, possibly with an Amazon Prime subscription thrown in.

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