iPad rival - Amazon Kindle tablet with games imminent

The iPad has seriously dented the appeal of the Kindle but a recent batch of job postings suggest Amazon is on the cusp of fighting back with its own touchscreen tablet. While iPad UK launch is next Friday, it seems a next generation Amazon Kindle tablet could be just around the corner…

Amazon acquired Touchco, a small touchscreen maker, back in February, immediately sparking talk of a Kindle Touch but it seems the ebook giant may have something bigger in mind.

Lab 126, the Amazon division dedicated to developing the Kindle, recently advertised for three new recruits – a software quality assurance engineer, a software development test engineer and a buyer/planner. Those are all jobs that need doing when a product is nearly ready to launch.

The New York Times reports that Amazon is actively developing an iPad rival that will pack an LCD touchscreen and feature not only ebooks but games. It says sources within the company have told it that Amazon has been meeting games publishers to discuss titles for the new Kindle.

Steve Jobs said when he launched iBooks: “Amazon’s done a great job of pioneering this functionality with the Kindle. And we’re going to stand on their shoulders and go a bit further.” It seems as if Amazon may return the favour with an Amazon Kindle iPad rival that attempts to battle the success of games in the iTunes App Store.

Amazon has made sure it’s represented on other devices with the iPad Kindle app and today’s announcement of the Android Kindle app but it’s obviously not over the idea of having its own hardware. Do you think an Amazon iPad rival can catch up with Apple?

Due TBC | £TBC | Amazon (via New York Times)

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