I was reading through Google News and noticed that Amazon is supposed to announce its new tablet on September 28, 2011. With my curiousity piqued, I went to Google and the best information I could find is on TechCrunch. No pictures, no nothing. I guess I will have to wait like everyone else until September 28th.

Again, the device is a 7-inch tablet with a capacitive touch screen. It is multi-touch, but from what I saw, I believe the reports that it relies on a two-finger multi-touch (instead of 10-finger, like the iPad uses) are accurate. This will be the first Kindle with a full-color screen. And yes, it is back-lit. There is no e-ink to be found anywhere on this device.

Earlier this week, reports suggested that a 7-inch Amazon tablet could be released in October, with a larger, 10-inch version to follow next year. That’s somewhat accurate. As of right now, Amazon’s only definitive plan is to release this 7-inch Kindle tablet and they’re targeting the end of November to do that. The version I saw was a DVT (Design Verification Testing) unit. These have started floating around the company. It’s ready, they’re just tweaking the software now. If it’s not in production yet, it will be very soon.

Originally, Amazon had planned to launch a 7-inch and a 10-inch tablet at the same time. But that plan changed this summer. Now they’re betting everything on the 7-inch. If it’s a hit, they will release the more expensive 10-inch tablet in Q1 2012.

So how much will the 7-inch Kindle cost? $250.

Yes, Amazon has been able to trim the cost of the device to half of the entry-level iPad. And it will be the same price as Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color, which this will very obviously compete with directly. Both have 7-inch color touch screens. Both run Android.

Read the rest here at TechCrunch.

There is also a rundown of the Amazon Kindle Tablet and some of its new features here at InformationWeek.

1. It Runs Android: The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, and InformationWeek’s sources all confirm that the tablet runs Google’s Android platform, though which version is still unknown.
It won’t look like anything we’ve already seen on an Android device, however. It will have its own user interface, its own menus, and its own app store from which to download applications. Amazon is not collaborating with Google on this version of Android, it is Amazon’s own variant.

2. It will have a small screen: Don’t expect Amazon to field a 10-inch monster tablet. It won’t. The device to be introduced on September 28 will have a 7-inch capacitive touch display. It will be back-lit, full-color, and will not use the e-ink technology used in Amazon’s Kindle e-readers.

3. It will have simple hardware features: Don’t expect the Kindle tablet to be a powerful mobile computer. The tablet won’t have a camera, it won’t have a lot of on-board storage (probably limited to 6GB), and it will not have a top-of-the-line processor. It will have Wi-Fi at launch, but no 3G (which is expected to come later.)

4. It will rely on Amazon’s cloud services: As part of the operating system–and the real reason for Amazon to bring such a product to market–the Kindle tablet will rely heavily on Amazon’s online content. This means e-books, MP3 Store and Cloud Drive, Amazon Prime movie streaming, etc. The Kindle tablet will be a media consumption device. It will be a way for Amazon to sell content to consumers–one that doesn’t require stand-alone PC.

5. It’ll be cheap: While Apple may have set the tone for tablet pricing with its $499 iPad entry fee, Amazon is going to undercut that price point as much as possible. In July, the Wall Street Journal posited that the Kindle tablet would be “half as much” as the iPad. TechCrunch says the price will be $250. This low price point will be the real killer feature of the Kindle tablet. A $250 price point is a much easier sell than a $499 one, let alone the $800+ price point that some tablets have earned.