Last week, Amazon sent out invites for an event this Wednesday, leading many to speculate that the retailer had finally decided to unveil its Android-powered tablet that we first learned of almost exactly one year ago. Now a report from MG Siegler of TechCrunch (the same source of Amazon tablet details that leaked earlier this month) has emerged claiming that yes, Amazon will be announcing its tablet, and that it's calling the device the "Kindle Fire."

Siegler also shared some more information about the Kindle Fire, saying that the device will launch with a dual-core TI OMAP processor similar to the one found in the BlackBerry PlayBook, although the CPU's clock speed isn't known. The Kindle Fire will also reportedly launch without a built-in email client, although users will be able to download one through the Amazon Appstore or use the slate's web browser. Reports have also popped up that Amazon has been busy signing content deals with Fox (for streaming video) as well as magazine publishers in order to have plenty of video and print content ready for Fire users. One other quick note: originally the price for the Kindle Fire was rumored to be $250, but now it's being suggested that the price could actually be set at $300.

The same report from Siegler also touches on the successor to the Barnes & Noble Nook Color, referred to as the Nook Color 2. This new Nook Color is said to be packing a 1.2GHz TI OMAP core and Android 2.3, and the device will focus on better streaming and displaying of content. A major increase in the number of apps available to users will also be a focus of the new Nook. The Nook Color 2 could launch as soon as next month for $250.

So it looks like we'll have another entrant into the growing Android tablet market here in the next couple of days. Granted, this one runs a version of Android that'll look nothing like the Android you and I are used to, and will reportedly forgo pretty much all of the standard Android apps for Amazon's own offerings, but still! Anyone think they're hooked into Amazon's services enough to drop $250-$300 on a 7-inch Kindle Fire?

Via TechCrunch