Is Amazon trying to become an electronics device manufacturer? Now that they have the Kindle, and a cheaper Kindle with ads, they’re aiming tablet next. Kindle Tab anyone?

According to Engadget founder Peter Rojas, Amazon is indeed working on a tablet and it’ll be released later on this year. Rojas claimed that the tablet would be an Android device and would launch this summer. Rojas says he’s “99 percent certain” Amazon has contracted Samsung to manufacture its tablet.

However, Amazon’s approach will be slightly different, as is the case with B&N’s NOOK Color. Amazon might use Android as a base but build a totally customized experience that “tightly integrates Amazon services.” Yes, you won’t get a Honeycomb Kindle.

“That integration would let Amazon charge a lot less for its tablet than it would otherwise,” writes Rojas. “The reason Barnes & Noble has been able to price the NOOK Color so aggressively ($250 versus $350 to $450 for comparably-sized and spec’d Android tablets) is because they’re assuming you’re going to buy a bunch of books from them over the course of owning it.”

Throw in Amazon Music, instant video, and apps from its new store and the company could end up selling quite a lot of content. So, just how cheap can they sell it if they’re banking on all that extra revenue? According to Rojas, Amazon could sell a 7-incher for as little as $199 if it had its heart set on being really aggressive. Something bigger than that, say 10 inches, might be more difficult to price competitively, pending on its specs.

SOURCE via GDGT