kindlefirehd

TechCrunch is reporting this morning that Amazon is currently has a $99 Kindle Fire 7″ tablet in production that is set to ship later this year.

While these are still rumors, reporter Sarah Perez has a few specific details she’s heard from sources, including that the $99 tablet will have a Texas Instruments processor and 1280×800 resolution, just like the current $199 7″ version.

Amazon also still offers its non-HD Kindle Fire 7″ for $159.

Just last week, Amazon lowered the price of the Kindle Fire 8.9″ by $30 down to $269 and reduced the 4G version to $399, which is $100 down from the previous price of $499.

The $99 price point is certainly low, but you can find other similar Android tablets on the cheap. Both Google and Acer are prepping to debut $99 tablets themselves, and there are tons of other lower-level Android-based tablets out there.

But quality is certainly an area where the Kindle may have an advantage, as well as the vast Amazon digital media library. Keep in mind that CEO Jeff Bezos never wanted to make profit on the tablet hardware itself.

Do you think a $99 Kindle tablet would impact Microsoft and its Surface tablet?

UPDATE, 12:45 P.M. — Amazon is now denying the rumors of the $99 Kindle Fire HD 7″ tablet

Previously on GeekWire: Amazon expands ‘Send to Kindle’ feature with website integration 

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