Amazon to launch tablet this week?

Amazon has invited international media to an event in New York City this Wednesday, prompting speculation the company is ready to release its much-rumoured tablet.

Analysts have been discussing the tablet for months, with many regarding it as the only device capable of challenging Apple's iPad.

One market research firm even went so far as to predict how many units the company could sell by the end of the year (it was five million).

Rumours say the device sports a 7-inch screen, runs Google's Android operating system, and will retail for US$250, half of the iPad's US$499.