Amazon Launches iPad Rival, The Kindle Fire

Amazon unveiled a tablet computer, the Kindle Fire, on Wednesday in a challenge to Apple's market-leading iPad.

The Kindle Fire has a seven-inch (17.78-centimeter) screen, smaller than the iPad's 9.7 inches (24.6 cms), and Wi-Fi connectivity, the Seattle-based online retail giant announced at a launch event in Manhattan.

Presenting the new tablet to the press, Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos said the Kindle Fire features a new Web browser called Amazon Silk.

He said Kindle Fire owners would have access to the 11,000 films and television shows in the Amazon library and the 17 million songs.

According to technology analysts, an Amazon tablet could pose the most serious challenge yet to Apple's dominance of the fast-growing market for touchscreen tablet computers.