One buyer willing to spend more than $300 was Jay Faulkner, a writer in Northern Ireland. He would be open to spending £250 ($387) to £350, depending on the features Amazon has decided to offer. A love of the Kindle e-reader and lack of decent Android tablets spurred his interest in an Amazon device.

"I'm not a fan of Apple products and always saw the iPad as a 'toy,'" Faulkner said. "None of the more recent tablets -- with the exception of the Motorola Xoom, which nearly tempted me -- have given me enough of a valid reason to purchase one."

The idea of a more sophisticated version of the Kindle with the functionality of a tablet is very appealing, Faulkner said. He owns an HTC Desire HD smartphone, which also runs on Android, and hopes for some level of compatibility between the two.