Following months of uncertainty, speculation is rife that Microsoft is about to unveil  its own tablet as the company looks to take a chunk out of either Apple’s or Amazon’s pie with its own branded device.

It’s been revealed that Microsoft has scheduled an event for next Monday, June 18 at 3.30 pm PST  in Los Angeles, where it will make a “major”, as yet undisclosed announcement. So secretive is Microsoft, that not even the name of the venue has been announced.

The uncertainty over what Microsoft is planning has led to rumors on the web from various outlets. All Things D, quoting its own inside sources, is claiming that Microsoft intends to throw down the gauntlet and challenge Apple’s iPad directly, while The Wrap has concluded that the company will be unveiling a new, Microsoft-made tablet. ZDNet has their own suspicions however, and believes that what Microsoft has under wraps is actually a competitor to the Amazon Kindle.

So which one could it be?

Well, there have been rumors of a Microsoft tablet for years, but nothing has ever come of them up until now. This time, things could be different, as Microsoft has been developing its Windows RT for a while, an operating system which is designed to run on the ARM chips that are widely used in smartphones.

However, The Kindle challenger could yet be a more realistic interpretation of what Microsoft has up its sleeve. Let’s not forget, Microsoft recently entered into a strategic partnership with Barnes & Noble to accelerate the transition to e-reading.

We would also do well to remember that Microsoft does actually have experience with e-reading hardware. The company previously dabbled with a product called the Courier, an e-reader device that was notable for its duel seven-inch screens. The Courier was consigned to the scrapheap back in 2010 without ever making it to the shelves of course, but could Microsoft now be about to revive it?

For that, we’ll just have to wait until Monday to see.