The announcement of a preloaded Hulu+ app comes only a week before the Kindle Fire is expected to ship. (Image via creative commons, credit paz.ca)

Hulu+ will come preloaded on the 7-inch Kindle Fire along with apps from Netflix, Pandora, and Twitter, a move from Amazon that seems to be a response to Barnes and Noble's own announcement of a Nook Tablet, which also releases next week.

From Digital Trends:

Earlier in the week, when Barnes & Noble unveiled its new Nook Tablet, it proudly announced that Netflix, Hulu Plus and Pandora would come preloaded on the device, pointing out that Amazon’s Kindle Fire would not. But that was then.

On Wednesday, Amazon took some of the shine off Barnes & Noble’s announcement when it released a statement saying that actually the Kindle Fire would be coming preloaded with Netflix and Pandora, together with apps for Facebook, Rhapsody, Twitter, Comics by comiXology, and the Weather Channel, among others.

And now news has come that the Fire will also have support for Hulu Plus, along with ESPN’s ScoreCenter, which allows sports fans to keep track of the latest scores from various sports leagues and competitions around the world.

The Kindle Fire is available for preordering for $199 and is set to begin shipping next week. The device will use a heavily modified version of Google's Android operating system.

Amazon is expected to keep tight control over which applications appear will in its app store, an approach similar to Apple's handling of their app market.

Hulu+ requires an $8 monthly subscription, and allows streaming of movies and television shows from networks like NBC, Fox, and Comedy Central.

Reach reporter Shea Huffman by email, or follow him on Twitter.