Amazon to bash down Google, Apple with SIX new tablets - report

Undeterred by the stumbling of Kindle Fire, Amazon is reported to be preparing even more tablets.

Amazon plans six tablets, ranging in size, but including the 10-inch form factor, which seem to go beyond purely e-reading, Reuters claims.

Its report suggests the tablets will be tied into Amazon’s market, helping it sell more stock from its online warehouse.

IDC in May reported sales of the Kindle Fire had tumbled following strong initial success: the Kindle is now on 4 per cent of the US tablet market down from 16.8 per cent, pushing Amazon’s reader behind Apple's iPad and the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy units.

The analyst said that Samsung had taken advantage of people falling out of love with the Kindle Fire, with an upswing in Galaxy slab sales.

IDC added that the problem for Amazon, and others, was that their tablets were priced too high.

Currently, the Kindle Fire sells for $199 and comes with a 7-inch display, 8GB storage, Wi-Fi and the ability to view and surf the web, send and receive email and – yes – buy and read books from the Amazon store.

Reports of the new Kindles arrive against the backdrop of Microsoft's expected October release of Windows 8 RT tablets – including e-readers – which will run on the ARM chip set.

Microsoft has kept its Windows RT plans close to its chest, but executives have let slip a reader running this touch-friendly version of Windows 8 is coming.

Amazon, meanwhile, appears to have managed to poach a few execs from Microsoft’s Windows Phone team over the past few months. At least one is working on product management for the Kindle software on first- and third-party devices. ®