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Amazon 10.1-inch tablet to ship before the holidays?

The company is reportedly signing up Foxconn to build the device and plans to have it ready for shipment before the crucial holiday shopping season.

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Will the Kindle Fire have a 10.1-inch companion soon?
Will the Kindle Fire have a 10.1-inch companion soon? Amazon

Although Amazon has just unveiled a 7-inch tablet, a new report suggests the company is planning to launch a 10.1-inch model soon.

According to DigiTimes, citing anonymous sources, the e-commerce giant is planning to tap Taiwan-based Foxconn Electronics to start producing its rumored 10.1-inch tablet. Foxconn is expected to start shipping the tablet before the end of the year to meet "holiday season demand," DigiTimes' sources say.

Amazon on Wednesday unveiled a host of new Kindles, including its 7-inch Kindle Fire. The slate runs Android and allows users to connect to the Web via Wi-Fi. It also has 8GB of onboard storage, and allows users to access several Amazon services, including its cloud platform and the Kindle e-book store. Most importantly, the tablet will go on sale for just $199 when it launches in November.

Prior to the announcement of the Kindle Fire, rumors suggested that Amazon would launch a 7-inch tablet this year, and follow that up with a 10.1-inch model next year. At this week's Kindle event, Amazon didn't discuss plans for a 10.1-inch tablet, but Engadget spoke with the company's Kindle vice president, Russ Grandinetti, who said "stay tuned" when pressed about the possibility of the company launching a bigger slate.

Aside from potentially releasing another new tablet this year, there is some speculation that Amazon might be considering acquiring Hewlett-Packard's Palm division to bolster its mobile offerings.

Citing a source, Venturebeat reported today that Amazon is in "serious negotiations" with HP to acquire WebOS and all other Palm-related assets. Amazon has not commented on the possibility of such a deal, but if it happens, the acquisition could conceivably have an impact on the company's future tablet plans.

Amazon did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment on the DigiTimes report.