Leaked SKUs point to 5-6 new Kindle Fires

Amazon appears to be planning a Kindle Fire onslaught.

Right now, if you want an Amazon-branded tablet, you have one option – the $199 Kindle Fire.

But just like any good consumer electronic device, now that it has exploded in popularity, a whole slew of new versions of the device are in the pipeline.

According to a new Reuters report, based on statements by Staple’s US retail president, there will be either five or six new Amazon tablet SKUs this year.

There is some minor confusion as to what this means, but it would stand to reason that the majority of these SKUs just represent smaller or larger hard drives.

However, it is widely believed that Amazon will offer multiple distinct sizes of its popular tablet brand, instead of sticking to the 7-inch market it has so easily dominated over the last several months.

Among the rumors for the Kindle Fire brand is that Amazon plans to launch a full-size 10-inch tablet that will go head-to-head with the iPad and other Android tablets.

The Kindle Fire right now is filling a niche, but it admittedly can’t compete with more fully functional tablets because of its limited processing power and the curated app store that restricts what users can download.

In addition, Amazon is facing immense pressure right now following the launch of Google’s Nexus 7 tablet, which rivals the Kindle Fire in price and boasts much more functionality.