Amazon prepping 8.9 inch Kindle Fire for Q2 of 2012

A larger, 8.9-inch Kindle Fire tablet could come as early as the 2Q of 2012. 

According to DigiTimes' unnamed sources, Amazon has opted for the 8.9-inch model over the 10.1 inch model to avoid competition:

Amazon is developing 8.9- and 10.1-inch next-generation Kindle Fire models and has selected an 8.9-inch model for launch by the end of the second quarter of 2012 due to LG Display's and Samsung Electronics' promotion of 8.9-inch panels and to avoid competition with 9.7-10.1-inch products offered by other vendors, the sources said. Foxconn will begin ODM production of 8.9-inch Kindle Fire in the middle of the second quarter of 2012, the sources indicated.

Of course, it has been rumored for quite some time that Amazon would offer several flavors of the Kindle Fire, and its recent success with consumers makes this all but an inevitablility. 

In fact, CNET cites a ChangeWave Research report that claims 22 percent of future tablet buyers want Amazon's Kindle Fire. The iPad is the only device that beat the Kindle Fire with 65 percent.

But that's not all Amazon migh have up its sleeve. As previously reported, it seems likely that Amazon will also release a Kindle smartphone sometime in 2012.