Last year Amazon introduced its 7-inch Kindle Fire tablet, which runs a heavily-tweaked version of Android 2.3, and now the online retailer is reportedly planning to move into the world of smartphones. According to "two people with knowledge of the matter" speaking to Bloomberg, Amazon is currently hard at work on its own smartphone. Details on the device are light, but one of the tipsters claims that the company is collaborating on the handset with phone manufacturing company Foxconn, while other Bloomberg sources say that Amazon is trying to acquire wireless patents to help protect itself against any potential claims of infringement.

While there's obviously a lot that's not yet know about this (still rumored) Amazon smartphone, the idea of the company building its own handset doesn't seem too far-fetched. While Amazon hasn't released Kindle Fire sales figures, many estimate that it's one of the most successful Android tablets to date. Combine the Fire's popularity with Amazon's several different services, like the Appstore for Android and Amazon Cloud Player, and it definitely appears that Amazon has many pieces with which to put together a smartphone. What do you all make of this rumor? Do you think you'd be interested in a phone from Amazon?

Via Bloomberg