Staples president reportedly expects as many as six new Kindles

By Salvador Rodriguez

July 23, 2012 12 AM PT

Staples President Demos Parneros said he expects Amazon will launch five or six new Kindle devices, according to a report.

Parneros also said that among those six, he expects one of them to have a 10-inch screen to match up with Apple’s iPad.

The comments from Staples’ chief were reported Monday by The Telegraph, which said Parneros comments back up those of others who are saying Amazon may have several new devices ready later this year and likely in time for the holidays.

In the last couple of months, rumors have intensified that Amazon is going deeper into the hardware end of tech.

Last month, a report came out saying the Seattle company could announce and launch a Kindle Fire 2 as soon as July following Google’s announcement of the 7-inch screen Nexus 7, a direct competitor to the Kindle Fire.

That was followed by reports that Amazon is also working on a smartphone, which came after the company purchased a mapping software start-up as well as hired a former Microsoft phone executive.

The obvious possibilities are a smartphone, new Kindle Fire and 10-inch Kindle, but that leaves the other two items Parneros expects unclear. He could be counting newer versions of Amazon’s Kindle Touch or Kindle, or he could just be wrong. Regardless, the next time Amazon makes a hardware announcement, we could be in for exciting news.

Staples could not be reached to confirm Parneros’ comments, and Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.