Amazon is to equip itself with patents aplenty to stave off any potential legal challenges form Apple when it launches its first smartphone.

That's according to Bloomberg, which claims Amazon is working with Chinese mobile manufacturer Foxconn on the device, all according to "two people with knowledge of the matter."

No soft touch

Having enjoyed a portion of success in the tablet market with the firm's Android-powered Kindle Fire in the US – success that will soon be challenged by Google's Nexus 7 – CEO Jeff Bezos is reportedly keen to expand Amazon's hand in the sector.

Indeed, an Amazon smartphone would enable the online retail giant to expand is strategy of generating revenue from digital books, songs and movies.

It's expected the device would automatically link up with the firm's respective digital marketplaces.

Talk of an Amazon smartphone comes days after China Times claimed the company has ramped up its plans for a revised Kindle Fire tablet, expected to launch at some point before the end of August.

[source: Bloomberg]