Buoyed by the success of its Kindle and Kindle Fire, giant online retailer Amazon may dip its finger further to the lucrative smartphone market as report emerges that another Kindle handset will be introduced to consumers as early as next year.

Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos, analysts said, could soon pull up the next gadget blueprint for his billion-dollar company following the huge success of his E-Book reader and his tablet initiative.

It's not far off that Bezos could be contemplating of putting together an Amazon smartphone, according to Citigroup, that could effectively compete in the market presently dominated by Apple and Google.

According to TheWrap.com, it is not impossible for Bezos to plot the same path that cemented Steve Jobs' stature as a definitive tech icon and made Google the dominant player it is today in the tech industry.

Quoting Citigroup analysts Mark Mahaney and Kevin Chang, the tech news site has reported on Thursday that Amazon could be working on its next gadget and this time around, it will be a smartphone set for release next year.

"With the clear success of the Kindle e-Reader over the past 3 years, and Kindle Fire possibly succeeding in the low-priced Tablet market, we view this as the next logical step for Amazon," the two Citigroup analysts was reported by Reuters as saying on Friday.

"We continue to believe Amazon has now set its eyes on the Mobile (and Tablet) Media and Product," Mahaney and Chang added.

What mostly motivates Amazon to compete head-on with Apple and Google, Citigroup said, is the prospect of attracting millions of consumers to utilise the Amazon retail portal sites in purchasing their media content needs.

Bezos, according to Mahaney and Chang, does not intend to capitalise on the marketability of Amazon's gadgets, and instead aims to deploy affordable devices that enable online shoppers to be directed to Amazon sites where they can then make their purchases.

That ploy, evidently, is an attempt to take away market shares from both Apple and Google, which had earlier established online retail dominance with their respective iTunes Store and Android App Market.

Google even put up a rival music store for online downloads when it launched this week a site similar to that of iTunes Music Store.

As for Amazon, its focus is the long-term possibility of building enough client base that would patronise its online media offerings, which Citigroup said, should be made easier by upcoming smartphones that can be bought in less than $200.