New reports from TechCrunch and Digitimes say Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has increased its order for the Kindle Fire tablet by another 1 million units in the face of greater-than-expected demand. With its previous production order estimated at 4 million units, the additional order means that a grand total of 5 million Kindle Fire devices could be in circulation by the end of this year. 

And as reported by BGR, this will give tablet incumbent Amazon roughly 8 percent of the 2011 tablet market, placing the Kindle Fire right behind Apple's own iPad tablet in total shipments by company. 

Top Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) executives recently said that the Amazon Kindle Fire could fragment the fledging Android platform, indirectly benefitting its iPad. While this is true on one level, the extraordinarily strong entrance of the Kindle Fire and its close integration to Amazon's store front could establish it as a platform perceived to be independent of the Android ecosystem.

Indeed, the dramatic entrance of the Kindle Fire onto the tablet scene could well be the catalyst that causes Apple to consider building a smaller tablet device, based on a recent report on how the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is thinking hard about a 7-inch iPad. 

For more on this story:
- check out this article at TechCrunch
- check out this article at Apple Insider

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