Amazon in talks to buy TI mobile chip arm

STRATEGIC MOVE: Bezos walking off the stage after unveiling the Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire HD 8.9in and 7in during an event in California on Sep 6, 2012. Amazon.Com is in advanced talks to buy the supplier of processors for its Kindle tablet, in a move that will see the company save production costs and help it design better products. - Reuters

SEATTLE (Washington): Amazon.Com Inc is in advanced talks to buy the supplier of processors for its Kindle tablet computer, Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist reported, a step toward vertical integration that could portend a push into smartphones.

The report said any deal for the smartphone chip business of Texas Instruments Inc (TI) would probably be worth billions of dollars and could make Amazon, led by founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos, a direct rival to Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which also design their own chips.