A new report suggests Amazon is well on its way to making this happen. Blogger Nick Bilton in Friday's New York Times that Amazon appears to be on a hiring spree for mobile developers with Android expertise. In fact, the company has posted five job openings for Android programmers in the past week.

Of course, this news alone doesn't mean that an Android-based tablet from Amazon is imminent. But viewed in context with recent Amazon rumors, it's a strong indication of the company's upcoming tablet intentions.

App Store for Android?

Earlier this week, an alleged appeared briefly online before being taken down. The store's prices on many Android apps were reportedly lower than those of the main . Assuming that Amazon is gearing up to launch its own Android app store, wouldn't a companion tablet make sense?

Of course, there are plenty of mobile devices that run Android today, and Amazon would have a ready market of customers even if it decides not to ship an iPad-like competitor. But with the success of the Kindle e-reader-- to have sold "millions" of the devices--the online retailer is in a strong position to sell a house-branded Android slate.