Amazon may be heating up more competition with Barnes and Noble.

A report from SlashGear said that Amazon is reportedly in "advanced negotiations" to acquire Texas Instruments' OMAP chip division.

This will bring the "chip design for the Kindle tablets in-house, and helping TI refocus on embedded systems."

"The deal in discussion, [Israeli newspaper] Calcalist reports, follows TI's public distancing from its own phone and tablet chip business in the face of rising competition from Qualcomm, Samsung, and others, though Amazon taking charge of OMAP could leave rivals Barnes & Noble in a tricky situation," the website reported.

This decision will put Amazon in direct competition with Barnes & Noble. B&N's NOOK Color and new NOOK HD/HD+ tablets all use Texas Instruments' OMAP processors, "potentially leaving them sourcing chips from a company owned by their direct rival."

By Amazon making their chips in-house, this will mean cheaper tablets and e-readers, and will help lower the cost of entry to new customers for e-books, movies, music, and apps, the website said.

Amazon is also reportedly making its own smartphone, which the company would unveil in 2013, according to Nasdaq.

"By expressing interest in designing its own chips, Amazon might be looking to change that in the near future and compete on a level playing field," Nasdaq said.

Amazon is not out of the water just yet though. Rumors about Apple creating an iPad Mini seem more real than ever, and it is expected to shut down any competition from other tablets.

According to TechCrunch, Calcalist speculates that the iPad Mini could be the "catalyst for Amazon to acquire TI."

"Amazon's strategy to compete with the iPad has been to launch cheaper, lower-end tablets sold at cost price - but if Apple launches a cheaper iPad, that will erode the appeal of Amazon's Kindle devices," TechCrunch reported.

According to Publisher's Weekly, Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch said that pre-orders for the new NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ tablets were "far higher than any other device introductions and were running 240 percent higher than previous NOOK launches.

Sales at Target, Wal-mart, and B&N stores are a "massive opportunity" to gain market share tis holiday season, said Lynch.

However, with high pre-order sales, it might be too little, too late for the bookseller.

Forbes said that while the two tablets look promising, Barnes & Noble has to deal with consumers who are dedicated to Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle Fire, which holds 22 percent of the domestic tablet market.

"There is a good reason why Amazon owns the e-book market. While other retailers held onto the belief that digital content was a fad, Amazon - which sells all of its merchandise online - invested millions into its digital future. At the same time, Amazon fought hard to promote its digital initiative while lowering the price of its e-books. After years of promotions, readers were finally convinced to go digital," Forbes said.

"While Amazon is a growing brand, Barnes & Noble is a struggling bookseller that is doing everything it can to survive. There is something to be said for companies that are in survival mode, however. When Apple was struggling, the company invented the iPod."

The new Kindle Fire HD tablets recently got FCC approval to sell the 4G tablets. Many can pre-order their tablets, which Amazon plans to ship on Nov. 20.

The new Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch comes with Dolby Audio, Dual-Band-Antenna Wi-Fi, and comes in 16GB or 32GB. There is also a 4G LTE Wireless tablet that comes in 32GB or 64GB. Both come with a 1920x1200 HD display with "polarizing filter and anti-glare technology for rich color and deep contrast from any viewing angle." It also comes with a 1.5Ghz dual-core processor with Imagination PowerVR 3D Graphics core.

Which tablet are you planning to buy this holiday season? Sound off below!