Amazon expected to unveil new Kindles at Sept. 6 media event
Amazon has announced that it will hold a media event on Sept. 6, prompting speculation that the company plans to unveil a new lineup of Kindle tablets and e-readers.
This week, Amazon sent out a cryptic invitation to members of the press that simply reads "PLease join us for an Amazon Press Conference." The event will be held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif.
Amazon is expected to be planning a number of new Kindle devices for launch before the end of the year. New hardware could potentially include multiple new versions of its Kindle Fire touchscreen tablet, as well as new e-ink Kindle readers.
One report from July claimed that Amazon will launch at least three new Kindle Fire models this fall: A version with a 1,024-by-600-pixel display and no camera, a 1,280-by-800 model with a camera, and a 1,280-by-800 version with both a camera and 4G LTE connectivity.
It's also been suggested that Amazon could continue to sell its existing Kindle Fire at an even lower price point of $149. The first-generation Kindle Fire was announced in late September of last year, and currently sells for $199, but now faces strong competition from Google's identically priced Nexus 7.
The Kindle Fire debuted to a strong start, but demand for the device quickly collapsed, as customer satisfaction with Amazon's low-priced device was about half that of Apple's third-generation iPad, according to research from ChangeWave.
Beyond the Kindle lineup, another potential device that Amazon could unveil at its media event is a smartphone. Various reports have suggested that the online retailer is considering building its own smartphone to compete with devices like Apple's iPhone and handsets that run the Google Android operating system.
Amazon's Sept. 6 event will come less than a week before Apple is expected to hold its own media briefing to unveil its next-generation iPhone. Rumors have pegged such an event to take place on Sept. 12, with the new iPhone becoming available in the U.S. on Sept. 21.
This week, Amazon sent out a cryptic invitation to members of the press that simply reads "PLease join us for an Amazon Press Conference." The event will be held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif.
Amazon is expected to be planning a number of new Kindle devices for launch before the end of the year. New hardware could potentially include multiple new versions of its Kindle Fire touchscreen tablet, as well as new e-ink Kindle readers.
One report from July claimed that Amazon will launch at least three new Kindle Fire models this fall: A version with a 1,024-by-600-pixel display and no camera, a 1,280-by-800 model with a camera, and a 1,280-by-800 version with both a camera and 4G LTE connectivity.
It's also been suggested that Amazon could continue to sell its existing Kindle Fire at an even lower price point of $149. The first-generation Kindle Fire was announced in late September of last year, and currently sells for $199, but now faces strong competition from Google's identically priced Nexus 7.
The Kindle Fire debuted to a strong start, but demand for the device quickly collapsed, as customer satisfaction with Amazon's low-priced device was about half that of Apple's third-generation iPad, according to research from ChangeWave.
Beyond the Kindle lineup, another potential device that Amazon could unveil at its media event is a smartphone. Various reports have suggested that the online retailer is considering building its own smartphone to compete with devices like Apple's iPhone and handsets that run the Google Android operating system.
Amazon's Sept. 6 event will come less than a week before Apple is expected to hold its own media briefing to unveil its next-generation iPhone. Rumors have pegged such an event to take place on Sept. 12, with the new iPhone becoming available in the U.S. on Sept. 21.
Comments
And how is this news to us? Amazon is NOT competition to Apple. 'Nuff said
September is turning out to be a very exciting month for tablets and phones. The Christmas season will be like no other.
(NOTTTTT)
Looks like they will have 1-6 weeks of buzz until iPad mini rains on their parade...
Quote:
Originally Posted by logandigges
And how is this news to us? Amazon is NOT competition to Apple. 'Nuff said
Yet.... not competition yet. When the iPad mini comes out, they will be similar sizes and price points so they will be in the same class. Although- I actually changed my mind. They will be in the same class... but not competition. You're right.
In unrelated news, Samsung just announce its Galaxy Tinder e-reader. "We don't just copy Apple."
Quote:
Originally Posted by jkichline
Looks like they will have 1-6 weeks of buzz until iPad mini rains on their parade...
That would be the whole reason for the earlier date for Amazon. Don't expect them to be shipping by then though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jungmark
In unrelated news, Samsung just announce its Galaxy Tinder e-reader. "We don't just copy Apple."
http://allthingsd.com/20120803/apples-eddy-cue-saw-market-for-7-inch-tablet-in-2011-said-should-do-one/
Actually, Ipad mini is a copy product
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andysol
Yet.... not competition yet. When the iPad mini comes out, they will be similar sizes and price points so they will be in the same class. Although- I actually changed my mind. They will be in the same class... but not competition. You're right.
the kindle will have "free" books
it will be a tough choice though for me looking for a cheapo second tablet
You just don't understand do you? Apple's claims have nothing to do with the size of the device or trying to patent a rounded rectangle. Get over it, you are just showing your ignorance about intellectual property law. They are patenting the look of the device just like how Heinz Ketchup patented the shape of their bottle. When you finally understand that concept, you can comment.
Dell and HP are getting their hats handed to them, tablets and phones are exploding exponentially yet according to the nerd herd we are not in the post-PC era. PCs and the much touted ultra books are "real" computers that people need to get "real" work done. iPads are just content consuming toys that stupid people buy at outrageous prices.
Will the faux techies ever get it?
I have a current Kindle Touch and a Kindle 2. I definitely prefer the on screen keyboard of the Kindle Touch over the Kindle 2's keyboard. So I disagree about that.
A Kindle Touch with a backlight? Heck yeah! What's taking so long?
Kindles are a non-factor in the tablet space (or rather, iPad space.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by jkichline
Looks like they will have 1-6 weeks of buzz until iPad mini rains on their parade...
Expect Apple to leak a few more details about the iPad mini the day after the Amazon event. Just to make people wait and not buy whatever new Kindles Amazon announces. They did just that after the Nexus 7 was announced.
Read http://daringfireball.net/2012/08/ipad_mini_even_througher#fn1-2012-08-14
From this piece:
The reviews of Google’s Nexus 7 tablet started coming out the first week of July, and they were almost universally positive. The Nexus 7 is without question the best-reviewed tablet on the market other than the iPad.
That same week, within one day of each other, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal both reported as fact that Apple is preparing a smaller iPad.
Bloomberg, reported by Peter Burrows and Adam Satariano, on July 4: “Apple Said to Plan Smaller iPad to Vie With Google Nexus”.
The WSJ, reported by Lorraine Luk, on July 5: “Apple Preps for Smaller Tablet”.
If you think these stories appearing within a day of each other in the two most-respected business publications in the U.S. — at the same time the Nexus 7 reviews began appearing and the device started shipping to customers — is merely coincidental and not a strategic competitive leak from Apple PR, then I would like to invite you to play in my poker game.
The angle to these stories is not merely “Apple is set to release a smaller iPad”, but “Apple is set to release a smaller iPad and it could squelch the Nexus 7 and any other smaller tablets before they ever really get a chance to take off”.
Most telling are the changes Bloomberg made to their story’s headline. I’ve noticed with Bloomberg that their stories sometimes start with punchier, more sensational headlines, but which then get toned down.When Techmeme caught the story, the headline read “Here Comes Nexus 7 Nightmare: The iPad Mini”. You can see this too, in the URL slug for the story: “/news/2012-07-03/here-comes-nexus-7-nightmare-the-ipad-mini.html”.
Now, we all know that whatever the iPad Mini is, very little of it could be in direct response to the Nexus 7. However fast Apple can move, it’s not that fast. But the Nexus 7 shipped first, so that’s how it’s going to play — as a response.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 845032
http://allthingsd.com/20120803/apples-eddy-cue-saw-market-for-7-inch-tablet-in-2011-said-should-do-one/
Actually, Ipad mini is a copy product
The iPad Mini would be just a smaller version of the only tablet in the market that actually matters. Apple would be copying their own revolutionary product, and make it smaller, just like iPod -----> iPod Nano.
As for the argument that Apple *needs* a smaller tablet, there is no demonstrable need for it, because any tablet without an Apple logo on its back is either a failure or selling way below expectations. No Apple logo usually means pure garbage. Sorry. It's just the way things are. You have a company in the industry that actually gives a damn about what they do, and then you have varying degrees of shitastic me-too products. \
Eddy Cue is allowed his opinion. But here's the current situation.
http://www.ijailbreak.com/ipad/ihs-isuppli-apple-q2-2012-market-share/
Most telling:
Quote:
http://insights.chitika.com/2012/study-apple-ipad-accounts-for-94-64-of-all-tablet-web-traffic/
And not an "iPad Mini" in sight. Would one help? Maybe. It might round out the family nicely by creating a "family" of products like the iPod family. But Apple can take their sweet time figuring it out, because the competition is barely even in the race.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pfisher
September is turning out to be a very exciting month for tablets and phones. The Christmas season will be like no other.
Well they're sure *making* them. Everyone is making a tablet. In fact, the market is becoming clogged with tablets. But are they actually selling? A lot of this stuff will be abandonware in a year's time.
The Christmas season? Once again, I see it being all about Apple. Like nearly every Christmas season for the past few years.
Is everyone really waiting on the edge of their seat for the new DELL tablet? Is that new Lenovo Franketablet transforma-tronic hybrid tablet-something on the top of everyone's list?
LOL Let's be real here.
The iPad mini is just a big iPod Touch, duh