Amazon refreshes the Fire tablet line…but the big announcement is yet to come

Amazon refreshes the Fire tablet line…but the big announcement is yet to come

Ah, September! Back to school, the new TV season, and the return of NFL football games!

Well, those may be pretty fuzzy times now…new TV shows debut almost all year long, back to school sales certainly start before September, and…well, I don’t pay that much attention to the NFL**. 😉 Hm…I think I’m safe to say that September is when Halloween decorations appear in the stores (I’ve seen ’em), but that may start in August or earlier.

As far as this blog is concerned, though, September is also when we typically get new hardware announcements from Amazon. Last year, for example, I wrote this on September 28:

Wowsers! Amazon just blew the doors off with new devices and features!

We have had an announcement already, the new

Fire HD 8 Tablet (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

You can also get it with the charging dock:

All-New Fire HD 8 Tablet with Alexa, 8” HD Display, 16 GB, Black – with Special Offers + All-New Show Mode Charging Dock (at AmazonSmile*)

Pre-order right now for October 4th release, and at time of writing, you can get the tablet and the dock for $94.99 at time of writing. Without the dock, it’s $79.99…the same price as the entry-level Kindle!

I’m really tempted, although for me, it would be a bit redundant.

Redundant with what?

Our

Echo Show (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*).

You can buy the Show right now for $129.99…$100 off.

Honestly, it seems to me like the Fire HD8 is going to be better for most people. While the camera on the Show is considerably better, and the microphones to hear you are probably better, the ability to make an unplugged video call on a tablet sized device could be really big.

It’s also worth noting that the new HD8 has expandable memory: up to 400GB with a micro SD slot.

While the tablets have had Alexa before, this joins the Fire HD10 with hands-free Alexa.

I do think it’s a significant update…but I think the big announcement is yet to come.

First, the Show may simply disappear…it’s certainly being de-emphasized on the website currently. I would expect the

Echo Spot (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

to stick around. I love having one on my desk at work…it’s an unobtrusive videoscreen (about the size of a Magic 8 Ball). Maybe new features and a lower price, but still there.

Audio only Echo devices should also be around, although I’m not sure we’ll see a new version of the tower. The Dot is another powerful and small device…but could it get even smaller? Could, for example, we get an Alexa capable device able to be literally stuck to a wall or mirror? The

Amazon Dash Wand

is sort of like that, at least if you stick it magnetically to a refrigerator, but because it has a scanner also, it’s bigger than what I’m thinking. I’m picturing something a centimeter/half an inch thick at most, and not always listening. You tap it to interact with Alexa…if you want hands-free, you could yell to one of your other devices. Use in the bathroom could be part of the marketing…I don’t have an Echo device there (although I do have a waterproof Bluetooth speaker I like a lot, pairing it with an Echo Dot in the bedroom…my model is no longer available).

I mentioned something quite small last year…a key fob sort of thing, but some sort of wearable (headphones or otherwise) also seems like a possibility.

Alexa in the car will also become more available (mostly through integration with the car manufacturers), but I can still see an add-on device (like GPS used to be) for all cars.

I’m having a hard time seeing something revolutionary in the EBR (E-Book Reader) line…the Kindle. More waterproof models? Sure. Color? Seems unlikely…I’m not sure why. Could a Kindle go under $50? Yes, but there is some advantage in having it seen as a luxury item, even at the lowest price. They have an inexpensive way for you to read e-books…the Fire tablets, which are now cheaper than Kindles.

We really may hear about a revolutionary home robot product from Amazon. It might not be released until 2019, but pre-orders could get it into this holiday shopping season, and it might be limited to Prime members at first.

Otherwise, what we are seeing is Amazon spreading its presence (particularly through Alexa) deeper into other people’s hardware. Amazon doesn’t need to make phones or TVs if they can be on them and let somebody else take the risk on the hardware.

Am I backing off an XR (Augmented/Virtual/Mixed/Merged Reality) device? Something at some point seems necessary (even though I can now see Amazon Prime Video in XR), but it may be a question of an Alexa experience in XR, and again, piggybacking on other people’s devices.

Those are a few ideas. What do you think? What new hardware/announcements would you expect to see from Amazon this year? What things would you like to see? Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

** That’s not to say that I pay no attention to football. I used to follow it quite closely. I’ve had debates with other geeks in which my postulate is that American football is the most intellectual of the big sports in the USA. It’s the only one where they stop every few seconds to decide what they are going to do next. While some people think of it as just big people crashing into each other, Monday morning quarterbacks don’t say, “We lost because they were bigger than us,” they say, “They shouldn’t have gone for it on third down.” The criticism is about the intellectual part of the game, not as much the physical (if we leave officiating out of it). However, I have heard good arguments for baseball also being a stream of decisions

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

 

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The Year Ahead: 2018

The Year Ahead: 2018

This is my annual post where I look ahead to the next year. I’ll make some predictions, but I’ll warn you ahead of time…I don’t always get things right. 

Taking a look at last year’s post:

The Year Ahead: 2017

I see I did better than 2016’s  one out of three. 😉 That’s on the “predictions”, which are the big ones that I make, and those are the ones I measure. I also did pretty well with my “speculations”. The latter are much shorter, but I think they have saved some people from surprises.

Before I do that, I noticed that a “miss” for 2016 was a “hit” for 2017 (a waterproof Kindle). I think that’s happened before, where I’m a year ahead of time. I guess I’ve been overly confident in Amazon’s R&D…

Amazon VR

Miss. I’ve probably never talked about a prediction as much during the year, and I was really confident it would happen (maybe next year). Yes, Amazon did do some things with VR (including encouraging development), but I clearly was saying that they would have apps. I said, “The prediction is Amazon apps for VR…”. I’m in VAM (that’s what I call Virtual/Augmented/Mixed/Merged reality) a lot…just about every weekday. It’s quite frustrating that there isn’t an Amazon Prime Video app…it certainly means I watch a lot less of Prime Video than I would. I watch Netflix or Hulu, and the experience is so much better than my TV! Still, this is a miss.

More Bluetooth enabled Kindle EBRs

Partial hit. I said, “I’ll predict that the full current range of Kindle EBRs get refreshed with Bluetooth capable models.” The Oasis was updated with Bluetooth, but the Paperwhite wasn’t. However, I think my narrative description in that prediction was decent. I said, “With Alexa expanding rapidly (including some different type devices, at least one with a screen)…”

Copyright Reform

Hit. Me: “I think we’ll hear something concrete about copyright reform”. I was clear that I wasn’t sure anything would pass, but that it would be proposed. H.R. 1695, sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, introduced on March 23, restructures it and there was a lot of discussion about it…check this

Google search

If you want to follow the bill (it has passed the House), and read the actual text, you can do that here:

at Congress.gov

So, one and a half instead of one.

Here’s a look at my speculations:

• More than 10,000 Alexa skills at Amazon.com: “I think 25,000 is certainly possible, and I would be shocked by 100,000” | TechCrunch reported more than 25,000 on December 15 | HIT
• Barnes & Noble finds a new CEO | Demos Parneros became the CEO in April | HIT
• Alexa becomes capable of suggesting apps | HIT
• The USA Kindle store breaks five million titles | There are, at the time of writing, 5,941,859 | HIT
• Amazon announces a store presence in Cuba and/or Russia, or at least, plans for them | MISS
• Amazon continues to explore brick-and-mortar… | PARTIAL HIT. I said they’d open maybe three more Amazon Books stores (one opened near me, and others other places), but that they would also open Amazon Go (the “checkoutless store” to the public
• Drone delivery…in the UK before the USA | MISS
• A high level, known executive leaves Amazon for another company | In fact, three major executives from the entertainment arm left…but not all three specifically for another company (there were harassment accusations involved with at least one) | HIT
• George R.R. Martin releases the next “Game of Thrones” book | We know it’s called the Winds of Winter, but it wasn’t released yet | MISS

Well, the speculation, which is supposed to be wilder, did quite well!

I’m more trepidatious about predicting this year! It’s been a really strange year, and no reason not to see that continuing.

Amazon VAM

Yes, I’m recycling! 😉

I just can’t believe that there won’t be a way to watch Prime Video in VAM space before the end of 2018! That’s the prediction.It might be through an experience (which is what apps for VAM are called), or it might be through some sort of VAM browser system that lets us watch it like we would on a computer.

I do still think Amazon could open a VAM experiences store of some kind (by that I mean you can buy them through Amazon.com), and could develop some sort of authoring system people can use. Amazon branded hardware seems unlikely, but Amazon partnering with another hardware manufacturer might happen. I also expect more VAM content. Amazon did add AR (Augmented Reality) in a limited way to the shopping app…that might get a lot better.

I don’t think they will call it this, but maybe I should just call it VAMazon. 😉

Amazon opens a localized site for the Middle East

There has been quite a bit of commentary about the fact that Kindle books aren’t (legally) available in the Middle East. There have been some rumblings that Amazon would go into Saudi Arabia, and there are other possible countries. A search for “Arabic Kindle edition” at Amazon.com already yields more than 25,000 results, and there’s a very large market for Arabic (and some other Middle Eastern language) literature. I think philosophically, Amazon would also like to be in the Middle East in 2018…

Amazon curtails personal documents for Kindle

I’m not quite sure what this would look like, and I wouldn’t want to see it happen…but I think it could. I doubt there’s much use of it, outside of things like sending web articles (which I think would continue). There’s a lot of complications in dealing with personal documents (in this case, let’s mainly think about book-length documents from non-Amazon sources). I don’t think they’d take away what we already have, but might shut down adding new ones. They could also offer some different way to do it, where it would be more like publishing a video to YouTube, but being able to make it private or invitation only. They have already announced something similar for personal uploaded MP3s (but not ones that match what you’ve bought from Amazon).

Okay, let’s do some of that speculation!

• Amazon announces several frontrunners for its new headquarters (HQ2). They include deep South and East Coast cities, and at least one in Canada. We may not know officially by the end of 2018 which one will “win”…my guess is that it will be an East Coast city, like Boston…but I do think they’d like to go into a more economically depressed area. Hmm…some place devastated by hurricanes this year, while logistically hard, might be a place Amazon could really make a difference
• More deals are announced for Alexa in cars
• Alexa experience creators are given new ways to monetize…and advertising is even a possibility
• Jeff Bezos may start focusing on something other than Amazon. I don’t see that as a retirement, certainly, but maybe a big charity initiative and a reduction of time on “day to day” Amazon duties. Speculation begins on someone stepping more into the general CEO role…and diversity is a positive part of the story
• In terms of acquisitions…Amazon might buy a pharmacy chain, or some sort of healthcare provider. One possibility: Doctors on Demand, which does video visits. Huh…this just occurred to me, but they could do a competitor to MoviePass. That might tie into their movie/TV production work
• Amazon does something notable in Africa
• There are third-party Alexa-enabled robots now Alexa robot search at Amazon (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*). An Amazon-branded robot, which could be more of a toy, but might be able to do some practical things, could be introduced (or at least announced towards the end of the year)
• As to Kindles…I proposed that the cycle might be one evolutionary year (2017 was that) alternating with a revolutionary one, which would mean we’d get a new model in 2018. I’m not sure about that, though. Won’t surprise me if at least one of the models is retired in 2018…I could most likely see that being the Voyage, but I don’t think the Oasis has been a sales hit. I personally like the Paperwhite and the lowest priced one
• How about…Amazon entering the education game? By that I mean that they offer classes you can take through them. Not to replace a college, but on specific topics…maybe publishing, maybe programming for Alexa, perhaps some other not-specifically Amazon related things (like English as a Second Language)
• For Kindle capabilities: I imagine the translation features getting a big enhancement. I think globalization is a focus for Amazon (as it may increasingly be for some other companies)
• I also have a vague sense of Amazon doing something in transportation, something that makes the news. Autonomous delivery vehicles could certainly be one, as could much more delivery for other companies. I don’t know if ride-sharing is a space I’d enter, but they possibly could

That’s ten speculations…I’d better stop there!

What do you think? Any predictions and/or speculations for Amazon in 2018? Feel free to let me and my readers know what you think by commenting on this post.

Some of you are already into 2018, so…Happy New Year!

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You can be part of my next book, Because of the Kindle!

---

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

 

Google’s new move: good for readers, bad for Amazon?

Google’s new move: good for readers, bad for Amazon?

Amazon and Google don’t exactly walk through the consumer wonderland hand-in-hand. 😉

While Amazon has never been the walled garden some suggest (for example, the e-tailer had the Netflix app in the Appstore and available on their tablets from the beginning, when it directly competes with Prime Video), there’s been a clear division for people who use both companies (as I do).

Amazon tablets can’t use Google Play directly. That’s a real limitation, and my sense is that it is Google’s decision, not Amazon’s.

They compete in music, appstores…and books.

On the latter, I don’t think Google has hurt Amazon much…the percentage of e-books that people own which they purchased from Google (not just found free public domain books) has to be tiny compared with Amazon.

However…

Google has a new search result tool which could make some difference.

I (and apparently others) had missed, or missed the significance of, an announcement from Google about a month ago. I’m grateful to this

Lifehacker article by Nick Douglas

for the heads up.

When you search for a book title on Google, it now tells you which public libraries have the book available near you…and you can borrow it right there (if you have a “library card”). On a mobile device, you tap, “Get book” (then “Borrow ebook”, but you might be able to see the latter without tapping), on a laptop/desktop, you should see the options, probably on your right.

I’ve been testing it out, and it’s clearly inconsistent at this point. It doesn’t happen for lots of books, but that may just be because they’d rather not show negative findings. Still, it apparently only searches Overdrive, which is the predominant e-book server for individuals using public libraries for e-books, but it isn’t the only one.

For the sake of argument, let’s just say postulate that when people search for a book title with Google, they’ll be able to borrow the book from the public library if it’s available.

What would that mean?

Before I speculate, here’s a link you can try:

search for “It Stephen King”

 

First, this does have the potential to hurt sales at Amazon…but only for a particular segment of customers/readers. Traditional publishers (at least some of them) were pretty reluctant to have e-books in public libraries, initially…part of the argument was that the e-books didn’t wear out like p-books (paperbooks) do, so libraries wouldn’t have to replace them as often. There were some strong restrictions, if the books were available at all. This would seem to play into those fears.

That said, my guess would be that most people who are using Google to search for a book are looking for a free one. Not all of them are particular about the books being legal, either. It’s not difficult to scan a p-book and make a PDF out of it, then put it up online. There are a lot of reasons people do that…they aren’t all trying to make money, although some do by having advertising on the site hosting the downloads.

If someone wants to buy an e-book, my bet would be that the vast majority of them go to Amazon (or Barnes & Noble, if they have a Nook), or perhaps iTunes.

It is possible that people search for an e-book and don’t find a free copy, then they push further.

I would think this would affect bestsellers, more than smaller market or older titles. Google searching for a book feels to me (and I freely admit, much of this post is speculation) like it is more likely to be used by a “casual reader” than by a “serious reader” (I define the latter as reading fifty books or more a year).

I think the impact will be small.

Second, Amazon could lose all income from selling e-books…and it wouldn’t make much difference to their bottom line. It’s no longer a big part of t

Right now, the Google search includes buying the book…but not at Amazon. 🙂 Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and Kobo all showed for me on the search for “It”. I doubt that pulls that much from Amazon’s sales.

I think it hurts Amazon a small amount, and considerably helps some readers. I usually don’t borrow e-books from the public library. I can afford books to read, including being a happy member of

Kindle Unlimited (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

and there is “scarcity” for public library e-books, although a lot of people find that counter-intuitive. A library can’t just copy the file for everybody who wants it; there are legal licensing issues.

That may change for me: I’ve mentioned that we have a life change coming up, and now we have more of a timeline for it. My Significant Other is voluntarily leaving a job, and we aren’t quite sure what will happen after that (we’ve done the math…we’ll be okay). If money got a lot tighter, and there was a book I really wanted to read and the public library was the only way to get it, I don’t have any hesitation or see a negative to it. It’s just not my habit now.

Now, some of you may wonder about how this is different from this

Chrome extension tells you if that Kindle book is in your public library

that I wrote about previously.

When I go to a book’s Amazon product page in Chrome, I automatically see if it’s available at the public library…and yes, that’s similar.

It’s also different, though, because people who are at Amazon are already likely to get books from Amazon. It’s convenient to keep it altogether: if I could have every single payment I ever make for anything go through Amazon, I would. To use the extension, people have to also first install the extension…a much smaller slice than the people who just search with Google.

One more group I want to mention: does this help or hurt authors? Many of my readers are authors, so that’s obviously a concern.

Authors may not get as much for each library borrow as they get for a book sold, but that’s going to depend on contract.

The reason why this helps is that it may replace, to some extent, people getting pirated copies (for which authors get nothing).

I believe that the vast majority of people would rather do something that is legal, and something that would benefit the author, than something that wouldn’t.

If somebody searched for It, and could borrow it easily from the public library or get a PDF from an iffy source, I think they’d go with the library…even though they don’t end up owning the book. Ownership is arguably less important to people than it used to be.

Well, those are my thoughts on this, and there is a lot of speculation and presumption in this piece. What do you think? When would you search for a book with Google as opposed to just going to Amazon? Would you rather own a PDF of uncertain provenance, or borrow an e-book from a library for a couple of weeks? Will this make any real difference to Amazon? Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.

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You can be part of my next book, Because of the Kindle!

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My current Amazon giveaway:

Beyond Curie: Four women in physics and their remarkable discoveries 1903 to 1963 (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

Giveaway:

https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/b139e577ee333624

• Winner:Randomly selected after Giveaway has ended, up to 1 winners.
  Requirements for participation:
• Resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia
• 18+ years of age (or legal age)
• Follow Scott Calvin on Amazon

Start:Sep 25, 2017 5:46 AM PDT

End:Oct 25, 2017 11:59 PM PDT

---

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

Regular Delivery

Regular Delivery

No one was home.

No one was ever home any more.

In fact, no one had been home for years…anywhere.

That might have mattered to Joyce, but no one had bothered to give Joyce a sense of time longer than how long it took to make a delivery.

That’s what Joyce did…deliver packages for Amazon.

That’s what Joyce had always done…that’s what Joyce was made to do.

Program check:

1. Wake up in the charging station at the warehouse
2. Pick up the packages, scan the locations
3. Get on the road
4. Deliver packages
5. Rendezvous with the drone for road charging
6. Deliver packages
7. Find the next pick up spot, get more packages
8. Drive
9. Deliver packages
10. Road charging
11. Deliver packages
12. Pick up packages
13. Road charging
14. When necessary, return to warehouse for servicing

Everything checks.

Efficiency has been exceptionally high lately, which feels good. Yes, feels good. Joyce definitely wants to feel good, and wants to be efficient.

Pattern analysis: why are things going well? What can Joyce do more?

Answers:

• No returns. Returns take up room. There hasn’t been a return at a house for the last few delivery cycles. How long is that? Joyce doesn’t know
• No traffic, outside of other autons. Autons know how to be efficient on the road, and talk to each other

Not under Joyce’s control, nothing to change.

Balancing measures:

• More debris on the road, and especially in front of homes
• Pick up spots are further apart, empty more often. Subscribe and Save dominates more, which can be heavier and bulkier
• Charging drones are less available
• Refrigerators are sometimes full
• More animal encounters outside homes and fewer inside

Everything is within acceptable levels. 

No need to change.

Joyce has never heard the term, “Special Delivery”. Every delivery is equally important, and done with a smile…on the box.

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There have been some very interesting stories about Amazon and the future of delivery lately. There are a couple of threads which add up to a very interesting vision. I particularly want to thank John Aga (@jbaga01) who alerted me to Amazon’s recent patent for drones which can charge an electric car…even while it is driving:

Green Tech Media article by Emma Foehringer Merchant

The articles I’ve seen on this thought it was for Amazon to charge “your car”, but I doubt that’s it.

I think it goes with another recent story, that Amazon is testing its own delivery service (think UPS/Fed Ex), called Seller Flex:

The Street article by Giovanni Bruno

and one more, about Amazon being able to deliver inside your home, by having a device that would grant the delivery person access:

ZDNet article by Charlie Osborne

I do love the idea of being able to get packages in the house…we have had a problem with mail theft, including Amazon packages. We now either have the packages delivered to an Amazon Locker, or to my Significant Other’s office.

However, the idea that a person would be in my home when I wasn’t there is…uncomfortable. It certainly wouldn’t sit well with our dogs! We also had a break-in robbery…that does change your perspective.

A robot in my house, though? That’s perfectly fine with me.

So, I pictured the above scenario. Autonomous electric Amazon vehicles, being charged on the road by drones, delivering packages inside the home…even inside your refrigerator.

They might not need human interaction for days…weeks…possibly years.

I do think that AI (Artificial Intelligence) will have some sort of pleasure reward system to keep them on track. There is nothing that I’ve proposed in this story which is fantasy, based on what’s been happening with AI.

Of course, we can now get books delivered electronically, which is even easier, but I have a number of Amazon packages coming in the near future, so this will certainly impact Kindleers…we need some way to read our e-books, until they can be transmitted directly to an in-body machine brain interface. 😉

Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.

---

You can be part of my next book, Because of the Kindle!

---

My current Amazon giveaway:

Beyond Curie: Four women in physics and their remarkable discoveries 1903 to 1963 (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

Giveaway:

https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/b139e577ee333624

• Winner:Randomly selected after Giveaway has ended, up to 1 winners.
  Requirements for participation:
• Resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia
• 18+ years of age (or legal age)
• Follow Scott Calvin on Amazon

Start:Sep 25, 2017 5:46 AM PDT

End:Oct 25, 2017 11:59 PM PDT

---

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

Amazon device announcement imminent?

Amazon device announcement imminent?

You know how, just before a tsunami, all of the water may leave the beach, before it comes crashing back with a fury?

The same sort of thing may be happening right now with Amazon devices. 🙂

Well, at least with the

Amazon Fire TV 2nd generation (at AmazonSmile*)

Without my link, you’d have a tough time even finding it. It’s not on the

Fire TV family (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

page any more. When you find it, it says they don’t know when or if it will be back in stock.

I would bet it won’t be. 🙂

We’ve had strong rumors about new Fire TV devices: my guess is we will have the announcement by Tuesday (which is a traditional book announcement day), although it could happen Friday. It might also just appear in the store at midnight middle of the night Thursday with an announcement to follow Friday. The Fire TV has been a very popular item, and no reason to suppose it’s not a big part of the devices strategy. The “missing model” has 4.3 stars out of 5, with a remarkable 34,645 customer reviews. For comparison, the Kindle Voyage has about a third that many reviews (12,998).

The Apple TV was recently refreshed, and streamers are big. We may get a higher end version which includes Alexa with far field microphones, and maybe a refreshing of the inexpensive Fire TV Stick (which wouldn’t have those microphones, I would think).

As to other devices:

• The entry level Kindle is in stock
• All versions of the Paperwhite seem to be in stock. One interesting note: they have Kindle Unlimited for three months as an add-on for $1.99
• The Voyage with both 3G and wi-fi and no special offers is out of stock, expected back October 18th
• Most of the Kindle Oasis versions are out of stock: only the black version is available (the merlot and walnut are out of stock) and the Wi-Fi only is out of stock
• The black Amazon Echo tower (my name for the original) is out of stock, expected back September 21st
• The Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, and Echo Show are in stock. The Echo Look is still by invitation only
• The Amazon Fire tablets appear to be in stock

My feeling?

At least two new Fire TV family members…one with Alexa, one Stick. The Oasis won’t be announced as gone, but is dwindling. They might keep one version. The Tap is probably fading out. This is likely to be the last big hardware announcement of the year…so auggies (VAM…virtual/augmented/merged/mixed reality headset/glasses) is a possible category. That last one could wait for software announcements…those could come later in the year. Oh, and Amazon could always surprise us with something new, like they did with the wand and the dash buttons.

I’d be surprised if we don’t get an announcement in the next few days, but what do you think? Feel free to let me and my readers know by commenting on this post.

Bonus deal: I know this will likely be too late in the day for some of you, but

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (at AmazonSmile*)

is $2.99 today…at least in the USA.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amaz on site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

 

 

September 2017 is coming: what devices have been around the longest?

September 2017 is coming: what devices have been around the longest?

September is about a month away, and Amazon has often announced new hardware in that month.

Last year, I looked at the current Amazon hardware shortly before that, to give my opinions on which ones I thought might be updated.

Let’s do that again. 🙂

Kindle EBRs (E-Book Readers)

All-New Kindle E-reader – Black, 6″ Glare-Free Touchscreen Display, Wi-Fi – Includes Special Offers (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) $79.99

The most recent edition is from  June of last year, and that’s when they added Bluetooth. They could update that, but they could also just lower the price. That’s a question for me at this point: do they really need four models of EBR now, and do the price points make sense? If the Paperwhite comes down $20 to get under $100, I don’t think they need two between $50 and $100. An under $50 Kindle could be attractive…I’m not seeing $80 as a good price point. I also think that EBRs are in competition with the Fire tablet line…it’s not the same experience, but I think many people are fine with reading on a backlit tablet, rather than having a dedicated reading device.

All-New Kindle Paperwhite, 6″ High-Resolution Display (300 ppi) with Built-in Light, Wi-Fi – Includes Special Offers (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) $119.99

It’s been more than two years since they updated this one. If someone wanted to buy a Kindle who had never owned one, this is still the one I’d recommend. The frontlighting makes it worth more money than the entry level model. I don’t find that the upgrades to the Voyage are worth the money for most people. If they wanted to update it and keep the price about the same, they could add Bluetooth and water-proofing. I could even see the price going up a bit.

Kindle Voyage (any configuration) (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) $199.99

Last updated in 2014. There are 12,972 customer reviews at time of writing. The Paperwhite has 47,415. Now, yes, the Paperwhite has been around longer, but I don’t sense the customer engagement with the Voyage. Could they simply drop this model? Maybe. They could also just leave it alone, maybe lowering the price, but I don’t see them doing much development on this.

The Oasis $289.99 (I’m not linking because it can’t be purchased without an animal leather cover)

This top of the line model came out in April of 2016. I’ve seen some very positive reaction to it, but a 4.2 star average isn’t exceptional (the Paperwhite has a 4.5). I don’t see them dropping this model: it’s good to have an EBR positioned as a luxury item. They could even update this one.

I could see this ending up with three promoted models (and maybe a dormant one): one for under $50, one for about $100, and one for well over $250.

Fire Tablets

Fire Tablets (at AmazonSmile*)

The Fire tablets were already updated this year. I don’t expect to hear much about this, unless they introduce a high end with something innovative.

Echo Family

Echo family (at AmazonSmile*)

We use our

Echo Show (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

every day. It’s even going to enable us to take a family member with mobility issues to a wedding…not for the ceremony itself, but at the social events around it. It will mean that people can walk up and talk to my relative, and our relative will be able to see what’s going on. I suspect that will be confusing for people at first, because they probably won’t realize our relative sees them. 🙂

I don’t expect that or the Dot (it’s doing too well) or the Look (I don’t think it’s gotten enough engagement) to be updated. The Tap is already off the family stripe (what the show you at the top of a strategy)…I use ours a lot (taking it to work with me), but I don’t think it’s been a hit, unfortunately.

As to the original

Amazon Echo (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

which I call “The Tower”, I think it is due.

That’s partially to deal with Apple’s device, so that would mean smaller and with better sound. It doesn’t mean cheaper, although it certainly could. My intuition is that people wouldn’t mind losing the big Tower design…I suppose they could also introduce one which is intermediate to the “hockey puck” Dot and The Tower.

I think there is still a lot of software innovation to come: one thing would be the ability of Alexa to recognize individual voices. In our house, for example, that might mean giving me the temperature in Celsius and my Significant Other the temperature in Fahrenheit, for example. That could also serve as one alternative for “password protecting” purchases (with an option for a number, when your voice isn’t recognized).

In terms of new Alexa devices:

I like the Dash Wand, but don’t use it that much.

A ring, a watch, a key fob…I could see a lot options for a tiny Alexa device (without “always on” technology).

An Alexa specifically for the car would make sense.

Fire TV

Fire TV family (at AmazonSmile*)

I do think these could see a significant upgrade…in addition to recent integrated Fire TV in a television (as opposed to the add on box or stick).

Our Fire TV, interestingly, could use more power. We recently got DirecTV HBO as part of our phone package, so I added that app…and it does seem to be pushing the limits of the device.

Other possibilities:

• They are doing more branded phone deals, and I think that will continue, with Alexa onboard being the draw. I do still want a fully functional Alexa app for my existing SmartPhones (Galaxy for my personal phone, iPhone for work)
• I expect Amazon to get into virtual/augmented reality in a really noticeable way this year, and there could be an announcement around that. I’ve started referring to virtual/augmented reality hardware as “auggies”. I’m not saying Amazon would produce a branded headset, but something…that might also wait for closer to the holidays, though
• It wouldn’t surprise me to see Amazon get into Amazon branded SmartHome devices (plugs, lightbulbs), and perhaps a hub

I have some other thoughts, but I’m interested in what you think. If Amazon introduces new branded hardware in September or August, what would you guess? Do you think they’d keep the Voyage and drop the Paperwhite? Is the Tap on the way out? Are recent unavailabilities of some devices a sign that they are being replaced? Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. Shop ’til you help! 🙂 

September is coming: what devices have been around the longest?

September is coming: what devices have been around the longest?

Next month,  September, is when Amazon has been doing a big hardware announcement.

There are often surprises, but I thought that taking a look at how long currently available new models have been available might give us a clue about what might be due for a refresh.

Entry level Kindle

All-New Kindle E-reader – Black, 6″ Glare-Free Touchscreen Display, Wi-Fi – Includes Special Offers (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

This was actually just updated this June (the big addition was Bluetooth audio…which I think is great). That makes it seem unlikely that we’ll get a new entry level Kindle EBR (E-Book Reader) in September…but you never know. 😉

Kindle Oasis

This came out in April of this year, and seems soon for a new model…unless they were to do a different size, which seems unlikely. I’m not linking to it because you still can’t buy it without an animal leather cover. Oh, and they could update it with Bluetooth audio.

Kindle Paperwhite

The 3rd

All-New Kindle Paperwhite, 6″ High-Resolution Display (300 ppi) with Built-in Light, Wi-Fi – Includes Special Offers (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

It’s been over a year since this was announced in June of 2015…and a refresh with Bluetooth seems likely to me.

Kindle Voyage

Kindle Voyage (any configuration) (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

came out in 2014…but I feel like it’s been replaced as the top of the line by the Oasis. I have one and I like it, but it feels a bit like the fifth wheel. I think entry level, Paperwhite, and Oasis is a good lineup.

Fire tablets

I’m addressing these a group…and there was an  update in fall of 2015. I expect an update of the Fire line…the least expensive one has been a big hit

Fire, 7″ Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB – Includes Special Offers, Black (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

I think this is where we’ll see some real innovation. I think the iPad has lost some of its luster…there are a lot of tablets out there still, and the tablet isn’t an exploding market…but I think that benefits Amazon, which is sometimes seen as a utility player for hardware, when they enter existing markets.

Echo family

The

Echo Dot (at AmazonSmile*)

and

Amazon Tap (at AmazonSmile*)

were introduced in March of 2016…and I use both of mine every workday (and the Tap on weekends). Probably too soon to refresh those.

On the other hand, the original

Amazon Echo (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

has never been updated since it rolled out in 2014. It’s due.

Fire TV family

The

Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote (at AmazonSmile*)

Amazon Fire TV (at AmazonSmile*)

2nd generation was released at the end of last year, but I think we’ll see an update…this is a vibrant growing market, and Apple TV has challenged it with its most recent version.

Could we see something brand new? Sure!

My intuition is something new in home automation, connecting to the Alexa voice service. For example, I’d love it if Amazon introduced a widely compatible SmartHub. They could also do “AmazonBasics” for home automation lights, that kind of thing.

Could they do a watch? A Virtual Reality headset? A fitness tracker? Maybe…none of those feel really likely to me. I like the idea of a wearable audio player (for Prime Music, audiobooks, and text-to-speech) with no visual display, but that might just be me.

What do you think? Will we see new hardware announcements from Amazon in September 2016 ? If so, what do you think we’ll see? Feel free to let me and my readers know by commenting on this post.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard our new The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project! Do you have what it takes to be a Timeblazer?

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  By the way, it’s been interesting lately to see Amazon remind me to “start at AmazonSmile” if I check a link on the original Amazon site. I do buy from AmazonSmile, but I have a lot of stored links I use to check for things.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.