What are the most exciting possibilities for new tech products for 2012? Looks like mobile devices, in the form of tablets and smartphones are the front-runners.
Amazon has been working on a few products, and the Wall Street Journal recently broke the story of an Amazon Kindle Phone, which could use a 5 inch display and match up nicely to the Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire has had great success with Amazon, prompting development of other tablets, including a 10-inch model.
A July 23rd article on msnbc.com stated that an Amazon smartphone could be launched as early as the fourth quarter of this year. The heads at Amazon are keeping quiet on the subject, but recent job postings and hires by Amazon’s Lab 126, a research and design center in Silicon Valley, are indicative of the rumors that the company is working on new mobile devices that will run on wireless carrier networks. The article noted Lab 126’s hiring of over 250 employees from last September to mid-July of this year. Some of those hirings have included software engineers having experience with cellular products. Another article in the Wall Street Journal on July 26, 2012, affirmed the “Apple-Amazon War,” and also noted that Amazon is testing its own smartphone, which would be a direct competitor to the iPhone.
For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what Amazon has to unveil!
On another note, the iPadMini, a smaller (possibly 8 inch) version is supposedly in the works and will be a prime competitor of the Kindle Fire. The same Wall Street Journal article of July 26, 2012, mentioned that Apple is working on a smaller tablet similar to the Kindle Fire and is looking to the Amazon app store, because its iTunes-like approach makes it more of a competitive threat to Apple. Although Steve Jobs looked at various versions of size for the initial iPad, he felt the 9.7 was the most user-friendly screen. That was before newer competitors came on the market, first the Kindle Fire then the Google Nexus 7. The Google version has Android 4.1, which is superior the the Fire’s Android 2.3. Many speculate, as did Lance Ulanoff in a Mashable.com article on July 25, 2012, that Apple has come up with a smaller tablet, in order to stay ahead in the market. The Kindle Fire has already captured 14% of the tablet market share.
We will keep you posted on the latest on these and other upcoming products that can be used for your business and your personal tech life. Stay tuned! You can also look at our previous blogs for tips on the iPad for business and contact us about securing all of your mobile devices for your business.
