Amazon might have quietly discontinued its File Transfer system for e-books tomorrow, but something else is occurring on the same day: a hardware event. Amazon is holding a “devices and services” showcase on February 26th in New York. They will not be streaming the event live. Instead, they will likely announce a new version of Alexa powered by AI.
The company will likely not announce new Kindle e-readers since it refreshed its lineup last year. However, I would not be surprised if a few new Fire Tablets, a new version of Echo Frames, Alexa smart speakers, Echo Buds, and maybe a new version of Fire TV were announced. In addition to new hardware, it will also be announced that older devices will get the revised Alexa experience and a firmware update on whatever date.
Most of Amazon’s hardware has Alexa, but Kindle does not. I don’t know whether a dedicated book-reading device needs a voice assistant. What would it even do if it was incorporated?
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.