Apple is a well known case study for controlled leaks to the public and workers in the supply chain trying to garner their fifteen minutes of fame by posting a picture of an upcoming iPhone CPU, Battery or rear shell. It really seems like we have a clear picture of the new iWatch, iPhone or iPad well before the September 9th product launch, but things are always mysterious with Amazon.
Amazon never leaks anything to the media and their PR department is outright hostile. When they do file patents, it is through shell companies, as to not give any indication on what they are planning to release. Their research and development division, LAB126 is a veritable fortress, with little being disclosed even to their families.
This year has been one of the biggest on record for Amazon, as they have expanded their hardware offerings into two different vertices; smartphones and television. The Fire TV and Fire Smartphone continue to sell well, but have been met with trepidation in the market due to the US exclusivity.
Yesterday, Amazon discontinued the $69 base model Kindle in the US and Canada. They have also been discounting the Kindle Paperwhite 2 by $20 to deplete existing stock. This is an indication that they have well begun the manufacturing process for the two new followup models. What can we expect from the next generation Kindle e-readers? Well the Paperwhite 3 will have a light sensor to automatically adjust the front-lit display to your environment. All other readers on the market have either a dedicated hardware button or software functionality to manually adjust it. Both of the new models will also have a different default font and include higher resolution. The new cheap Kindle will also scrap the D-Pad and adopt a new touchscreen.
Amazon is expected to release two new e-readers and three tablets in the next few weeks.
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.