Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos introducing the Kindle 2 in February 2009
FOLLOW-UP: Amazon Unveils New, Larger Kindle Fire Models
I’m in Santa Monica, California for Amazon.com’s press event, which kicks off at 1:30pm ET on Thursday. The company has officially said that–well, actually it hasn’t said anything at all about the shindig. Even what the general topic is.
But if we assume that the subject is Kindle devices — as everyone is sensibly doing — the main questions are what sort of Kindle devices, and how many of them there will be.
The rumors, speculation and possible hints have reached an intensity which I can’t remember seeing in the lead-up to a non-Apple event.
They include:
- A new Amazon.com ad, already airing, shows the rumored backlit E Ink Kindleand what would seem to be a big-screen Kindle Fire.
- Amazon has stopped selling the current Kindle Fire, so not promptly announcing a new one would be bizarre.
- The Kindle phone which I’ve been hankering for is real and could theoretically be announced at the Thursday event, says the Verge’s Nilay Patel.
- I’ve heard a number of intelligent people, such as All Things D’s Peter Kafka, wonder if a Roku-style Kindle TV streaming box is in the works.
- Others are trying to figure out if the Santa Monica venue means that there will be news about Hollywood content deals.
- Rumor has it that Amazon will start offering serialized fiction for consumption on its devices.
I’m reasonably confident that not all of these possibilities will pan out, at least this week. But wouldn’t it be fun if they did?
I’ll share highlights of the event as it happens on Twitter, where I’m @harrymccracken — and will check in here with more thoughts later.