Amazon’s New Kindle Fire and Kindle Paperwhite Shown in Ads Before Launch

Amazon is scheduled to hold a press conference Thursday morning in Santa Monica, Calif., where it is expected to release its new Kindles. But it looks like the company let the cat out of the bag early this evening with some TV ads showing the new products.

Airing during the NFL Kickoff, the ad showed two devices that appear to be the new Kindle Fire, Amazon’s 7-inch tablet, and a new Kindle e-reader. The new Fire appeared to have a larger bezel, or frame, around the screen, as well as a webcam. The previous version of the Fire, which Amazon said it sold out of last week, lacked a camera.

The new Kindle e-reader appeared to be thinner and have a whiter display. According to The Verge, the new Kindle will have a Paperwhite display, which may be a lot like Barnes & Noble’s Nook with Glowlight.

There are some images of the devices in the ads on Twitter.

“New #Amazon Kindle Touch on NFL broadcast?” @dmresearch tweeted with this photo.

“New  # Amazon Kindle Fire on NFL broadcast? http://pic.twitter.com/oBj53fv7,” @dmresearch tweeted.

Amazon likely scheduled the ads by mistake but, either way, it’s a good teaser of what’s to come Thursday.

ABC News will be at the event Thursday morning. Stay tuned for live coverage starting at 10:30 a.m. PT / 1:30 p.m. ET.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

Report: Amazon smartphone ‘confirmed’, may be unveiled at Thursday’s event

Amazon is reportedly planning to unveil its first smartphone at Thursday's press event in Santa Monica.

There have been rumors swirling around for some time now about the possibility of an Amazon smartphone coming to market. A report from The Verge suggests it is going to happen, and that it may even be unveiled at Amazon’s press event in Santa Monica on Thursday.

The report obtained its information from “multiple sources”, adding that the handset would run “a variant of the Kindle Fire’s Android-based operating system.” Other than that, few details are known about the device.

The phone is reportedly not yet finished, though it appears this won’t stop it from being presented to the press at Thursday’s event.

Chatter surrounding the possibility of Amazon readying itself for the smartphone market increased significantly a couple of months back when reports surfaced claiming the e-commerce giant was “working with component suppliers in Asia to test the smartphone.” Foxconn is rumored to be manufacturing the phone at its plants in China.

As with its Kindle Fire tablet, any such handset from Amazon will likely be placed at the low end of the market, sold at cost, or possibly at a loss, in order to boost sales of the device and push people towards its well-stocked online store.

It’s set to be a busy day for Amazon tomorrow. The Seattle-based company is widely expected to launch the second iteration of its 7-inch Kindle Fire tablet at the media gathering, possibly together with a cut-price Fire with ads. An updated Kindle Touch e-reader, or possibly a brand new ‘Paperwhite’ e-reader, is also thought to be on the way.

Digital Trends will be at the event, which kicks off at 10.30am PT, so be sure to check back for the lowdown on Amazon’s new offerings.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com