INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Surprise! Amazon holding a big hardware event at its Seattle headquarters, and we&re here on site, to bring you the news as it breaks
Unlike Apple, Google and the like, the company isn''t one for announcing these sorts of events in advance, though given that it done
something similar in recent years, it seemed likely that it had something big planned for this month.
After all, we are in the pre-holiday
crunch time for hardware launches
That precisely why you&ve seen/will see major events from competitors like Apple, Google and Microsoft, among others
It also why I haven''t been sleeping very much this month
I wouldn''t read too much into the fact that Amazon didn''t pre-announce the event
That just the company style, for whatever reason
And besides, it took a similar approach with last year event, where it refreshed the Echo line and added the Spot, Buttons and a new Fire TV
What we do know for sure is that today event will be focused on Alexa, the Echo line and Fire TV
As far as specifics, this report seems like a pretty good place to start
It notes that the company is planning to release &at least& eight Alexa hardware devices in the near future, including a hi-fi system, an
automotive gadget and, interestingly, an Alexa-powered microwave
All of the above are interesting for any number of reasons, not the least of which is that they would put the company in direct competition
with a number of third-party hardware partners, including Sonos, Garmin and GE
That runs counter to the company recent pattern of working with third parties.
A number of other Amazon products seem overdue for refreshes
as well, including the Echo Show and Dot
There been talk of a HomePod-style competitor from Amazon, as well
That could potentially make its debut at today event, as well, though the Sonos-esque product may also fit the bill there
