Courtesy of Benzinga.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has announced that it is holding a press conference on Thursday, September 6.
The company is expected to make a significant announcement, as the event will take place at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, a massive venue with 35,000 square feet of space. It is not yet known if the announcement will involve the long-awaited Kindle Fire 2.
Amazon’s first tablet proved to be a hot seller when it was released last year, inspiring Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to release a $200, seven-inch tablet of its own. Numerous rumors suggest that Amazon will try to undercut Google by selling the next Kindle Fire for less than $200.
Other rumors claim that Amazon is preparing as many as three new tablets, one of which could go head-to-head with Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) third-generation iPad.
Those unconfirmed products are only the beginning. In November, numerous reports indicated that Amazon had teamed up with a key manufacturer to produce the company’s first smartphone.
The latter product is where things get really interesting. Amazon has already proven that it cannot win the tablet market, which is officially owned by Apple. However, the smartphone market is much larger and much more diverse. Samsung and other manufacturers have already caused a number of problems for Apple.
If Amazon decides to release its own smartphone, it could wind up competing against a host of other new players, including Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), leading to a brutal battle for smartphone dominance.
That is not likely to stop Amazon from proceeding. The company is a fighter — it has successfully prevented Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) from making a comeback while aggravating Target (NYSE: TGT) and other brick-and-mortar competitors.
While Amazon is unlikely to cause a similar problem for Apple, the iPhone maker would be wise to keep a close eye on the dot-com giant.
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