Reports of the September 12 iPhone event started circling late last month. And although several publications have confirmed the date, Apple itself has yet to make any kind of announcement.
But the speculation must have been enough to catch the attentions of Apple’s competitors. In the last three weeks, Samsung, Nokia, Motorola and Amazon have all announced press events scheduled for the first week of September…
Amazon sent out media invitations today, for a press event scheduled for September 5th. The online retailer is expected to unveil new Kindle tablets — possibly the rumored 10-inch display model. But perhaps more interesting is its timing.
Amazon is now the fourth tech company in the last three weeks to announce a media event for the first week of September. It seems that everyone has a new phone or tablet that they want to show off before Apple takes the stage on September 12.
- Samsung – on August 2nd, Samsung sent out invitations for its big Unpacked event on August 29th. And there’s no secret what it’s unveiling — the Galaxy Note 2, the second iteration of its popular “phablet.”
- Nokia – Nokia and Microsoft issued a joint invitation on August 15th, for an event to take place in New York City on September 5th. Microsoft just announced Windows Phone 8 back in June, so it’s a safe bet that Nokia has some new WP8 handsets (and possibly a tablet) to show off.
- Motorola – two days later, on August 17th, Motorola announced its own New York City event on — wait for it — September 5th. The rumor is it’s going to unveil its new flagship handset, the Droid RAZR HD. And looking at the Verizon logo on the invite, there’s probably a good chance of that.
- Amazon – this morning, Amazon sent out media invitations for its press event, which is slated for September 6 in Santa Monica, California. We know the company has some new Kindle tablets to show off, but everything else is a bit of a mystery. Maybe it’s ready to talk about Kindle Phone?
You can write this off as a huge coincidence, but all of these events were scheduled well after news outlets confirmed Apple’s September 12 event date. The company is expected to unveil a slew of new products, including a refreshed iPhone and a smaller iPad.
Is it necessarily a bad thing that these other companies are trying to beat Apple to the punch? No. It just all feels very rushed. But nevertheless, it looks like the first week of September is going to be rather eventful (see what I did there?). And we can’t wait.