Back when Apple was an underdog, it had an easier time shrouding its product announcements in mystery and perhaps catching its competitors off guard. But now tech companies are watching every one of Apple’s moves — and scrambling to get out in front of them.
Several big tech companies crammed product announcements into this holiday-shortened workweek. Nokia and Motorola Mobility, former leaders in the mobile race who are now also-rans, unveiled smartphones on Wednesday. And the next day, Amazon introduced its latest Kindle devices.
Sony and Samsung, among others, got a jump on things before Labor Day weekend with announcements of new tablets and phones at a consumer electronics conference in Berlin.
But next week, the tech event calendar is largely blank — with the exception of an Apple news conference scheduled for Wednesday, where the company is expected to reveal its latest iPhone.
There’s speculation that Apple will be coming out with a smaller iPad as well.
Fall product introductions are important to companies seeking to generate excitement ahead of the holiday shopping season.
“You’re getting all sorts of maneuvering by companies around the time they have to have Christmas products out there,” said Michael Mace, a former marketing executive at Apple and Palm who has a new startup called Zekira. “I’ve got to have everything in shops in mid-November. Do I get more attention if I announce before other guys or after? How long before? If I do it in September, does stuff look like it’s gotten old?”
Here’s a look at what’s expected to be hot heading into the end of the year:
NEW IPHONE
Apple Inc. has come out with a new iPhone each year, and that’s likely to continue. The new model is expected to work with fourth-generation, or 4G, cellular networks that phone companies have been building. That capability is something many iPhone rivals already have. A bigger iPhone screen is also possible.
The email invitation to Apple’s big event in San Francisco on Wednesday contains a shadow in the shape of a “5” – a sign that the iPhone 5 is coming. Sales usually begin a week or two after such an announcement.
One thing is known: Apple plans to update its phone software this fall and will ditch Google’s mapping service for its own, as a rivalry between the two companies intensifies.
SMALLER IPAD
Apple has done well selling its full-sized tablet computer, which has a screen that measures nearly 10 inches diagonally. Many companies have tried to come out with iPad alternatives, but the ones that have had moderate success have tended to be those with 7-inch screens and lower price tags.
There’s speculation that Apple will come out with a mini iPad this fall – possibly with a 7.85-inch screen – to compete with those competitors.
REKINDLING THE FIRE
Amazon.com’s 7-inch Kindle Fire is one of the smaller tablets with decent sales. Starting next Friday, it will sell an updated version with a faster processor, more memory and longer battery life. It will cut the price to $159, from $199, making it far cheaper than the iPad, which starts at $399 for the 2011 version still on sale. (The most recent ones start at $499.)
Amazon is also releasing higher-end models under the Kindle Fire HD line.
Barnes and Noble Inc., which makes the 7-inch Nook Tablet, may have an update this fall as well.
MOTOROLA’S RETURN
Though it’s a pioneer in the cellphone industry, Motorola hasn’t had a hit since the Razr phone came out in 2004. Under new owner Google Inc., Motorola Mobility is trying to change that.
On Wednesday, Motorola announced three new smartphones bearing the Razr name. Verizon Wireless started taking orders for the first of the new phones, the Droid Razr M. It’s a cheaper, smaller phone than the Razr that Motorola launched last year. The $99 Razr M will be in stores Thursday, the day after Apple’s announcement.
Motorola will have two high-end models, the Razr HD and Razr Maxx HD, later this year. It’s emphasizing long battery life – up to 21 hours of talk time for the Maxx HD, or 10 hours of video streaming.
CALLING ON WINDOWS
Microsoft Corp. will release a new version of the Windows operating system on Oct. 26, one that’s designed to work on both traditional computers and tablet devices. A new version of the Windows Phone system is coming out, too.
Once-dominant phone maker Nokia Corp. has been struggling in the shadow of Apple and Android, and it’s counting on the new Windows system for a revival. On Wednesday, Nokia and Microsoft unveiled two devices under Nokia’s Lumia brand – the 820 and the 920.
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop says the new phones will go on sale in the fourth quarter in “select markets.” He didn’t say what they would cost or which U.S. carriers would have them.
Samsung, which surpassed Nokia as the world’s largest maker of mobile phones in 2011 and overtook Apple in smartphones this year, showed off a Windows 8 phone last week. It didn’t announce an availability date either.
SURFACE
Microsoft plans its own tablet computer, too, the Surface. It’s new territory for Microsoft, which typically leaves it to others to make devices using its software. The Surface will come in two versions, both with 10.6-inch screens, slightly larger than the iPad’s. The Surface will go on sale on Oct. 26.
NEW BLACKBERRYS
A year ago Research In Motion Ltd. disclosed that it was working on a next-generation phone system for the BlackBerry, which now looks ancient next to the iPhone and Android devices. It was supposed to be out in time for this year’s holiday season. That won’t happen. In June RIM pushed the release of BlackBerry 10 devices into early next year, saying it wasn’t ready.
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