There were a few recent educational technology announcements worth noting.

Amazon

Amazon, it is rumored, is introducing a 6” Fire tablet by the end of the year. It will cost $50, which is half the price of the Fire HD 6. Expect lots of advertisements. Facebook is now loaded with ads and so, likewise, will this tablet from Amazon.

Bezos thinks they’ll reach a new consumer segment with this launch. We’ll see.

The device would lose margins on the sale of it, but the game plan is to make up for it with Amazon Prime memberships.

Are they going head-to-head with Apple? That appears to be the case. Amazon, I think, is hoping to throw a wrench in Apple’s launch of their iPad Pro and their new iPhone, announced yesterday.

I’m sure Amazon would love it if people picked up e-book readers or phablets that will facilitate their content.

Some people think you’d be better off buying a used HD 6 on eBay for the $50 because of the limited number of features, which will include mono sound, rather than stereo.

Amazon didn’t do so well with their smartphone. I read one report that said they have $83 million of them in unsold inventory and another report that said they’re sold out and are discontinuing them completely.  Either way, Amazon has struggled since the proliferation of Android tablets. While Amazon recently held 33 percent market share in tablets, they now own 2.3% as of the end of last year.

Oh, and Amazon will also be getting into delivering hot food. It sounds like they’re trying to be a new version of Publisher’s Lunch.

Apple

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The bottom line is they’re jockeying for the enterprise space. The iPad will be much more of a creative device with the introduction of the iPad Pro. Apple already has the largest and most loyal customer base out there as they are masters of consumer products. Now, with deals with IBM & Cisco, they’re gunning for the business market – and the living room (with Apple TV).

First, the iPad Pro. It will have a 12.9” screen and will start at $799 and go up to slightly more than $1,000. It will have a woven fabric keyboard (optional) and a (pencil) stylus, will come in silver, gold and space gray and will be available in November. Pre-orders can be placed on September 12.

In addition to the new iPad Pro, they’ll have an iPad Mini 2, which will sell for $269 and a Mini 4, which will go for $399.

The most highly anticipated announcement to come out of San Francisco yesterday was the introduction of the new Apple TV. It will have voice activation (Siri) so you’ll be able to say things like “Show me animated movies, and just the new ones” and “I’m tired of the Kardashians, put on Merecat Manor.” The future of TV, we’ve learned from this announcement, is in apps and the apps are starting to look like channels.

You can use your phone and your tablet as a remote on Apple TV. You will also be able to shop from your TV set. This opens up gaming, shopping and music and could help brands like Airbnb, Zillow and Spotify become even more mainstream.

Finally, the big questions were whether the new iPhones would be called the 6s and the 6s Plus (they will) and will they have forced touch (yes, but they’ll call it 3D touch). The phones will be available in rose, gold and aluminum. They will have new, stronger glass and a new camera with 12 megapixels (upgraded from 8) and faster chips (supposedly 78%-90% faster).

Some people believe the Apple watch, which works with iPhones 5 & 6, will be the key gift this holiday season. I can envision millennials, who seemed to find them redundant as phones could tell them what time it was, changing their attitudes as they become fashionable. There’s no doubt that Apple sees them as a huge market.

With music, Apple broke up the album. Now they’re breaking up the cable TV model. And to “top” if off, they’re bringing back pencils and watches!