Sept 6: Kindle Fire.. And Kobo!

This week has seen a frenzy of product releases by tablet vendors. Today, Amazon's Jeff Bezos took to the stage in Santa Monica, California to announce a new line of Kindle Fire tablets HD. The products, which are priced affordably, will take on the Apple iPads. Amazon is keeping the cost down, in the hopes that it can use the device to stream movies, books or even music to its readers. 

Now there is another player in the tablet market - Kobo, a Canadian based company which has a large marketshare in Canada and France. The company is expanding to the US market next. How does Kobo differentiate itself from its competition? Kobo claims that it works with local booksellers who offer the device to their customers. It will be interesting to see how this company fares against the 100-pound gorillas -- Apple and Amazon!

Sept 4: Democratic Convention Begins

It is the turn of the Democrats next, as First Lady Michelle Obama kicked off the three-day Democratic convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Over the next two days, spirited speeches by ex-President Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden and President Obama will serve to inspire and rally the Democratic base.

An an incumbent President (one who stands for re-election), President Obama has a tall task ahead of him -- addressing America's concerns around unemployment and the 16-trillion dollar debt, lay out a vision for the next four years and convince voters why he is the better choice. As we have written in this week's article here, both parties will be targeting the undecided voters, hoping to sway them to their side.