With major consumer tech companies like Samsung, Amazon, Microsoft, Nokia, HTC and now Apple scheduling press events in September and October one has to wonder who will prevail. They will each try to one-up each other. New gadgets will go head-to-head in spec based face-offs. Geeks are drooling. Checking bank account balances. What do you have your eye on?

Second question - What do you think general consumers will spend their money on this fall leading up to the holidays?

I'm trying to figure out why I'd want a mini iPad, although I used to wonder that about the full size one.

And I'm sure I'll want an iPhone 5. I may wait though.

Honestly, i'm content with the devices I have at the moment.

I'm not interested in any of the new phones coming out because quite frankly, my phone has set a standard for me when choosing. While the Microsoft phone os is nice, the fact that their old phone which has only had one update is already being "discontinued" puts me off of that platform. Not interested in an iPhone. HTC releases the same stuff over and over (just like Motorola does/used to, their next fiscal year will probably be the best now that it's Googarola).

A new Kindle? Amazon can keep their closed "Android" tablet... I have my Nexus 7.

Honestly, I don't really see anything that they're going to announces exciting, it's basically all the same thing, just "new".

Innovation in Technology (not Software) via the consumer gadget sector has been lacking, in my opinion. Mostly in part by all the IP suits.

P.S. Realized on my last comment that there's a text limit here. :(

I'm not drooling at all. Not like I should be. I was looking forward to the ipad mini, but think i'm going to get the ipad instead. I want to play with the slate because it's the best thing they've done since the xbox 360.

From sept 12. I want to know if I get all of the io6 innovations. i'm not upgrading just yet...i don't think...at the moment...even though i'll be watching that very intently.

If i was going to get an android tablet, it'd be the nexus 7...and i still might.

Sadly, if feels like tech giants are doing what videogames and movies are doing, they aren't doing anything different. (Apple is the exception) the rest is the same things with different skins.

I'd have to disagree with you Morgan on "Apple is the exception". They're in the same boat as everyone else.

I'll buy the flagship Android handset from whichever manufacturer has the highest lawsuit count against them from Apple at the time. Ideally that would be the next generation of Nexus devices.

Motorola has me excited about a bezel-free device, or at least one with disappearing bezels. Hardware alone won't sell me though, in terms of GHz and memory, as my nearly year-old GNex feels lightning quick with Jelly Bean. The only hardware improvement I really want is a better camera.

Different. Apple is updating the hardware with software. amazon is the same product, same functionality. Microsoft has a beautiful and innovative tablet, but will still have windows 8 on it...don't know how mobile it'll be...but i also think they are making the category the ipad is missing (a tablet that is to work like an ultra book). but i only half disagree with your disagreement. lol.

would anyone disagree that only Apple is the only one doing right by their customers? amazon isn't, it's old android. google is with the nexus 7...does that make sense?

The only one doing right by their customers? Please expand/explain.

no problem. it ain't a loaded question.

So, if you have an iphone 4s, you will get tons of stuff to work from io6. you won't need to upgrade unless you want to. The iphone5 will make its customers happy.

the slate, is a great design, but not a better - less bloated- os.

amazon has customized an experience for its customers to have fun with amazon content, but not android content. so if you want a larger android experience, you need to get another android device.

all of these are businesses looking at the bottom line. from a non-geek-i-want-to-root-or-essentially-have-a-device-and-turn-it-into-whatever-i-want-to-perspective, what is a better customer choice?

I think it's almost unfair to compare anything but the Nexus line when putting Android in an arena with iOS or WinMo. Only the Nexus devices are guaranteed the latest updates from Google in a timely fashion. Companies putting their own customized launchers (ToucWiz, Sense, etc.) are bastardized Android and not how Google originally intended it to be. That's the beauty/curse of open source.

The GNex that I've had for almost a year (as long as I have ever had any one mobile device) has upgraded seamlessly to JB with all of its features. iPhones tend to phase out features like Siri for older hardware such as the iPhone 4. So while iOS 6 may bring its full functionality to the 4S, this has not been historically true in previous iterations.

But, my point exactly. google products from google, in my opinion, are better than vendors. but the normal public doesn't know this.

each of these is not comparing apples to apples BUT, it is comparing ecosystem to ecosystem.

I think google is doing better. they are getting their stride.
Apple is awesome, for that customized experience.

I think amazon is a different ecosystem because they aren't on the latest android and use a crap skin. the experience they create is all their own and integrates the rest of their products.

Windows never did that well, but man are they trying. metro mobile, slate, pc and xbox 360 should be seamless, but they aren't.

in all of these examples, the customers don't know what they are missing.

But, i still argue, that the consumer doesn't know what the difference between vanilla android is to skins. still too much segmentation, because of that, each experience should be its own ecosystem. and because of that, they all fall short for customers.

take Will's question another way. for the normal everyday consumer, which ecosystem would be the best bet for a person to get a holistic experience?

Obviously me eyes are looking at the Apple event(s). They've already announced the iPhone event for next Wednesday and there will be another in October as well. iPhones will continue to be hot this holiday season, not just the new iPhone but the reduced price iPhone 4 and 4S. The (rumored) iPad mini should make it's way into the October event as well and will be the top tech gadget of this holiday season. Apple will not be topped but there are a lot of alternatives, especially in the sub $200 market.

Amazon is revealing a new Kindle and that will also be a good seller too. eBook readers love their Kindles and the new one(s) will have excellent price points as well.

I'm not overly excited about any consumer devices at the moment. Perfectly content with my iPhone 4S and 1st gen iPad. I'm interested in if apple tosses in an NFC chip in the new iPhone. That of course, would be interesting to me for obvious reasons ;) Other than that, maybe some better utilization of Siri across the board. I crudely use Siri to control my Mac Mini "media center" but I'd be nice if that could be polished. </rambling>

It all depends on the added features Apple adds to their new iPhone. I'm quite happy with my iPhone 4S, sometimes i look at the competition because their big screens are attractive specially to us that spent lots of time on our phones. So i'm hoping a better, somewhat bigger screen (doesn't need to be huge). NFC integrated to AppleID. Somekind of Airplay technology that uses NFC and Bluetooth. And remove the glass back. I hate having a case on my iPhone (only reason is the glass back).

Also I'm sorta rooting for Microsoft to make a dent on the mobile space with Windows Phone 8 and Nokia devices with high end specs (at last).

Oh, And I'm drawn to the White GS3 which i think it's good enough as an iPhone replacement although the Google Play store leaves something to be desired upon comparing it to itunes store. So I'm guessing we'll see improvements on Google Play, and More Nexus devices.

I too am hoping that WinPhone has a strong showing and they start to gain some market share. The hardware and OS are unique enough to keep grabbing my attention. After trying the Android and WinPhone platforms my home is still iOS, but Win8 and the Lumia 920 is an evil temptress.

For me, I'm interested in the next iPhone. I love my iPhone 4S, but upgrading to a newer model will allow me to bequeath the 4S to my mother-in-law. As for a new iPad or iPad mini? The latter is appealing just because my 1st-gen iPad is starting to show it's age. Depending on it's price point, I could see myself buying at least one for myself and one for my kids to share...

The iPad mini will fill a gap in Apple's product line. A price of $250 will be perfect for many consumers. However, for me it would be a toy that barely gets played with. I will have a new iPhone and a (still very capable) iPad 2. My time and attention can only be stretched so far.

But the mini model would stop my wife from using my iPad 2 all the time...

I still use my first-gen iPad quite a bit, as do my kids. I love the size of the original Galaxy Tab and I'm hoping a new iPad mini arrives at a similar size... If it's priced too high, it'll be a good opportunity for Google to ramp up advertising the Nexus 7 or Amazon to push its new Kindle Fire...

I primarily have my iPad for reading & browsing the web... but I'll occasionally use Coda to get actual work done. It'll be interesting to see how apps scale on a smaller screen.

I gotta admit, the yellow Nokia Lumia 920 is beautiful. engadget.com

Not going to lie. I want the new Lumia 920. Question is, could I be happy with the Win8 mobile platform for a whole year?

I don't think I'd be happy. Win8 mobile looks nice, but I'm not sure how much I'd like it for long-term use. That, plus I'm already heavily invested in the iOS platform. Achieving app parity with what I already have on my iPhone would probably be costly or damn near impossible.

I almost shit on myself. you'd get that lumia920? you couldn't live with it for two months, it doesn't have the ecosystem.

but i'm glad that other companies tech is good enough to draw you in. that makes me think the slate and the lumia920 have a shot.

I was going to hold out for the ipad mini, but honestly, i miss my google stuff. so i'm getting the nexus7 for consumption. may get the iphone 6 for games...i don't thin it's worth the upgrade...but we'll see what happens during the presentation.

Will, I would wait to see what apps get announced. All I need added is Instagram, Path, Flipboard, Pinterest, Instapaper since i'm subscribed (i think there is a third party app for this)

They already have Spotify, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

how are they going to go on the games lineup? hero academy? anything like that. for me, my phone is a aggregation of tasks that may have a different primary device. my iPhone is secondary to my mac, but the mobile has the added bonus of games. can you make the same tradeoffs with windows?

i do really like the xbox live integration.

Chris - that is exactly the reason why I have a hard time playing outside the iOS sandbox for more than a couple weeks. SO many apps to choose from. SO much already invested.

Morgan - You are right. The Lumia grabbed my attention, but once the newness passed I would be frustrated. I believe it was MG Siegler who once said a Nokia Lumia running iOS would be damn near perfect. Starting to think he was on to something…

now if you could hack the lumia and play with different os, i'd say you should bite. a sd card swap for android, another for windows another for ios...that'd be awesome.

I'm in lust with the Lumia 920. I love that it looks different from the Android gray slab experience we get from Samsung, HTC, Motorola, etc. (Though the Galaxy S3 color selection is headed in the right direction. Garnet!). And I'm extremely interested in WP8.

Microsoft has started doing some really cool things integrating their various products (Xbox, Outlook, Skydrive, etc), and the common kernel for all the Windows products is very appealing from a dev standpoint. The ability to develop apps with the HTML/CSS/Javascript stack that work across devices (Surface, WP8, W8) will be amazing. It's only a matter of time before the apps are there. Especially as people start upgrading to Windows 8 on their PCs.

I'd be willing to try out the new Lumia because i'm not tied to my phone. I have my Nexus 7 that can handle all of my Android needs, paid and unpaid apps.

And you're bringing up the apps, it's the cart and horse deal again. iOS didn't start with a ton of apps, the same with Android but both or now alive and thriving.

First response on most products: "meh." I wish I could be an Apple man again, but I love Google products too much. Google hardware on the other hand never impresses me, so I'm at an impasse.

I played with the Nexus 7 the other day, and I was very impressed with it. I didn't do much, just swiped and tapped around a bit. But it felt very responsive and capable. Mostly what I liked was the way it felt in my hand. The back is slightly rubberized, and it felt so much better to me than the slippery, pseudo-industrial aluminum of the iPad, which I simply don't like holding. I think I could be friends with the N7, while iPad leaves me cold. Maybe a 7" iPad would be different... perhaps we shall see.

I mean, look at this thing! Yellow is probably my least favorite primary color, and even the yellow Lumia 920 is beautiful. Sigh...

It boggles my mind how they (Microsoft/Nokia) keep announcing stuff without release dates or prices, though. That's bush-league stuff in the post-iPhone gadget landscape.

Waiting on next week's iOS event and then holding out to see what the pricing will be on the Nokia Lumia pieces. I'm interested enough in the Win8 platform and that gorgeous impressive camera to wait - but the downside is it might be too $$$ for me and then there's four years of iOS apps.

And now the new Kindle family... twitpic.com

And cheese. Lots of... cheese.

The price points on the Kindle Fires are pretty amazing. Especially the $149 model. I'm already thinking about getting one for my son... just because of the FreeTime feature (and the User Profiles). The iPad is designed with only a single user in mind. I always worry about my kids clicking on emails, deleting apps, etc when they use my iPad.

The 4G LTE service announced with the $499 Kindle Fire HD @ $50/ year is impressive... Especially compared to a comparable iPad 3 + data plan. I have a feeling Amazon is going to sell a ton of Kindles this year.

I really hope Apple will 1) lower the price of the iPad 2 to $249; 2) introduce an iPad mini @ <$199.

Yeah. What is up with MS and Nokia not having release dates and pricing? Totally cuts off interest off at the knees when other competitors are rolling out full pricing and a release schedules. Consumers can plan (set aside money) to purchase these new gadgets.

My impression of someone following these events:

Lumia - "I love the new 920. Too bad I have to wait until more details come out."

Kindles - "I love the new _____ Kindle. I'll pre-order now."

iPhone - "I'm ready to pre-order on Sept. 12th."

Honestly, with massively impressive tech being released daily this fall, I'm looking forward to the cheap stuff. Fast dual-core, power saving laptops for under $300 are my biggest hope. I know everybody wants the biggest and the best, but I just want something nice and simple.

regardless, there is a lot of interesting tech coming out that is setting new bars from all. but with a finite amount of money, the decision becomes easier. mostly, i need to fulfill a need not a want. i have a great phone (iphone4s), but if i were in the market, i'd get the lumia920 if i had the new ipad (i think). kindle is awesome, that should have been the first one.

The only thing i'm interested in is the tablet and I think apple will price themselves out for me... if the ipad mini even exists- and is $299- i want the same high res display and a5x chip as the new ipad.

i think all of these announcements will make people think before they make any purchases.