New Kindle Fire: Hot Trends

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Popular searches on the Internet include Amazon (AMZN) ahead of the company's event Thursday in Santa Monica, Calif., at which many expect a new Kindle Fire to be revealed.

Amazon invited press to the event without specifying what was to be announced. According to speculation, Amazon is expected to debut two 7-inch Kindle Fires, one of which will be a high-end model boasting features like a faster processor, a camera and more storage than the other. It's also anticipated that Amazon will boost the resolution on the Kindle Fire's display, and update its Kindle e-readers that have black-and-white displays as well.

It's been nearly a year since Amazon announced a hardware refresh of its devices. The conference will take place at 1:30 p.m. EDT from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.

---

Microsoft (MSFT) is trending upon announcing the company is increasing its focus on its mobile unit in China.

The company said it will hire more than 1,000 additional employees in the country this year, plus boost its spending on research and development by 15% from the current amount of $500 million. The company currently has about 4,500 employees in China. Microsoft will also expand by 15 additional provinces and 20 more cities in the country.

The plans, all a part of Microsoft's "go big" strategy for China, are expected to help drive a push for Microsoft's cloud offerings in the country, and help as the company prepares for the release of WIndows 8 and Microsoft Office 2013.

China is the largest market in the world for PC and smartphone shipments. Nearly 400 million people access the Internet via mobile phones and other devices in China right now.

---

Supervalu (SVU) is another popular search. The third-largest U.S. supermarket operator said it will close about 60 stores by the end of 2012.

Supervalu plans to close most of the stores before Dec. 1, the end of its fiscal third quarter. The closures will include 27 Albertsons supermarkets, 22 Save-A-Lot discount food stores, four Acme supermarkets and one Jewel-Osco grocery store. Supervalu said eight more stores will be closed, but did not reveal which ones. The additional stores should be closed by Feb. 23, the end of its fiscal year.

1 2 Next › Last »