It has been rumoured about for ages and now Amazon has finally lifted the lid on its own entertainment box, called the Amazon Fire TV. It’s already available for purchase in the US for $99 and tech wise it’s more powerful than Apple TV and Roku 3. The Fire TV is a huge statement by Amazon and is the next step in its own strategy for domination of the living room, something the company is hoping to do globally as indicated by its push with the Instant streaming service.
The Amazon TV is quad-core, has 2GB LPDDR2 Â RAM, HDMI output up to 1080p, will support popular apps like Netflix and Youtube, has Minecraft Pocket Edition available at launch, as well as its own exclusive title with Sev Zero developed by Amazon Game Studios. NBA 2K14 is also playable which is impressive considering how good it looks and it being a full console title. Â Amazon are teasing that thousands more will be coming to the platform in partnership with the likes of Ubisoft, Disney, and EA. There’s also 8GB internal storage and free Cloud storage for all Amazon purchased content. Â There’s Bluetooth too, support for Dolby Digital Plus, 5.1 Surround, though can go up to 7.1 with HDMI.
Size wise the Amazon Fire TV is quite small being 4.5 inch x 4.5 inch in size with a height of just 0.7 inches. You can use the remote for voice searching as it has a microphone built into it, and there will be a separate gamepad available for purchase, which looks pretty much identical to the image that leaked a few weeks back. That costs $39.99. Â At the minute I can’t see the product as available on Amazon UK, and there isn’t a release date yet confirmed for global markets but expect it soon. Also expect Apple to take note, and don’t be surprised if the Apple TV 4th Gen to have similar specs.
Source: Amazon
Eldur
Perhaps it’s just because I’m a core gamer and therefore have access to tech that’s in a different league to this, but I really can’t see the point of these micro consoles. Ouya, Gamestick, Roku, Apple TV… Who’s buying them? And to what end?
MrYd
I think we know the answer to that one, don’t we? Nobody. Which doesn’t mean Amazon won’t manage to do what others have tried, of course.
And those little Roku boxes are quite nice. They’re tiny little cute boxes that do exactly what they say they do. Ideal if you just want to plug it in and use it, without getting complicated.
aphex187
My Apple TV is used everyday :)
MrYd
What exactly is the point? It can do all those things that a million other devices can already do, for 3 times the cost of something like Google’s Chromecast. But has thousands of games for it. Which are going to be crappy Android games that might be fun on a phone, for about 5 minutes, or are full of cunning ways to extract money from people.
Their list comparing it to Chromecast and Apple TV is quite amusing though. It’s got an Optical output (or you could use the optical output from a TV to get surround sound? Most of them have that these days). It’s got voice search, presumably because the UI for whatever they want to call Lovefilm this week is still absolute pants and people resort to swearing loudly at it anyway? Not because people really want to talk to electronic devices, surely?
And it can output at 1080p, just like EVERY other device they compare it to. Seriously, what’s the point of a comparison table with a row FULL of ticks??
Oh, and that controller looks horrible. Can’t even get the analogue sticks in the right place, just like MS.
gazzagb
Considering it’s basically an Ouya ($99) and an Apple TV ($99) for $99, I can see how it will appeal to some, but I’m still yet to see the point of playing mobile games in your living room. The idea of console game ports sounds great, but surely most people would just pay the extra to get a ‘proper’ console? And if you want it for the TV aspect, surely people would buy a Chromecast as its almost a third of the price.
MrYd
But if you get a Chromecast (which is a lovely little device), you don’t currently get Amazon Instant Prime Lovefilm Video Whateverit’scalled. Which is apparently only for every device ever as long as it’s not Android. Unless it’s a forked Android.
I’m guessing it’s never getting a (proper) Android version then.
TSBonyman
So i can use this to read books on tv right? :/
Avenger
Taking a gaming perspective of this, I’d much rather have Vita TV being localised rather than this. I know Vita TV doesn’t have quite the same functionality as these small ‘TV’ boxes, but with PS4 streaming, full minecraft, DualShock compatibility, and it being around the same price, with a ton load more games and gaming support, Vita TV is what I want to hear about. Come on Sony!
bladesew
I was actually looking to get one of these for one main reason – to stream my amazon cloud music collection through my home cinema setup. But then I noticed that google music is free for up to 20,000 tracks so I now use that instead – with a chromecast. As for the other stuff it does, amazon prime video is available on PS3 along with many of the other streaming music and video services and obviously the PS3 (or any other console) is a better gaming system. But, if I was a non-gamer who wanted a cheap system to stream music and video with some casual gaming this would probably be a good solution. I have a Kindle Fire HD and not all the games are Candy Crush-style casual games – I imagine some of them would be decent experiences on a big screen with controller support. In fact, some of the games are comparable to the indie games which appear to make up 70% of the Vita and PS4 release schedule! ;-)
yiddo
This is pointless. Amazon would be best off using Amazon Game Studios to develop third party games for the main consoles, especially considering some of the well known talent that has joined them in the last few months.
How big is Amazon Game Studios? Big enough to split into multiple teams?
Hell, they could even become their own publisher. Amazon battling with the likes of EA and Ubisoft. Could do with another big player to replace where THQ once (rather meekly) stood.
yiddo
Also, Amazon Prime is a fucking rip off. Was shocked the other day when I found out how much I would be paying if I wanted to watch Game of Thrones on there. I’ll stick to Now TV for GoT, ta.
Amphlett
Just looked at that controller and I’ve done a little sick in my mouth. Urgh.