Amazon announces Fire TV set-top box
Amazon has announced the Fire TV, an Android-based set-top box. According to the company, the Fire TV is fast thanks to a quad-core soc and 2GB of RAM, and the $99 box offers access to streaming content, but also the opportunity to play games.
According to Amazon, existing set-top boxes that provide access to streaming content, such as the Apple TV and Chromecast, suffer from three main flaws: the devices present users with a slow interface, poor search capabilities and a closed ecosystem. The Fire TV would not have these drawbacks. For example, the set-top box, which is based on Android just like Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets, should work smoothly with a Qualcomm soc with four Krait 300 cores with a clock speed of 1.7GHz and 2GB of RAM. The thin box is also equipped with dual-band 802.11n WiFi, 8GB flash storage, S/PDIF and an Ethernet connection. Operation is via a bluetooth remote control.
Amazon claims that the interface provided also offers good search options. The user can record search queries via the remote control, which is equipped with a microphone, after which the company’s speech recognition software must show relevant content. Additionally, the X-ray app on a smartphone or tablet can display additional information about a title, such as information from IMDB. The special FreeTime environment has been set up for children.
In addition to access to Amazon’s own Instant Video service, the Fire TV platform is completely open, according to the company. Content from Hulu, YouTube and Netflix, among others, is accessible, while Plex would also have been shown as an available app at the Amazon demo in New York. Amazon claims that its streaming platform requires virtually no buffer times, so that video content starts immediately. Incidentally, the user could search for the cheapest provider of a certain title.
Amazon will also offer games on the Fire TV, partly thanks to the presence of an Adreno 320 GPU. To this end, collaboration has been sought with 2K, Double Fine, Disney and Ubisoft, among others. Minecraft should also be playable on the set-top box. Amazon will also release its own $40 controller. Photos of the controller, which has a number of specific Android buttons, have already leaked out. Games are also playable via the remote control or via an app. According to Amazon, there will be about a thousand free games for the Fire TV, although there will also be games that have to be paid for.
The Fire TV will be available immediately in the United States at a price of $99. It is not yet clear whether the set-top box will also be released outside the US.