Amazon Fire TV Available For $99

Amazon Fire TV Available For $99

The Amazon Fire TV was unveiled recently by the online retail giant. The latest video streaming device of Amazon will go up against the Apple TV and Roku in the battle for the living room of consumers.

The hardware features a 2GB RAM, Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth remote control and access to different content providers , such as Watch ESPN, MLB, YouTube, Disney, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Showtime and Amazon Instant Video. It has a price tag of $99.

A game controller accessory is also available for the device, which became available on Amazon recently. The video streaming device will also be sold online through Staples on April 5. The brick-and-mortar stores of the retailer will also offer the device by April 27.

Amazon has concentrated on video streaming as it aims to ensure that consumers will continue to visit its website. The company offers a la carte video titles, the Amazon Prime membership and access to a Kindle e-book lending library. The company aims to provide original programming in an effort to go up against Netflix in the market.

A number of issues were identified by the company with some video streaming devices in the market. These issues are closed ecosystems, search limitations and performance problems, according to Amazon Kindle tablet business vice president Peter Larsen. The Amazon Fire TV aims to deal with these issues.

The huge library available to the Amazon Fire TV will deal with the closed ecosystem, a microphone on the remote of the device will allow users to use voice searches for titles, and the 2GB RAM will deal with performance issues.

Reports of the device have emerged several months ago even as the company attempted to keep the device under wraps. These reports indicated that the online retail giant was aiming to introduce a device similar to the Roku Streaming Stick.

Even though Amazon is not disclosing the number of viewers it has, it aims to increase its number of viewers through the introduction of hardware. The Amazon video streaming service accounts for 1.6 percent of the North American peak internet traffic. The company is aiming to enhance its video streaming business by offering the Amazon Fire TV.

Posted by Melanie Mendoza on Saturday April 05 2014, 3:42 AM EDT. Ref: CNET. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Shopping. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0