Advanced Television

Amazon unveils Fire TV

April 2, 2014

By Colin Mann

Amazon has revealed its much-anticipated TV streaming device – dubbed Amazon Fire TV – at an event in New York.The device has WiFi built in, and Amazon claims it has three times the performance and power of sector competitors AppleTV, Roku and Chromecast. It has 2 GB of RAM, which is designed to ensure applications and video will start more quickly.

Amazon VP Peter Larson said the company wanted to “invent and simplify” as well as overcoming streaming performance issues with the device. “It’s tiny, incredibly powerful, and unbelievably simple,” he added.

Users will be able to watch from Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, ESPN. Among launch partners, with more to come.

“Tiny box, huge specs, tons of content, incredible price—people are going to love Fire TV,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “Voice search that actually works means no more typing on an alphabet grid. Our exclusive new ASAP feature predicts the shows you’ll want to watch and gets them ready to stream instantly. And our open approach gives you not just Amazon Instant Video and Prime Instant Video, but also Netflix, Hulu Plus, and more. On Fire TV you can watch Alpha House and House of Cards.”

Fire TV is available immediately for $99. Eligible customers get a free 30-day trial of Netflix and Amazon Prime when they purchase Fire TV.

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