Now here’s something to make us Malaysians (as well as Apple TV owners) jealous, Amazon has recently announced its Fire TV set-top box that also doubles as a game console with its very own (optional) controller. Announced just hours ago, the set-top box will go on sale immediately (not in Malaysia of course), for USD$99, the same price as the Apple TV.
Like Apple TV, Fire TV is just a small square box accompanied with a remote control. However, it is a lot more powerful with a quad-core processor inside accompanied with 2GB of RAM. Amazon says that it’s three times faster than the latest set-top boxes from Roku and Apple, giving a lag-free experience to users.
In terms of content, the Fire TV will come with Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, Vimeo, MLB.tv and NBA. Other features include Amazon’s Instant Video and integration with other Amazon products such as the ability to see your pictures backed up into Amazon Cloud Drive right on your TV.
But that’s not all. Amazon’s Fire TV’s remote control has a built in microphone as well, allowing users to easily use their voice to search for a movie or TV show. Finally, it also comes with an optional game controller, making it a pretty interesting game console as well. It’s not trying to take on the larger players like Microsoft like Sony, but rather, it brings games from your smartphone right to your TV. Amazon says that thousands of titles will be available for the Fire TV by May, most of which will be free. According to TheVerge, some of the most popular games include Minecraft and The Walking Dead, and other popular mobile games like the Asphalt 8 will be coming soon too.
So how does the Fire TV stack up against Apple TV, Roku, Google Chromecast and other similar devices? Check out the comparison chart from Amazon right below or visit Amazon for more information about its brand new set-top box.
(Source: TheVerge 1, TheVerge 2)
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