The link takes you to Amazon's FireTV product page. I have one on order and will post a hands on review after I have some time. But first I would like to say a bit about why I ordered it and what I think is going on in the streaming device market.
Why? Well first of all I have had a 200$ gift certificate looking for a gift. So the money was not an issue, just my geeky desire to check out something that is new. I also have an Apple TV and Chromecast so it isn't like I was hurting for a streaming device. So why check out the fire?
First up, Amazon prime, Hulu and Netflix in one place. I had been hoping against hope amazon would get on Apple TV but no such luck. So in terms of the big streaming services Amazon is on par with other options out of the box, and its pay content and PRIME content is a decent split between netflix and itunes on its own. Odds are I will find anything I want to rent/buy on prime that I would purcahse on itunes. iTunes has all pay content vs some pay and some not (well if you consider prime being paid for free shipping and video as bonus).
The remote. The Apple TV remote bites the wax tadpole. The AppleTV iOS remote app does a stellar job of being even worse that the dedicated remote except when it comes to having a keyboard and not being line of sight. Amazon may have one of the first real useful implementations of voice control. At anyrate they had me at Bluetooth. The microphone is gravy if it works. Apple could match this with a decent upgrade to the remote app and I will be shocked if they don't at least try and add voice to it.
Comparison shopping.... or at least a start to it. I do not know how many times I have wished I could easily comparison shop all the pay streaming services. Sooner or later what happend to airline ticketing will happen to streaming media costs. And it will drive the content costs down. All the content gateway's are going to fight it tooth and nail and that bites for consumers. But Amazon is taking the first step. First one to meld Amazon Prime, Google Play, and iTunes gets a 'shut up and take my money' animated gif from me. Followed by transfer of funds at first sign of orderable goods.
Games. Mobile games have intruiged me and I keep trying them looking for something to grab my attention. Some have done ok. Most I find seriously lacking in control interface. Bluetooth contoller (also ordered the game pad) and 1080p 60hz games at mobile prices on my TV? Won't sound like it is lifting off due to fan\disc spinning noise? Sure I am interested. Factor in the new steam box service and the fact this thing may actually meet those specs raises interesting possibility of an Amazon steam app.
Kids Zone. Apple sort of does this but not really. The kid zone feature of this widget may be a killer feature for parents. I am largely against media in a kids bedroom because control options are slim to none. This seems like a decent system where if you use non-trivial passwords you could set it up in a kids room and without a cable connection they would have real limits on how much they could watch.
Apps. Why apple hasn't opened the TV up to app developers is beyond me. Limited storage? Do you need apps on a TV? I don't know honestly. But why not let folks try?
Second screen experience. Unfortunately it seems I cannot parktake in this as they seem to do this only with their own devices. Silly. And I hope sooner or later they have apps in the App Store for android devices or iOS devices to use with this. Apple again could catch up on this front with their existing Apple TV/iOS device crowd fairly easily.
Some things I was suprised to not see....
General non-digital based Amazon shopping. Voice search, big screen for pictures. Connected to your amazon account? Expect to see that, maybe via an app. Imagine an unholy alliance with Hulu that gives you quick commercials based on your wish list items and gold box deals or something. Say 15 second add break with link to order the offer. Commercials of products have link to buy? Nothing is free. I'll take better targeted adds that offer me personal good deals over generic mass crap that repeats all the damn time.
More memory. Games and Apps typically implies locat storage of application files. That is space taken away from their instant play cache, Probably hard in a device they may well be loss leading to add more than 8Gb... but I suspect this is a likely weakness of the box if someone pursues the games and apps heavily... unless those are being done hosted ala steam streaming.
Looking forward:
Expect to see the new Apple TV to be in this class and probably a Google device. Amazon beat them to market with a next gen set top along the lines a lot of people have been talking about ever since Apple released their original hobby device. The question is if they will have the killer TV streaming deal to leave Amazon in the dust? Amazon has probably just introduced a 'best of breed' solution for anyone with an Amazon prime account. Bit murkier question for anyone without and an investment in the iTunes ecosystem. A Google device providing Google Play access and Amazon prime (already an app in the play store) could be a right interesting proposition.
The real question to me is what kind of content deal Apple is going to bring to the table with their next gen device. All you can eat access to itunes is a popular thought. Many think it is impossible due to rights issues and costs. Another one I like is the idea of is access to traditional cable content just via streaming service. IE say Apple convinced content sources to treat it like a cable company able to re-broadcast their content to their customers. They take a monthly fee from customers in exchange for granting them channel access and access to streaming content that requires cable subscriptions. Apple gets to end users via ISP providers, some of whome are cable companies. That is likely the reason it woudln't work. But I can dream. Most rumors however seem to indicate Apple is working at the cable company level, not the content source level for whatever it is they have up their sleeve. Could still end up working the same way though, but if they only strike deals with specific cable companies many folks will be regionally locked out. Especially if they are not with the larger players in the market where there is choice. In any case I think content access is now the most likely avenue Apple has to stand out in this segment instead of being in the middle of the pack of options.
All in all bravo Amazon. I wish you were going after a more open solution. But this makes plenty of sense for their business model and it is not a bad deal for folks that like being in the Amazon world... and most of us are to some extent or other. Now I hope my hands on experience matches up to my expectations.
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