Amazon Announces Fire TV for $99

Amazon has announced Fire TV, finally throwing their hat into the ring of streaming devices trying to make it into your living room. Not only do you get access to Netflix, Hulu Plus, and WatchESPN, but it will obviously add Amazon’s own Prime Instant Video. Prime Instant Video allows anyone to rent movies or TV shows, but also allows Amazon Prime members access to their library for free. It is available for order right now, for $99.

Where some streaming media boxes skimp on the hardware, Fire TV is bringing some decent specs to the game. It is running a quad-core processor, dedicated GPU, 2 GB of memory, and dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi. This allows for 1080P and Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 output via HDMI. Amazon touted these specs, pointing out:

It’s all thanks to a quad-core processor with 3x the processing power of Apple TV and Roku, a dedicated Adreno 320 graphics engine, and 2 GB of memory—4x that of Apple TV, Roku, and Chromecast.

Amazon is also bringing something new to the game, a remote that is not only used in the traditional way, but a remote that also includes a microphone so you can search with your voice. Anyone that has tried to manually search for a title on an Apple TV or Xbox 360 by scrolling through the alphabet, will appreciate voice commands.

And for those that want to limit children’s TV time, Amazon announced Amazon Free Time and Amazon Free Time Unlimited. Free Time is similar to what Amazon offers on their Kindle tablets, a way to restrict not only certain content but time spent on the device. You can set up certain shows or channels that are ok to watch, and also limit the time spent watching. Free Time Unlimited is unlimited access to content from Nickelodeon, Sesame Street, PBS Kids, and more. Free Time Unlimited starts at $2.99 a month.

Games! This is the part that excited me the most about Fire TV. Make no mistake, this is not meant to replace your console or even PC. But for $39.99 you get a full-blown controller allowing you to enjoy games that are normally restricted to your phone or tablet on your TV. Mobile gaming has come a long way, and there a some very good games available out there right now. But between the small screen size and on-screen controls, I do not enjoy playing them. But throw in a real controller and a TV, and it sounds promising.

Does any of this get your heart pumping? Is being an Amazon Prime member enough to make you purchase this? Let us know in the comments if you are grabbing one and check out the full announcement below.

Source: Amazon

Image Credits: Business Wire