Hardware

[icycalm]

It apparently also plays a few shitty games. I've bolded the part where they say that.

http://www.maximumpc.com/amazon_hopes_b ... v_box_2014

Amazon Hopes to Burn the Streaming Competition with $99 Fire TV Box

This might be the streaming box you've been waiting for

The tech sector is terrible at keeping secrets, and as such, we've long suspected Amazon was working on a streaming device of its own. It turns out the rumors were true. At long last, Amazon today announced a 1080p streaming set-top box it's calling Fire TV, and though it's small, it packs a punch. Powering the device is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8064 quad-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz with Adreno 320 graphics and 2GB of RAM.

It also has dual-band, dual-antenna (MIMO) 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, 8GB of internal storage, HDMI output, 10/100 LAN, USB 2.0 port, Dolby Digital Plus support, and a few other odds and ends wrapped in a chassis that measures 4.5 inches by 4.5 inches by 0.7 inches and weighs 9.9 ounces.

One of the touted features of Fire TV is "voice search that actually works." Just speak the name of a movie, TV show, actor, director, or genre into the remote and you're finished.

Fire TV offers instant access to Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN, YouTube, and more. You can also listen to music through Fire TV via Amazon MP3, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and other services. And as for gaming, there's even some of that -- think games like Minecraft, Monsters University, The Game of Life, The Walking Dead, NBA2K14, and so forth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHoNQrxG_8M

"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."

You can order Amazon Fire TV immediately for $99.

[icycalm]

And its controller, ugh. Sold separately for almost half the price of the "console" lol ($39.99).

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DU0ZI8Q

t_slate_01_lg_hover.jpg (41.13 KiB) Viewed 7552 times

[icycalm]

From the Sev Zero thread: http://culture.vg/forum/topic?t=4836

Looks like a budget knock off of Sony's and MS's ecosystems.

So bland and weak and ugly and worthless...

[El Chaos]

Digital Foundry's Amazon Fire TV review: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digit ... -tv-review

As a first attempt at an all-in-one media device, Amazon's Fire TV micro-console is nicely positioned given the $99 price-point. Physically, the hardware sports a tidy, discrete design, and its components are more than capable for tackling video streaming services - with a handy voice recognition feature that helps hone in the content you're searching for. The FireOS 3.0 front-end is also smooth in operation and mostly easy to navigate by remote control, though the range of apps is unfortunately restrictive compared to other Android-based devices.

The gaming side is a disappointment though. Despite offering a robust 360-style gamepad for a little extra, this lack of selection makes the Fire TV very underwhelming as an Android gaming set-top box. Performance is part of the issue too: when it comes to playing titles at 1080p the console simply can't achieve even a smooth 30fps result in most cases. Dead Trigger 2 comes closest with playback being capped at that point, but much like Asphalt 8 and Deus Ex: The Fall we see frame-pacing issues causing unwanted stuttering in motion. It's not a pleasant experience, and as of writing, simply not worth if quality gaming is your priority over the other media-based aspects of the package.

Amazon's one and only first-party title, Sev Zero, doesn't save the day either, with its undemanding effects, wildly variable performance and 720p picture proving far from flagship material. Instead it's Minecraft Portable Edition that comes off as the closest the console has to a saving grace - a creative playground flawlessly adapted to work with the pad at 1080p60. It's a shame that Amazon's exclusive shooter doesn't draw out the strengths evident in synthetic tests, especially as the likes of Dead Trigger 2 outgun it for eye-candy while appearing on a multitude of other devices. Hope is on the horizon though, with an Amazon teaser trailer showing yet more first-party titles that could well make this hardware stand out in an already busy market.