Amazon Is Preparing To Launch An Apple TV Competitor Soon
by Brent Dirks
October 3, 2013
The Apple TV will have even more competition this holiday season. According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon is readying its own streaming video box for release soon.
Amazon’s offering would be similar to the Apple TV and other competitors:
The set-top box, which would pit the online retailer against a host of established rivals, is a small device that resembles a Roku Inc. player and is similarly styled as a platform to run apps and content from a variety of sources, these people said. It would also serve as a delivery vehicle for Amazon's existing streaming video service—available as part of its Prime membership—which competes with Netflix Inc. and has been expanding lately.This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Amazon’s device. Even back in April, plans for the device were beginning to come together. And the box will apparently do more than just act as a conduit for Amazon’s content:
Prior reports about Amazon's plans have focused primarily on prospects for streaming its own content, which it now delivers to PCs and through other living room devices. But the company also plans to feature varied apps from other companies for streaming video and music, as well as some games, the people briefed on Amazon's plans said. In recent weeks, Amazon has approached a variety of media app developers, as well as cable television providers, seeking partnerships for the rollout of the set-top box, these people said. The Seattle-based retail giant has given some a deadline of mid-October to submit apps that could work with the device, the people said.But Apple is apparently preparing some surprises of its own. Early last month, longtime Apple watcher MG Siegler took to Twitter saying that new Apple TV hardware will be unveiled sometime in October. He didn’t specify whether it would be just a revamped box or an actual standalone television set. But other reports are saying Apple is currently working on both. No matter the design, Apple is focusing on providing Xbox Kinect like motion sensor technology.
