Amazon
Amazon fireTV Unboxing Video and First Impressions
The Amazon fireTV hit our doorstep today and we wanted to show it off to you with an unboxing video and some first impressions.
The new fireTV set-top box offers 1080p HD streaming video plus 8GB of storage for apps and games. Users can watch content from Amazon’s video store, the company’s library of free streaming movies and TV shows included with a subscription to Amazon Prime and other content through the apps that launched with the device. Netflix, hulu Plus and YouTube headline the main apps available for video streaming. There’s no HBO Go, which some might bristle at, but we expect it to show up soon.
The Amazon fireTV is $99 and is available from Amazon today. It will arrive in retail stores including Staples later this month.
The Amazon fireTV beats Apple to the inexpensive gaming plus media streaming market.
Watch our unboxing video which also includes video of the user interface, the game controller and the voice search capability built into the remote control.
Games and Key Apps Available on the Amazon fireTV
The biggest benefit to the Amazon fireTV include the voice search function, which we show in the video above. A close second is the apps that uses can add to the Amazon fireTV. These come from Amazon’s own app store of Android games and apps. That means users will need to pay again for the right to use apps that they already may own on their Android smartphone.
Adding apps to the fireTV gives it an edge over the Apple TV.
Here’s a list of what stood out to us as we looked through the Amazon fireTV app store.
- Video Streaming:
- Netflix
- hulu Plus
- Amazon Instant Video and Prime Video
- Watch ESPN
- Showtime Anytime
- Vevo
- Vimeo
- Crackle
- NBA GameTime
- Plex
- Flixster
- Games
- The Walking Dead
- Deer Hunter
- Asphalt 8
- Minecraft Pocket Edition
- Reeper
- The Game of LIFE
- Dead Trigger
- BADLAND
- Ski Safari
- NBA2K14
- Sonic the Hedghog 2
- Dead on Arrival
- Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour
- Crazy Taxi
- Sev Zero
- Prince of Persia
- Music Apps
- Pandora
- Vevo
- iHeartRadio
- TuneIn Radio
- Qello
The great part about the fireTV is that more apps will show up as developers make them available. Just in the time it took to write this article Amazon added several apps to their library.
The Amazon fireTV game pad costs $40 extra and adds something other mini set-top streaming media boxes don’t have. A good game controller.
Amazon fireTV Hardware Specs:
The Amazon fireTV connections
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8064 processor
- Qualcomm Adreno 320 graphics processor supporting up to 1080p HD
- 8GB of internal storage
- 2GB of memory
- Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound
- Dual-band dual antenna Wi-Fi with support for 802.11a/b/g/n
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Connections: 1 HDMI, 1 Ethernet, 1 USB 2.0, 1 Optical audio and 1 DC power port
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- The fireTV remote is bigger than the Apple TV remote, but with a remote control that’s a good thing.
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- The two remotes share similar control buttons, but the fireTV includes more while remaining simple.
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- The fireTV will take up more space on an entertainment center than Apple TV.
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- The Amazon fireTV gamepad costs $40 extra and adds something other mini set-top streaming media boxes don’t have. A good game controller.
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- The Amazon fireTV remote control balances the right controls while remaining simple.
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- The Amazon fireTV streaming media box packs a lot of streaming content in a thin set-top box.
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- The Amazon fireTV connections
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- The Apple TV is thicker than the fireTV.
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- The Amazon fireTV system brings inexpensive gaming to the media streaming market.
