Amazon Unveils Fire TV Video Streaming Device

Amazon’s Fire TV

Amazon announced a new set-top box that gives users access to a variety of programming from traditional and online providers.  The device, which Amazon is calling Fire TV, also provides customers with a number of new features, such as voice search and Amazon FreeTime.

Fire TV will give customers access to Amazon’s Prime Instant Video streaming service that it offers to members of its Prime shipping program.  It will also support a number of apps, including those from Netflix, Hulu, Walt Disney, and YouTube.   Users can also rent or purchase over 200,000 movies and TV episodes through Amazon Instant Video.

Prime Instant Video offers a large variety of television programs and movies in addition to original programming, such as the political comedy “Alpha House.”

Another feature of the product is ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction), which predicts which movies or episodes you will want to watch based on your viewing history and habits, and buffers them for you before you watch them.

The device will sell for $99.99 and started to ship Wednesday