Amazon.com to Ship Video Streaming Device by April [Updated]
Not a huge surprise, but Amazon.com will be releasing their own Chromecast-style video streaming device for their Amazon Instant Video Service this April. The unnamed streaming device will be carried through Amazon.com, as well as several major retail outlets including Best Buy and Staples. This probably won’t be in Walmart due to their competing service, VUDU.
One interesting thing that was rumored is that this device may feature some type of video game streaming service, similar to OnLive. I’m curious how they would pull this off, but I don’t really see that coming to fruition.
High quality mockup
Update:
It looks like the gaming portion of the upcoming device is more likely. While doing more research on the validity of the claims, I came across an article on Zatz Not Funny! with photos of the supposed Bluetooth controller for the upcoming device, as well as some additional streaming services that may be offered, including Netflix and Hulu. The additional streaming services available would seem out of place, to say the least, but maybe they’re hoping this will attract more people to the device and in turn, they’re services.
Sources:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/17/amazon-set-top-box-game-streaming/
Amazon to Ship Video-Streaming Device in April – The Wall Street Journal
http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2014-03/amazon-streamer-feature-bluetooth-gaming-controller/
