By 
Yesterday Amazon announced the Amazon Fire TV and Fire Game Controller, Android-based products priced at $99 and $39 respectively. They jump into a crowded market where they compete directly with Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Google TV, OUYA, and others. How will they fare?
We already told you everything you need to know about Amazon Fire TV, but showing and telling are two different things:
Some comments I’d like to share:
- Holy finger grease! If you’re an OCD-type person, Fire TV might drive you bonkers. It’ a smudge magnet and they’re not easy to wipe away.
- The set top box looks like a big coffee table coaster and it’s rather heavy/dense for its size.
- Amazon is a logistics company and clearly aimed for price savings: Fire TV is just a black rectangle with an Amazon logo and the minimum necessary ports. Probably appreciated rather than whoring their brand out obnoxiously.
- The remote looks clunky but doesn’t feel bad… definitely better than the OUYA remote
- Back, Home, and Menu buttons… yay Android!
- The GameCircle button/icon is odd… does anyone else get it, cause I don’t?
- Double AA batteries for the Game Controller and Triple AAA batteries for the TV remote are fulfilled by Amazon Basics… didn’t know they made (or branded) batteries.
- The Fire TV Remote feels outrageously cheap and I’m hoping it is redundant… I’d get a better remote control by purchasing an oscillating fan.
- The power charger is… a power charger.
Some pictures I took afterwards:
And I was thinking of a Goomba. A Goomba. Not an Oompa Loompa. The Fire Game Controller reminds me of a Goomba. Not sure why but it does… so that’s my new name for Amazon Gaming. Goomba.
Continue the discussion at our Fire TV Forums!
Can you confirm if there’s ‘special offers’ in there? That’s going to be the deal breaker for me.
In where?
I think he means, does the box display special offers like the kindles do. (It costs more money to buy a kindle that doesn’t display special offers)
Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.
Thanks for the video review!
Rob Amazon has a whole line of basic gadgets for your gadgets like keyboards and batteries and even a stylus or 2 called the Amazon Basic Line basically
Lol, goomba.
OT, but damn Rob, why are you using that janky kitchen knife to open boxes with? For ~$50 you can buy an awesome scary-sharp pocket knife to be proud of, and you won’t get box/tape goo on your food. :)
A couple good suggestions:
– Kershaw Leek
– Benchmade mini-Griptilian
– Spyderco Delica
I have been buying amazon basics AA and AAAs for the last year or so (as well as some of their hdmi and other cables and my cell phone came with one of their car chargers), the batteries are as good as energizers and maybe even duracells, the cables are slightly better then the normal cheapest cables you can find on amazon.com plus you get their awesome customer service. They even constantly lower prices to stay competitive to other sellers, its a sweet deal.
O and the best part of all is that when you order the batteries they come in a tiny frustration-free cardboard box that fits 20AA and 20AAA batteries in my drawer in the same space an 8 pack blister pack of AA duracells used to take up
http://www.nexus6price.com
Looks better than what I thought and well made. This device really intrigues me for some reason (even though I don’t own a Kindle Fire or subscribe to Amazon Prime). Probably because the internal specs — slow menus REALLY irritate me on Blu-Ray players, etc. and I apparently have a new tech addiction. The price seems perfect too.
Why can’t we get a device like this but with Google apps? :(
It’s such a waste.