Amazon may be making a major new play for the living room, according to reports that the e-commerce giant is developing a Kindle TV set-top box to compete with AppleTV and Roku.
The way we watch television is changing, fast, and Amazon is looking to jump into the fray with its own device that brings its streaming video content to users televisions, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
According to the Bloomberg report, which cites three people familiar with the project, the box is being developed by the companys Lab126 division and is being led by former Apple, TiVO and Vudu employees.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Buzz around the rumored Kindle TV box comes ahead of the companys Thursday earnings report. Last month, the company dropped the price of its most expensive tablets, the WiFi and 4G versions of its 8.9-inch Kindle Fire, explaining that the cost of making the tablets had fallen as the company has produced more devices.
Across our business at Amazon, whenever we are able to create cost efficiencies like this, we want to pass the savings along to our customers, said Amazons Kindle vice president, Dave Limp, in a release.
As of the end of 2012, the IDC analysis firm reported that Amazon trailed Apple and Samsung in tablet market share, with 11.5 percent of the world market. That was a drop from the previous year, when the company had 15.9 percent of the market, which analysts say may have also influenced the decision to drop the top Kindle prices.
According to a report from the New York Times, analysts expect that the company will stick to this same strategy for a set-top box.
The report noted, however, that Amazon would be late to the game. But the market for streaming video is a little more competitive, with dedicated devices like Roku and Apple TV, and stronger pushes from console makers to put more streaming video onto the devices consumers already have plugged into their televisions..
One way for Amazon to distinguish itself is by offering original programming, a new focus for the firm.
No comments:
Post a Comment