Amazon has been rushing to finalize and release a set-top box in time for the holidays, designed to compete directly with the Apple TV and Roku. However, The Verge has learned that the company recently made the decision to delay the device, possibly beyond the holiday season. Sources say that the box is based on a fork of Android just like the company’s Kindle Fire tablets, and that Amazon was going to allow third party apps in addition to its own services. In fact, much of the same code that works with Amazon’s tablets can also be applied to Amazon’s TV product, implying that the box runs some version of Fire OS. Although third party apps would be a differentiator for Amazon, obviously the premier feature would be access to the company’s library of Prime videos. Amazon has been pushing its Prime video service hard of late, offering offline viewing on the Kindle Fire HDX and developing its own original shows as well.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.