Amazon Stokes Fire TV With 600 Apps In 3 Months
The streaming set-top box market is a crowded one to compete in, and if you're looking for a reason to go with one over another, Amazon's pitch is that its Fire TV is exploding with apps. Or in Amazon's words, "Fire TV has the fastest growing selection of any streaming media device." Amazon bases that claim on having added over 600 channels, apps, and games to the Fire TV in just the past three months alone.
Some of the new offerings include Popcornflix, Funny Or Die, Candy Crush Saga, and Fox News. One of the bigger additions, however, is that of the GameFly streaming service -- it's now available exclusively for streaming media devices on Fire TV. Through GameFly, users can play a bevy of PC titles, including the Batman series, Darksiders II, Dirt 3, and more.
Amazon says that Fire TV owners can use the GameFly service with its Fire TV Game Controller, an optional accessory that runs $40. On the software side, game packs via GameFly start at $6.99 per month, and at launch there will be half a dozen game packs to choose from.
"The team is working hard and moving incredibly fast to bring even more movies, TV shows, live TV, sports, music, channels, apps and games to the Amazon Fire TV platform every week—and it shows. Amazon Fire TV selection has grown 127 percent in just the last 6 months, and is continuing to accelerate," said Steve Rabuchin, Vice President Amazon Appstore. "With the addition of new titles like Fox News, Popcornflix, Candy Crush Saga and GameFly, customers now have access to even more of their favorite TV shows, news content, top quality games and live TV."
Amazon's chest thumping isn't without merit. The GameFly service could be a deciding factor all on its own, and it certainly helps that there's a wide range of content available. That said, it's not a perfect streamer -- for the full scoop on its highs and lows, check out our review (note that HBO Go has since been added).
Some of the new offerings include Popcornflix, Funny Or Die, Candy Crush Saga, and Fox News. One of the bigger additions, however, is that of the GameFly streaming service -- it's now available exclusively for streaming media devices on Fire TV. Through GameFly, users can play a bevy of PC titles, including the Batman series, Darksiders II, Dirt 3, and more.
Amazon says that Fire TV owners can use the GameFly service with its Fire TV Game Controller, an optional accessory that runs $40. On the software side, game packs via GameFly start at $6.99 per month, and at launch there will be half a dozen game packs to choose from.
"The team is working hard and moving incredibly fast to bring even more movies, TV shows, live TV, sports, music, channels, apps and games to the Amazon Fire TV platform every week—and it shows. Amazon Fire TV selection has grown 127 percent in just the last 6 months, and is continuing to accelerate," said Steve Rabuchin, Vice President Amazon Appstore. "With the addition of new titles like Fox News, Popcornflix, Candy Crush Saga and GameFly, customers now have access to even more of their favorite TV shows, news content, top quality games and live TV."
Amazon's chest thumping isn't without merit. The GameFly service could be a deciding factor all on its own, and it certainly helps that there's a wide range of content available. That said, it's not a perfect streamer -- for the full scoop on its highs and lows, check out our review (note that HBO Go has since been added).
