Gadgets2.04.2014

Amazon reveals Fire TV video streaming device

A worker handles items for delivery at Amazon's new distribution center in Brieselang, near Berlin November 28, 2013. Germany's antitrust watchdog has dropped an investigation into Amazon after the world's biggest Internet retailer agreed to stop forcing third-party merchants to offer their cheapest price when selling products on its platform. Andreas Mundt, the president of the German cartel office, said it had decided to set aside the case against Amazon after the company agreed to cancel that demand from the terms and conditions of its contracts with merchants. "Making pricing demands to your own competitors cannot be justified in any circumstances, not even with the undeniable advantages of an online market place." REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY - Tags: BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT)

Amazon.com Inc unveiled a video streaming device dubbed Fire TV on Wednesday that can pipe video directly to television and offers a more prominent showcase for the e-commerce giant’s slate of original programming.

The device competes directly with Apple TV and Roku 3.

In addition to Amazon streaming video, Fire TV will also have content from Netflix, Hulu and others, Amazon executive Peter Larsen said at an event in New York.

“It’s the easiest place to watch Netflix,” Larsen said. “You can watch ‘Alpha House’ and you can watch ‘House of Cards’.”

The Kindle TV has a feature that can predict what the user will watch and cue it up instantly, Larsen said. There is also a microphone in the remote for voice-activated search.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman)

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