Amazon has today released its Fire TV streaming device in the UK, following a period of pre-orders .
The multi-faceted Web giant revealed it would be bringing the Fire TV – which allows users to stream TV and film content, as well as play games via a special Amazon Fire Game Controller – to its first markets outside the US in early September. And now it has.
From October 25, it will also be available in Germany. Alongside Fire TV, the Game Controller is also available from today in the UK, priced at £34.99. As well as being available from its own site, Fire TV will also be stocked by Tesco, Dixons and Argos.
Of course, with a wealth of other ways to watch streaming content on the big screen, it’ll need to fend off the likes of Roku and Chromecast if it wants to gain market traction.
➤ Amazon Fire TV
BlackBerry CEO talks up incoming ‘Classic’ handset
BlackBerry CEO John Chen revealed details of BlackBerry’s next smartphone: the Classic.
It’s a pretty appropriate name too from the looks of it; the device will feature BlackBerry’s much-loved full hardware Qwerty keyboard and is clearly being angled at the brand’s most loyal fans.
“It’s tempting in a rapidly changing, rapidly growing mobile market to change for the sake of change – to mimic what’s trendy and match the industry-standard, kitchen-sink approach of trying to be all things to all people,” Chen wrote . “But there’s also something to be said for the classic adage, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”
While the post doesn’t go into other hardware details of the device, Chen did say that “the screen is bigger and sharper” and that there have been a number of other tweaks around the edges. According to UberGizmo , the device is set for release in December.
No doubt, the handset will prove popular with fans of BlackBerry’s long-line of classically-styled devices. But winning over existing brand followers won’t gain it much ground in the overall mobile market.
➤ BlackBerry Classic [via Inside BlackBerry ]
Roku players will soon support Android, Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 screen mirroring
Own a Roku 3 or Roku Streaming Stick ? You’ll soon be able to mirror the screen from your Android, Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 devices.
The feature is rolling out in beta today for select Android and Windows 8.1 hardware; the company expects it to be available to all customers, with support for all three platforms within “the next few weeks.” Similar to Google’s Chromecast, it means you can beam exactly what’s on your screen – not just specific apps or content – and display it for everyone to see on a large-screen TV.
To enable it, you’ll first need to go into the Settings menu on your Roku player and select the “Screen Mirroring” option. Once it’s enabled, you can dive into your device of choice (that supports mirroring) and begin streaming. The setup is slightly different for each platform, but Roku has posted a few guides to get you started ( Android , Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 ).
Roku announced in September that it’s sold over 10 million streaming-media boxes. With a growing armada of competitors, such as Amazon’s Fire TV and Google’s Chromecast, the company needs to give new and potential customers every reason to stick with its hardware and app ecosystem.