According to sources close to the Internet retail giant, Amazon is on the verge of launching a set-top box for streaming digital content.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon’s epic TV product will begin shipping in early April.
The yet to be confirmed or named device will be available through Amazon’s website and also through its retail partners, including Best Buy and Staples.
“The Amazon device will carry a variety of apps available on Roku Inc. and Apple Inc. set-top boxes and run on a version of Google Inc.’s Android software, like Amazon’s tablet computers,” sources confess. “Roku’s most popular apps include video services Netflix and Hulu Plus and music service Pandora, as well as Amazon’s own video-streaming service.”
Earlier this week, MMW reported that Amazon upped the annual membership price for Prime in a move that comes just as rumors started to intensify that the online retail behemoth will challenge Apple in the set-top TV box market.
Prime, the increasingly ubiquitous service for streaming video, borrowing books, and getting free shipping on all orders, will now cost $99 annually.
Prime had previously cost $79 for the last nine years of its existence.
