Amazon's Fire TV Is Powerful, but Voice Search Limitations Hamper User Experience

Roniniku said:

Speak for yourself there Monsieur Poutine. Kindles came out on the same day

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Wrong. We didn't get the original Kindle, we got the Kindle 2 8 months late, the Kindle DX 8 months late, I don't think we ever got the Kindle 3, 4 and Touch, the Kindle 5 was 4 months late, the Kindle paperwhite 3 months late, we didn't get the Fire, the Fire HD 9 months late, the Fire HDX 2 months late.

We got the Kindle Store late, Amazon Prime late, and now we're getting the FireTV late as well.

We basically get everything late (or not at all) and Amazon Prime sucks because it's just a way of getting free/discounted shipping on a very limited selection of products but doesn't offer free streaming.

many, many, many people use Prime in Canada, both for streaming via VPN and shipping to package pick-up shops (but not in Quebec perhaps).

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I suspect only a minority of the population use VPNs and pick-up shops (and even know what they are). I think this has little to do with the province you're in, and more with the fact most people are looking for simplicity and don't want to have to deal with that stuff.

If you are going to speak for Canada then get your facts straight.....and be in Canada.

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What do you mean? I'm already in Canada. You on the other hand appear to be in Japan.

gmanist1000 said:

View attachment 467422

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While these speeds are completely and utterly unnecessary for anything TODAY.


HOT DAMN I WANT... I thought my 300Mbps 5ghz router was fast...

Can you smell the hate!

Forum after forum all I see is hatred and nitpicking of competitive products, Apple cannot and will not be the end all and be all of technology!!! I am a loyal Apple customer of most of there products, but I'm also an owner and customer of many other non apple products as well, and support any evolving product which suits my needs, if it turns out to be an apple product, great, if not thats fine too... I own a Apple tv3, google chromecast, roku 3 and just purchased an Amazon Fire..

They all function great, and all have a purpose and market share.

STOP BEING BIASED AND LOOKING FOR ISSUES IN A LESS THAN PERFECT MARKET!!

bbeagle said:

Fire TV doesn't knock the Apple TV out of the park.... but if someone who doesn't have an Apple phone/tablet/computer needs a TV device RIGHT NOW, and they can choose between Google, Roku, Apple and Amazon, I'd tell them to get a Fire TV.

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Why? So they can view *both* movies that Amazon offers?

Voice control: I've yet to see an implemention that works worth a damn, and that includes Siri.

Games: who gives a ****? Just like on the Samsung DVD player I had years ago, the games are likely to be lame and few in number. People who care about games are going to either use their phone/tablet on the low end, or some dedicated console on the obsessive end.

Apps: Every other STB / smart TV has apps that fall into two categories, and I expect this to be no different:

1) Interfaces to for-pay streaming services, mostly a common set, though many don't bother with Amazon
2) Skins for blogs

Basically the Fire TV is the Zune all over again.

DShap5 said:

What the heck are you talking about? Siri rocks.

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I use siri for all my alarms and timers, much faster, and I can say "wake me up in 3.5 hours" for a nap instead of doing math and figuring out what time to set it for.

bpcookson said:

To be fair, this argument is fair use for most Samsung products. That being said, it's a shame to see folks blindly applying the same logic to other competitors' serious efforts.

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This. Samsung makes it notoriously obvious, but Amazon's new Fire TV looks like a great effort that will definitely sway those who don't already have a TV device yet.

John.B said:

If you're talking about the "free"* content, then yes, Prime Instant Video selection is much, much worse than Netflix.

* "Free" with $99/year Amazon Prime membership.

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Which I take to mean, essentially worthless. But you do get unlimited 2nd-day shipping, and that really improves your viewing experience.

MacVsMic said:

Lol, Amazon is huge company with many offerings! What do you mean they only succeed @ selling books? There one of the largest online retailers in the country but?! But what?

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I think he was refering just to digital media, where Apple is ahead of Amazon in the areas stated. There’s no arguing that you can’t buy just about any physical product from Amazon.

This is the best streaming box you can get.

I've ordered mine and should be here today. Gotta love Amazon Prime.

Roniniku said:

Speak for yourself there Monsieur Poutine. Kindles came out on the same day and many, many, many people use Prime in Canada, both for streaming via VPN and shipping to package pick-up shops (but not in Quebec perhaps). If you are going to speak for Canada then get your facts straight.....and be in Canada.

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umm. your profiles says "japan" not canada..

I can attest.. As an Ontarian.

Amazon is NOT Canada friendly. Kindles are roughtly 1-2 years behind american kindle releases. Kindle only sells right now the Kindle (non touch) and the last generation Kindle paperwhite (3g available one too). Its not the latest Kindle Paperwhite.

Kindle also ONLY this year made the Kindle Fire's available in Canada. a Full 3 years after the "first fire" launched

As for Prime? Prime in Canada only gets you according to their own website:

1. FREE Two-Day Shipping on millions of eligible items to most cities in Canada
2. Discounted One-Day Shipping for as low as CDN$ 3.99/item
3. FREE Standard Shipping where One-Day and Two-Day Shipping are unavailable
4. No Minimum Purchase - don't worry about meeting a threshold to get free shipping

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There is no kindle content available in Canada for Amazon prime. None of their streaming services are available via amazon.ca. and if you want to get it, you must spoof your IP AND have a US based address.

This alone makes the Fire TV a pretty weak buy for Canadians.

"Scott Stein of CNET focused on the gaming feature of the Fire TV, saying it isn't groundbreaking and doesn't offer a compelling alternative to existing smartphone, tablet, or console games."

Comparing a home media set connected to a TV versus smartphones and tablets? What was he smoking?

The remote for Amazon looks very functional! It even has iPod inspired dials. Compare that with the cool looking yet not functional worth a squat Apple TV remote!

OllyW said:

Too true. I've got three boxes under my TV (Virgin Media Tivo, Apple TV and Now TV / Roku) and they all do some things really well but none of them could replace the other. It would brilliant to have all their functions combined into a single box but we know that's never going to happen.

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I wouldn't be so sure. I suspect this is precisely what Apple is trying to do. They know that very few are going to want to own three boxes, or four if they find the Fire to be compelling. One product can win out over the others and fundamentally change the game, if it offers a clearly better and more complete experience. The problem with this market today is that nobody has accomplished this and as a result the market is becoming steadily more fragmented.

Dave.UK said:

So you believe that Fire TV was rushed out to beat Apple TV?

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Not quite. Obviously Fire TV comes out after the current Apple TV and before the next Apple TV. So it is both a copy of what we already know and a precognition of what might be next. The first part is the old and boring part, which generally works well. The second part is the new and exciting part, which might be rushed.

The first Apple TV came out on March 21, 2007. So I'd say Fire TV is more of a copy.

Can't find the voice search on Apple tv....

Rogifan said:

Well I currently have an ATV and am waiting to see what Apple does. If they do nothing or it's crap I might look at something else. But not having AirPlay would be an issue.

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But why would you have to give up your current ATV to do airplay? Is it throw the baby out with the bathwater if you get another device? Just asking.

IJ Reilly said:

Which I take to mean, essentially worthless. But you do get unlimited 2nd-day shipping, and that really improves your viewing experience.

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Yes.

At $79/year for two-day shipping (with option for $4/item overnight delivery) I considered the free Instant Video content to be nothing more than a throwaway. Going up to $99/year on renewal. It helps that my Sony Blu-ray player came with an Amazon Instant Video channel, so no additional cost to me.

Just for grins, looking just now at "Prime Eligible Movies", sorted by "Popularity", on the first page:

• Hunger Games
• Skyfall
• Silence of the Lambs
• Escape From New York
• Wayne's World

On the second page:

• Hannibal Rising
• Halloween
• Raging Bull
• Blair Witch Project
• Hannibal
• Thelma & Louise
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Hardly the cream of the streaming video crop. And, except for Hunger Games and Skyfall, those movies are decades old.

From my experience it has been far, far easier to find something I want to watch on Netflix. YMMV.

anthony11 said:

Basically the Fire TV is the Zune all over again.

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RedOrchestra said:

REALLY - Apple TV continues to be an EPIC disappointment to many of us.

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How many are the "many of us" you seam to know so much about all the users of Apple TV do let everyone else know how you know so much about every Apple TV user and their likes/dislikes of the device.

Jalopybox said:

Can't find the voice search on Apple tv....

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Probably lost your Apple TV voice controller....

japanime said:

Agreed. This device looks like it is far beyond anything else currently on the market.

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I guess. I mean, I just want something to stream video. A super fast processor is just overkill for that. If I want to play games, I'm going to use a real console. As for other apps, I've already got a whole multitude of very capable screens for that stuff. I use my TV to watch video and that's pretty much its whole purpose. Maybe other people want apps on their big screen, but I'm fine without.

The ONLY thing this currently has that I'm missing on my ATV is Amazon Prime streaming. And that actually functions just fine on the old timey 1st gen Roku I have sitting around for just that purpose.
they could

gnipgnop said:

That's making a sizable assumption given the fact that Amazon's digital music & movie store is not a real competitor for iTunes, and Amazon's Android App store is not a real competitor for Apple's App Store.

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I disagree. Most people are already entrenched in their ecosystem of choice. What I'm really looking at here is the implementation. The GUI seems solid, transitions appear to be fast and smooth, form factor and physical aesthetics are up to snuff, the remote isn't terrible, and they appear to have lots of 3rd party support.

I think the only assumption I'm making is that people are indeed entrenched. How many folks are really still on the fence between iOS, Android, Windows Phone, or otherwise? With all the talk of smart phone saturation not being too far off, I think we've been led to believe (whether fact or fiction) that this portion of the market is rather small.

Mine is due to arrive today - will set it up and play when I'm home from work. Not really phased by the negative reviews.

I'll post honest impressions when I've gotten some time with it - ya know, from the Apple Fanboy's point of view

There are two kinds of people.
There are those that this product as is and lack the imagination of what could be.
Then there are those that know what this product will be. Powerful device that runs on Android. Expect this device to be tinkered with on XDA. I wouldn't be surprised if XBMC is ported over to this device. This device has potential to be so much. Much more than the Roku or Apple TV

Nunyabinez said:

Seems like they're nitpicking to me.

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yep, same thing I was thinking when I was reading it