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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Amazon's Fire TV Is Powerful, but Voice Search Limitations Hamper User Experience
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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.
They won't. There will be people who buy this, but it won't explode like some here seem to think it will. Apple TV is still going to be the go-to for most iPhone/iPad users, and there are a lot more of those than Kindle Fire users and Amazon Phone, oh wait, there's no such thing. There are a few things that the current Kindle Fire TV does better than the current Apple TV, and there's a certain feature that the Apple TV has called AirPlay that has potential to completely negate any features the Kindle Fire TV has for most Apple device users. Dropping in an App Store with some games is not game-changing right now.
And again, whenever Apple does drop a next-generation Apple TV, expect it to raise the bar well past where the Kindle Fire TV is.
And really, who's shocked that the voice search doesn't work very well??? This should not be disappointing or surprising, because you had to imagine it'd be rough going early on at the very least in this department.
This. Apple doesn't want to release yet another TV box. The current AppleTV is a placeholder for when they can leapfrog the current TV box mess and change the entire user experience for the better, whether they stream only or subscribe to cable. Amazon isn't necessarily to be criticized for the Fire, but it is fundamentally limited by the current programming delivery system. All the current TV boxes are, which also begs the question, "how many of them are you going to buy?"
What reviews, on Amazon.com?
And Apple has a larger customer database than Amazon.
The Fire TV is good. I just watched through the ad on Amazon.com, and there is nothing that it can do that Apple TV can't do except for (a) voice control through the remote - however this can simply be done through an App on the App Store as the iPhone can be used as a remote, and (b) games. I've got a game system already though.
Fire TV is very competitive, and for those who don't want to be in the Apple eco-system, but instead the Amazon eco-system, it's the device to get. But to say it's very far ahead of Apple TV is a joke. It's not. The problem is that Apple doesn't advertise the Apple TV very well and people don't understand that things like PLEX are built in to the device (albeit with a different file format allowed).
And for every Vevo, I can point to an HBO GO that Apple TV has that Fire TV doesn't. It all depends what fits your needs. One or the other isn't a runaway hit. Which spells trouble for Amazon, I think, when Apple introduces it's next Apple TV. We already know they're working with Comcast on getting live TV through the Apple device. It's going to be interesting!
It will do very well. Maybe not in this first iteration but down the road it will be big. The 3 major players for home entertainment will be Apple, Google, and Amazon (this has been clear for a number of years, once Google bought YouTube and started towards their current Play store and once Amazon started adding videos and music). Microsoft is trying but they don't have the content infrastructure of those big 3.
Now all 3 of those companies have hardware, software, and content. Add in games (Amazon going first with Apple and Google to follow) and those 3 companies can make up the entire home entertainment market (allowing for Netflix and Hulu to fill their roles).
Apple can take their time on a device and interface because they already have the huge iOS infrastructure. They can't wait too long or more and more people will shift over to Google and Amazon.
Arguments which are mostly true ( if not always ) tend to be tired and boring. I've summarized below.
Tired and Boring
- You fell and hurt because of gravity.
Lively and Exciting
- You fell and hurt because of antigravity.
I learned this playing Limbo.
Blind leading the blind..
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?
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?
Well how about The Verge for a start. 8.7 compared to Apples 7.7.
Voice control
Games (With additional controller)
Amazon App store
USB
Thats quite a bit more it can do without having to use an additional device like you have described.
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So you believe that Fire TV was rushed out to beat Apple TV?
You are fighting a losing battle with him. Not because you are wrong. But because he is stuck in a box.
Criticizing Voice is perfectly valid because Amazon kept on harping that it has "voice search that actually works."
It is. It's more like an added bonus as part of Prime shipping.
It is. It's more like an added bonus as part of Prime shipping.
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.
Oh come on. That's all this forum does is nitpick Apple when they don't get it perfect every time. This issue with Amazon's machine is legit and it should be mentioned and covered all over several sites on the internet....or did you want them to remain hush hush about Amazon's imperfect machine so it may continue to upstage the Apple TV?
That's a total misrepresentation of this forum and you know it. Are there people who intentionally find fault with Apple regardless of the topic? Yes and they are annoying. There are just as many who post here that blindly refuse to find any criticism of Apple. They are just as annoying. There's one posting in this thread right now. We all know who he is, so no need to name names (not you Henry
) Being a fan of Apple doesn't mean being an apologist for shortcomings. It also doesn't mean attacking anything without one of these:
Re:this thread. The title is overly suggestive since only one review mentioned the voice search limitations. It's a first gen product. I don't remember a first gen product from anyone -Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, etc. - that didn't have it's issues.
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.
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.
Really? Roku and Chromcast were the biggest POS that I ever tried. Apple TV kills both of those.
Well how about The Verge for a start. 8.7 compared to Apples 7.7.
Voice control
Games (With additional controller)
Amazon App store
USB
Thats quite a bit more it can do without having to use an additional device like you have described.
So you believe that Fire TV was rushed out to beat Apple TV?
First, no I don't believe that Fire TV was rushed. It's a pretty good product.
Yes, I'll give you Voice Control, Games and Amazon Prime if you give Apple TV:
Ability to use iPhone as a controller
iTunes Store
Airplay
It's all very similar.
Yes, advantage Fire TV right now because of games. It's voice controller is nice, but only for Amazon Prime. It won't work with anything else right now, but still - it's nice.
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.
How so? It looks like a me-too product to me -- there are multiple other devices out there that interface with streaming services, and increasingly that functionality is built into the TV's themselves.
The glaring lack AFAICT is the inability to play local media through an SMB/NFS/AFP mount.
I'd recommend the Roku myself. but thats heavily influenced by being Canadian, and Amazon doesn't provide their content services up here.
Without all those prime services, The Roku actually appears to be the best media streaming device, almost purely based on the sheer number of channel offerings, plus the ability to "sideload" unofficial channels as well.
I'm not sure about the FireTV yet, but is it google play compliant? or is it like the Fire tablets, limiting you only to the Amazon store for apps and content.
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.
I think youve completely nailed it there. I already know several people who are considering this simply because they cant get Amazons streaming on their already-owned Apple TVs.
To be fair, though, I live in the US and I havent seen a Kindle Fire in the wild either.
Will you look at that
http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyol...-third-parties-just-as-hackers-force-it-open/
That's actually pretty cool. I don't think it will force Apple to do anything they don't want to do though. Apple moves at their own pace, whether we like it or not. Also getting that app into the app store may not be as easy as that guy thinks. I hope it gets in, but no one can predict what Apple will do.
Still that's pretty slick and doesn't take a jailbreak.