Kindle TV could be on the way from Amazon if a Wednesday report from Bloomberg Businessweek has any weight to it.
The website pointed to three anonymous sources, who had leaked stories that there would be an Amazon streaming device by the fall of 2013. Beyond the fact that it was in the cards, the sources didn’t cough up anything further, and, officially, Amazon is keeping its collective trap shut.
Just to start, this idea makes a lot of sense to us since the company pocketed $9 billion over the 2012 holiday season , and it’s much less problematic than getting into the brick and mortar business , which they’ve also considered.
In comments to Bloomberg , Jason Krikorian, a general partner at the DCM venture capital firm and co-founder of Sling Media, agreed that a set-top box would be a wise move for the online retailer.
“It would certainly make some sense,” Krikorian said. “They have a ton of content, an existing billing relationship with millions of users, an existing Android app marketplace that could be leveraged on the box, a reputation for solid hardware products, and a terrific channel through which to promote the product.”
In light of all these assets and resources Amazon has available, we’ve decided to put together our top five features we’d like to see should Kindle TV become a reality.
There is certainly a lot of ground the retailer can cover right out of the box, and we hope if they’re going to do it, they put some elbow grease into it. For more on the rumors, you can check the vid. If you want to get down to business, though, keep scrolling.
5. Minimum 1920 x 1080 High Definition Experience
We’d really like to see 4K capabilities, or 3840 x 2160, like the rumor Fast Company recently reported about Apple and its eventual plan to unleash an Apple television set ; but considering that Amazon’s first Kindle Fire wouldn’t even allow streaming of HD movies, we don’t want to overplay our hand.
4. Blu-ray And DVD
If Amazon wants to make this an all-in-one experience, then why not leverage some of their other products? You can buy Blu-ray and DVD on the site now — in fact, looking at the prices, you’d be crazy not to — so why not incorporate a disc drive capable of playing these two popular home video formats? You could think about incorporating VHS, too, to play some of those hard-to-find cassettes Amazon has for sale, but let’s not get carried away.
3. Enhanced Instant Video Store And Prime Streaming
This is a no-brainer and the one thing Bloomberg’s three hush-hush sources had no problem disclosing. You will be able to access the store from your television, but to add to the obvious, we’d like to see an easier and more extensive search experience. An explanation of what we mean: on Xbox 360, the database of available movies is limited. We’d like the ability to see all available instant movies for one genre instead of having to go to the physical website and search for hours to see if there is an obscure, forgotten classic waiting in the wings.
2. Search On Steroids
A basic search function is a given, but add just one addition. If a movie is not available on Instant, but does have a disc available, allow us to make the purchase there and have it shipped to our house from the streaming device. For that matter, just have a shop button that allows us to keep a credit card on file, utilize one-click purchase settings, and buy books, games, blenders, and whatever else is available through the Amazon website (including the Z-shops) without getting off the couch.
1. Kindle Mirror Function
It’s understandable that some customers will purchase a Kindle TV without owning an actual Kindle, but for those of us who are fortunate enough to own both, why not have a push-button setting that enables mirroring? You could essentially use your Amazon tablet as a remote control in scrolling through the marketplace on your television. And with all the games and apps that are available, you could even turn your Kindle TV into an Android-based video game console. This would also enable users to access the same great apps — Netflix, ComiXology — that they can on their handheld devices.
If the Kindle TV rumors are true, which features would you most want to see — any of those listed above or something we’ve left off?
[Image via Flickr Creative Commons ]