Amazon is reportedly prepping a TV set-top box designed to stream to video and presumably run Android apps from the company’s curated storefront.
According to Bloomberg, the move would see increasing competition between Amazon and Apple, as well as with Roku, Boxee and next-gen consoles from Sony (PS4) and Microsoft (Xbox 720 Next).
“It would certainly make some sense,” Jason Krikorian, a general partner at venture-capital firm DCM, and the former co-founder of Sling Media, told the publication. “They have a ton of content, an existing billing relationship with millions of users.”
Indeed, a number of set-top boxes already offer easy access to Amazon’s extensive video catalog, although with its own device, the Seattle-based corporation would be able to more directly promote its content.
Although Amazon has yet to confirm the existence of a pending set-top box, reports indicate the device is being developed by the company’s Lab126 division under the command of Malachy Moynihan, a former exec at Cisco who worked on various video initiatives.
Additional key staff working on the project? Andy Goodman (Tivo/Vudu) and Chris Coley (ReplayTV).
