Online retail giant Amazon is developing a set-top box device that will stream video content from the web to your TVs, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. The STB device, which is due later this year, will provide access to Amazon’s expanding video services, which include Amazon Prime Instant Video, a service which provides access to more than 37,000 feature films and TV episodes for free. Users will also be able to buy/rent film and TV titles via Amazon Instant Video. Much like other streaming devices from Boxee, Roku and Apple, Amazon's box will also offer access to video services like Netflix and Hulu Plus, though Amazon's video offering will likely be heavily integrated into the device.Some could say that Amazon is late to the OTT game, but the reasons for doing a set-top box are obvious, with its original content being the most popular on the platform since it launched. As Amazon finds its way to more niche shows that it can present exclusively, the reasons to grab an Amazon-branded device for your TV makes more sense. In the same way that Apple leverages each of its devices to sell new ones, Amazon is learning how it’s done. Jeff Bezos leads his company by taking smart, calculated steps all the while capitalizing on mistakes made by others. Kindle-TV anyone?
Amazon won't be able to compete on features in a saturated OTT space (xBox, Roku, et al.). But they will compete on price, which is huge in a CE product category known for its price elasticity. In other words, just like the Kindle line they'll come in late and steal share by heavily discounting the hardware as a loss leader for content revenues. That will be their play, and it will work... that's the real angle here.
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