Amazon launched into the video hardware business on Wednesday with a set-top device called Amazon Fire TV for $99, a small flat box with a remote control. The hardware aims to take on the Apple TV, Roku and even the Xbox One.

The Internet-connected set-top box, which uses voice search when you speak into the remote and also serves as a gaming console, was announced during a launch event in New York City on Wednesday with Amazon VP Peter Larsen playing master of ceremonies, not CEO and founder Jeff Bezos.

The Amazon Fire TV, which is not a dongle like the Google Chromecast device, starts shipping today. To check out the product, click here.

The voice-activated device aims to take away the frustrations of scrolling and clicking for letters on an alphabet grid to find content. It also comes with a quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM and a dedicated GPU for gaming purposes. Amazon said the Fire TV is three times more powerful than the Apple TV.

The remote control, which resembles a hybrid of the Apple TV remote and Boxee's original remote, is Bluetooth-based. The gaming controller costs an additional $39.

Fire TV is based on Android and HTML 5, which means it should be easy for companies to bring their apps over to the platform. Although it supports Hulu Plus, Netflix, Pandora, YouTube and Crackle, users will not be able to access HBO Go and Vudu. However, it will show you content available based on your subscriptions. Music can also be streamed via Pandora, iHeartRadio and Vevo.

Fire TV also serves as a predictive engine called "ASAP," which pre-loads content it thinks you are going to watch, so it can start without any buffering or load time. This feature learns over time and gets better at suggesting content you like.

In a big move, Fire TV also serves as a gaming console and offers titles such as "Minecraft", "The Walking Dead" and "Monsters University" and many are free or as low as $1.85 to play. Users will be able to play Minecraft, which allows for co-op mode that will let users play with friends on their phones or tablets in the same environment.

“We wanted to build a streaming media device that allowed customers to play a variety of games at affordable prices," a company spokesperson said during the event. "By next month, thousands of games will be available for customers to play. Customers can use the Fire TV remote, and they can also use an app for phones or tablets as a controller. There is also a dedicated game controller available as an accessory."

The move into video hardware doesn't come as a complete surprise. Last week, Amazon sent press invitations to the event that included an image of a couch with a bowl of popcorn nearby. It was clear the announcement would involve its video business. The theme also trickled into the design of the event space on Wednesday, which was set up to look like a living room.

Amazon has decorated Milk Studios to look like a living room, complete with couches. #Amazonvideo https://t.co/tXpHW956bz

— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) April 2, 2014

 

Amazon has been a leader in the e-reader and tablet space for awhile, so a move to TV set-top boxes is a natural step for the company as it builds off of its video offerings. Although many set-top boxes already have access to its Prime Instant Video streaming library, this allows Amazon to ramp up its device collection while providing content directly to users. Plus, it serves as new incentive for developers to create apps for Amazon's Kindle ecosystem.

Amazon said it wants to close in on three key areas it wants to fix: search, performance and closed ecosystem.

The first set-top box that supported Amazon videos — previously called Amazon Unbox — was the TiVo, back in 2006. Amazon video later came to Roku devices in 2008, and the company rolled out Prime Instant Video in 2011. Bezos hinted a hardware device was in the works in September in an interview with Mashable's Lance Ulanoff.

In a prior announcement made this weekend, Amazon said it will be turning six shows from its Amazon Originals program into a full series. The shows, which were selected after viewer feedback from the pilot episodes, include The After, Bosch, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, Mozart in the Jungle, Transparent and Wishenpoof! Amazon also renewed Alpha House — starring John Goodman — for a second season.

Amazon's Prime Instant Video also became the exclusive subscription streaming home for the popular show 24, pulling the series from Netflix after years on the site. The move comes just weeks before 24: Live Another Day returns to Fox for a limited-episode run, starting May 5. Netflix users who planned to catch up on the series before it comes back to Fox will have to turn to Prime Instant Video to get their fill.

Lance Ulanoff and Christina Warren contributed to this report.

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