Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) is reportedly talking to media companies and app developers about contributing software and content to a streaming media set-top box that could be introduced by the holidays. The company has given some prospective content partners a mid-October deadline by which to submit apps that would work on the device, the Wall Street Journal reported.
An Amazon-made device would also surely feature ways for Amazon Prime customers to watch video included with the free-shipping customer loyalty program the e-commerce giant operates. If the device materializes this year--the Journal's sources provided the caveat that it might not--it would compete with other set-tops from Roku, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). Similar streaming media features are also built into major game consoles, which are increasingly being marketed as home-media hubs.
Beyond streaming movies and TV shows, the device could also be used to play games, the Journal reported.
For more:
- the Wall Street Journal had this report (sub. req.)
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