Amazon schedules press event for April 2nd; could introduce Chromecast-like video dongle
Heads up, folks — Amazon has an interest press event set for April 2nd. The company sent invites to members of the press, and the nature of the announcement was teased in a rather obvious way. It consisted of a photo of a couch that had some dropped popcorn littered about, which immediately has us thinking about Amazon Instant Video.
So what could be so big that they’re planning a whole media event for? Recent rumors suggest the company is looking to introduce their own media streaming dongle, one that could resemble Chromecast. It could also be some sort of set-top box. Either way, it’s no doubt something you’ll be hooking up to your TV to watch all your favorite movies and TV shows on.
Some are suggesting Amazon will invite other partners in to play, providing a one-stop shop for video apps of all sorts. At the same time, Amazon will likely look to highlight their own growing library of original content above all else.
We could also see some gaming goodness if this turns out to be a set-top box. Amazon has been rumored to be bringing a gaming unit of some sort, and their purchase of Killer Instinct developer Double Helix certainly doesn’t help them crush those rumors. That said, the fact that the invite specifically mentions “video business” has us cautious to think this announcement will include information about anything other than video streaming.
Peter Larsen, the company’s vice president of Kindle business, will probably be playing some April Fools’ jokes on the day before the event, but they certainly won’t be joking around about their bid to take video to the next level. You can bet we’ll be all ears and eyes next week Tuesday. Now, excuse me while I run to avoid the barrage of comments wondering where the freaking Instant Video for Android app is.
[via TechCrunch]