Amazon announces Fire TV set-top streaming box with gaming capabilities

As expected, Amazon has launched its set-top box, dubbed the Amazon Fire TV. It sells for $100 and is available now.
What does it do? It streams video and yup, plays games. I went on record as doubting Amazon would push games in a big way but I was wrong. They're selling a $40 game controller (which comes with $10 worth of Amazon Coins to let you buy games, plus a free copy of the $7 Sev Zero title) to help you get the most out of your games.

So what makes the Fire TV stand out from the Apple TV or Roku? Not a lot, honestly. The Fire is more powerful, with a quad-core Snapdragon processor and 2 GB of memory. This is important for gaming but only 'nice to have' for streaming. I can't say I've ever thought "this needs more power!" when using an Apple TV or Roku.

Beyond that, it's another streamer. You can of course watch Amazon content on it, as well as Netflix, Hulu and the rest of the usual suspects. HBO Go is coming but not available yet. With the debut of this season of Game of Thrones this Sunday, it's unfortunate that HBO Go isn't ready yet.

If you already own a streamer like the Roku or the Apple TV, I see no reason to switch to Fire TV unless for some reason you want to play Android games on your TV. If you've yet to purchase a streaming solution though, the Fire TV might be a good choice. Of course you can't access iTunes content on it; if you already have a collection of iTunes music and video you might want to stick to Apple TV. And though Fire TV has a microphone in the remote, Roku has a headphone jack in its remote, which is great for late-night movie watching when you don't want to disturb the family or neighbors.

courtesy: itworld

Nokia Android

The new Nokia X, X+, and XL smartphones that Nokia unveiled here at Mobile World Congress 2014 technically do run on Android, just as the leaks and rumors promised -- and that means you'll be able to load up Android apps with ease. However, this X and family don't turn in the full 'Droid experience that you think.

On top of the Android 4.1 frame, Nokia has painted an interface that pulls from both Asha and the Windows Phone OS

The Nokia X and X+ are almost identical, except that the Nokia X+ has more storage and an SD card. The XL has a 5-inch WVGA display and a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, LED flash. There's also a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. For simplicity's sake, I'll just talk about the Nokia X, which I saw ahead of MWC.

Specs on the dual-SIM Nokia X are modest. It has a 4-inch screen with an 800x480-pixel resolution, a 1GZH dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, and Assisted GPS. Beneath the display, you navigate the screen with the Home button that doubles as a Back button. The phone measures 10 millimeters thick (0.39 inch) around the middle, which is pretty typical, if not a bit thicker than a lot of premium phones (but hey, it stands upright!)

Although it may run Android underneath all the layers, the Nokia X and X+ aren't really Android phones. They deliberately don't look the same and don't feel the same. As such, these aren't phones for fans in search of a budget Android device.

The 89 euros Nokia X ships in the first week of March, and Nokia has a specific audience in mind. (Psst! It isn't Android users.) First-time smartphone owners make up Nokia's dream demographic, with 22-year-olds in the center of the target. (The X+ costs 99 euros and the XL will cost 109 Euros. Both phones will sell in early Q2.)

The Nokia X, X+, and XL aren't coming to countries where high-end smartphones reign supreme. For instance, it isn't touching the US, Korea, or Japan. Specifically, Nokia will pump the Nokia X into Asian countries like China, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, as well as Egypt, India, Pakistan, Russia, Poland, Brazil, and Mexico.

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