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Amazon has gotten into hardware in a big way over the past few years. The company’s first smartphone ships this week, and Kindle eReaders and tablets are among Amazon’s best-selling products. This year Amazon also launched its first smart TV box, the Fire TV.
It’s hard to know just how many of those products Amazon has actually sold, because while the company likes to toot its own horn with press releases talking about record sales… Amazon never provides hard numbers.
So it’s probably worth taking Amazon’s claim that sales of the Fire TV have exceeded sales forecasts with a grain of salt. It’s theoretically possible that Amazon only expected to sell a few dozen units. It’s not likely, but it’s possible.
That said, in the company’s latest financial report Amazon does make it clear that it’s hoping to ramp up production of the Fire TV to meet the stronger-than-expected demand.
Here’s a roundup of tech news from around the web. You can keep up on the latest headlines by following Liliputing on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook.
- Amazon: Fire TV sales have exceeded forecasts, and company is working to step up manufacturing output
The Fire TV competes with Apple TV, Roku, and the upcoming Android TV platform, all of which bring internet content such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Instant Video to your TV. Amazon’s solution also focuses on video games and other apps and includes a nifty voice search feature, among other things. [Amazon] - GOG (Good Old Games) platform now supports Linux, offers 50 new and classic titles
Many of those games are also on sale for prices as much as 75 percent off. [GOG] - Asus Zenbook NX500 laptop with 4K display reviewed (pre-release)
It’s got a crazy-high resolution display… and some glitches that’ll hopefully be worked out by the time this laptop actually hits the sreets. [Ultrabook Review] - Valve Steam Controller grows a thumbstick
What started out as a crazy new wireless game controller designed to let you play PC games without a keyboard is starting to look a lot more like a traditional game console controller. [Engadget] - ScummVM 1.7 adds support for more classic point-and-click games
New (old) games include The Neverhood, Mortville Manor, and Return to Ringworld. But let’s be honest: you really just want to play Monkey Island and Sam and Max… both of which have long been supported. [ScummVM] - Google Chromecast turns 1, Google offers 90-day free trial of All Access music to users
Normally Google offers a 30-day free trial. Unfortunately this deal is only good for folks who haven’t already used up that free 1-month trial. Google] - Now you can browse Google Play for games that don’t require an active internet connection
Sadly, this is necessary because there are a growing number of games that do require an internet connection even after you’ve downloaded and installed an app. [Google Play] - Microsoft launches OneNote for Amazon Fire Phone, Kindle Fire tablets
Microsoft may really want you to buy a phones and tablets running Windows… but the company also wants you to use its apps and services no matter what platform you choose. Microsoft also recently launched a Skype app for Amazon phones and tablets. [ZDNet] - Obuntu turns an Onyx Book M92 9.7″ eReader into a Linux tablet
Because who doesn’t want to run Ubuntu on a tablet with a slow, grayscale display? On a more serious note, this is a rather impressive way to add a lot of functionality to what was once a single-purpose device. [The Digital Reader]
I’m sure some of the Kindle bundles where the Fire TV was included for almost no added cost didn’t hurt.
It would be pretty pathetic if Amazon practically GAVE THEM AWAY ON THE FRONT PAGE OF ITS WEBSITE and didn’t “exceed expectations”