Amazon TV set-top box coming in March, report says

Amazon.com is gearing up to release an Internet-connected television set-top box as early as next month, according to a report Friday.

The Seattle-based online retailer is aiming for a March debut for a product that would go head-to-head with the Apple TV, the Google Chromecast and the numerous Roku set-top boxes that are already on the market, according to the technology blog Recode, formerly known as AllThingsD.

Details about the device are limited, but Recode said the Amazon set-top box will be based on the Google Android operating system, which is also used by the company for its line of Kindle Fire tablets. The Recode report cites unnamed sources who are working with Amazon on the gadget.

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Amazon has long been rumored to be launching a set-top box. The move would make sense for the company, which sells TV shows and movies through its website and its Kindle Fire tablets.

Rivals Apple and Google do the same, but those companies make it possible for users to easily send content from their smartphones, tablets or desktop computers to their TVs by way of Apple TV or Chromecast. Kindle Fire owners currently have no way of doing that.

Amazon could not be reached for comment.

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