As part of new updates to the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick announced by Amazon today, consumers will now be able to connect to WiFi that requires web authentication – something that has prevented college students and people staying at hotels from enjoying over-the-top streaming content. This solve may seem insignificant, but in the ever-crowded OTT space, any differentiating feature (especially for generally more “tech savvy” college students and travelers) could go a long way.
Amazon also announced today that its Fire TV Stick is now available in the UK and Germany (Amazon Fire TV already is available there).
“Customer response to Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick has been overwhelming—we’ve been working hard to build more of both as quickly as possible, and we’re excited to be adding new features we think customers will love,” said Peter Larsen, Vice President, Amazon Devices. “In the UK and Germany, Fire TV is already the best-selling streaming media box on Amazon, and we’re thrilled to be bringing our fastest-selling Amazon device ever—Fire TV Stick—to the UK and Germany. We think millions of customers in the UK and Germany are going to love this product.”
These updates will be available for free to existing owners too, and will also include:
- Expandable USB storage on Amazon Fire TV—You can now use a connected USB mass storage device to expand your Fire TV storage for downloaded apps and games—this enables you to have more games downloaded for easy access.
- Connect to your hotel or dorm room Wi-Fi with captive portal support out of the box—Take your favorite movies, TV shows, games, and more with you away from home—Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick are the first streaming media devices to enable you to connect to Wi-Fi that requires web authentication—this includes Wi-Fi at most major hotels, as well as some universities.
- Private listening on Fire TV—Enjoy favorite movies and TV shows after the kids go to sleep, without worrying about waking them up. Support for wireless Bluetooth headphones to Fire TV lets you listen to your movie, TV show, or music without bothering others in your household.
- Browse and search Prime Playlists—Prime members can now take advantage of hand-crafted Prime Music playlists directly from Fire TV and Fire TV Stick—there are hundreds of expertly curated Prime Playlists to choose from based on your mood, activity or even artist or decade of choice.
- Hidden PIN entry—With the new PIN entry screen that hides the numbers selected, you can now make sure your kids (or freeloading friends) can’t see your device PIN as you enter it on-screen to confirm a purchase on Fire TV or Fire TV Stick.
- New shortcuts—Quickly put your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick to sleep or enable display mirroring by pressing and holding the Home button on your remote.
