By Contessa Gayles @CNNMoney July 3, 2014: 11:02 AM ET
Fire TV
4 of 5
Year released: 2014
Price: $99
One of Amazon's newest gadgets is playing a major game of catch-up to its competitors. Fire TV entered the TV set-top box market nearly seven years after the Apple TV, and it competes against the Roku, Google(GOOG) Chromecast, Microsoft(MSFT) Xbox, Sony(SNE) PlayStation, Nintendo Wii and a host of other set-top streamers and video game consoles.
Fire TV, a device that connects the internet to your TV, allows users to take their online media consumption from their laptops to their flat-screens. Like Netflix(NFLX), Hulu and others, Amazon was already in the online streaming business, with its Prime membership benefits giving subscribers access to TV, movie, and most recently, music-streaming services.
Fire TV's voice-activated remote control attempts to make searching for your favorite film or actor easier. Fire TV also doubles as a gaming console, accessible via remote control, tablet or the separately sold Fire gaming remote.
