WSJ: Amazon STB to Ship in April

Amazon STBRumours on the supposed Amazon STB continues to trickle in-- "people familiar with the company's plans" tell the Wall Street Journal the long-awaited device ships on "early" April 2014 to retailers such as Best Buy and Staples.

According to the WSJ the STB carries a "forked" Android version allowing it to run not only Amazon streaming services but also the likes of Netflix, Hulu and even games.

TechCrunch also joins the Amazon STB rumour game, saying the device features a Chromecast-style dongle/stick design and OnLive-style PC game streaming capability. Reportedly "top-tier games" are to be streamed at 30fps-- a lofty goal, but one has to keep in mind Amazon is (probably) equipped to power such intensive cloud-based offerings.

Bluetooth controllerAs for games control, sharp-eyed media blog Zats Not Funny spots a potentially relevant number at a Brazilian regulatory agency, of all places-- an Amazon-branded game controller. It looks like an off-brand Xbox controller and features Android-style back, home and menu controls, a central button bearing the Amazon GameCircle logo and media player controls (rewind/play/pause/forward) on the bottom.

Bloomberg first reported on the Amazon STB back in April 2013, with mentions of a Roku/Boxee-style device in development at the Lab126 hardware division. A few months later Game Informer and TechCrunch reported Amazon working on an Android-powered games console, before the WSJ confirmed both stories with reports on an Amazon device "for streaming video and music, as well as some games." According to the WSJ the STB was to ship on the 2013 holiday season, but apparently delays were met.

As for the name, according to 9 to 5 Google Amazon has the trademark for "Firetube." Well, it does make some sense as coupled with the Kindle tablet branding...

Go Amazon to Ship Video Streaming Device in April (WSJ.com)

Go Amazon's STB Will Be a Dongle Like Chromecast (TechCrunch)

Go Amazon Streamer to Feature Bluetooth Gaming Controller (Zatz Not Funny)