Amazon Fire TV gets USB storage support, dorm Wi-Fi connectivity and more in new update

Amazon has just announced a new update for the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick that will add much more functionality to each device. Most notably, both devices are getting support for Wi-Fi hotspots that require web authentication. This means you’ll now get to connect your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick to hotel or dorm room Wi-Fi hotspots. Amazon notes that this new Wi-Fi support will only work with some universities, so you may want to check with your college’s IT professional before you go out and buy one of these devices.

The next feature is for the Fire TV only, and it brings support for expandable USB storage. This means you’ll be able to off-load any big games, movies or shows to your USB flash drive that you don’t want taking up precious on-board storage on your device.

There are a few other notable features coming to each device, so let’s take a look at the full changelog:

• 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.

The update is scheduled to arrive to both devices “in the coming weeks”, though we don’t have any more information beyond that. This news follows the announcement from earlier today that the Amazon Fire TV Stick is making its way to Europe on April 15th for £35/€35.

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Amazon Announces New Features for Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick

Amazon Fire TV adds expandable USB storage and private, wireless listening with Bluetooth headphones

Watch on the go—Fire TV and Fire TV Stick now support captive portal so you can connect to Wi-Fi at a hotel or dorm room that requires web authentication

Fire TV Stick now available in the UK and Germany—Amazon Fire TV already the #1 streaming media box on Amazon in the UK and Germany

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Mar. 24, 2015– (NASDAQ:AMZN)—Amazon today announced new features are coming to the best-selling Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. These features will be delivered as part of a free, over-the-air software update in the coming weeks. Amazon also announced today that Fire TV Stick is now available in the UKand Germany, joining the #1-selling streaming media box, Amazon Fire TV.

“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 theUK and Germany are going to love this product.”

New features coming as part of the free, over-the-air software update 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.

Fire TV and Fire TV Stick are available for purchase at www.amazon.com/firetv and www.amazon.com/firetvstick. Fire TV Stick is available to order starting today in the UK and Germany—it will start shipping on April 15. Learn more at www.amazon.co.uk/firetvstick and www.amazon.de/firetvstick.

About Amazon

Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.

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