Amazon To Launch Android Console That Will Cost Less Than $300

Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) will begin selling a game and entertainment console this year priced below $300 and running the Android operating system, according to VG247.

The device will allow users to stream and download games, music, movies and TV shows from the Internet onto their TVs and would compete directly with similar devices made by Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.

Amazon's press representatives did not respond to requests for comments.

The makers of Amazon’s Kindle devices, which come from Amazon’s subsidiary Lab 126, are working with Amazon to create the console and are testing popular Android and iOS games on the device, VG247 reports.

The pricing mirrors Amazon’s marketing of the Kindle Fire HD, a tablet, to compete with Apple’s iPad series.

Amazon had more than 230 million active customers in October. More than 20 million users pay $79 per year for the Prime service, which includes unlimited streaming of movie and TV shows provided by Amazon. Prime membership increased rapidly by more than one million in one week in December and is expected to continue to grow.

Earlier this month, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Amazon Lab 126 began inviting select people to a happy hour, scheduled for Thursday, in Boston. The invite said that Amazon is “working on a new revolutionary V1 product that will allow us to deliver Digital Media to our customers in new ways and disrupt the current marketplace.”

The invite also says teams in Sunnyvale, Seattle and Boston are collaborating on the project.

Amazon is also recruiting for its games development team in production, art, tech and design.

The Verge reported in October that Amazon delayed the launch of the streaming device, which had been planned to be launched for holiday sales. The console is expected to be launched this year instead.