I have just updated my Amazon Device Buyer’s Guide in time for Prime Day tomorrow. While considering all the Prime Day sales that are already live or coming soon, use the buyer’s guide to determine how good the deal is relative to past sales. The guide lists an “Okay,” “Good,” and “Great” price for nearly every device Amazon makes including Fire TVs, Echos, Fire Tablets, and Kindles. A “Great” price represents the lowest price the device has ever been or is expected to be, based on previous Prime Day and Black Friday sales. The buyer’s guide also lists when each device was released and how often Amazon updates each device, to help you get a sense of when a device is overdue for an update.

Ever since I expanded my scope a bit in early 2015, I’ve always included a decent amount of non-Fire TV streaming device coverage on AFTVnews, but I haven’t gone into depth on my coverage of other platforms as I do for Fire TV devices, mostly due to lack of interest and time. While Android TV has certainly been the other platform to interest me and site visitors the most, the pricey hardware and stale UX have kept me from giving it more attention. With the release of the 2020 Chromecast as the first affordable Android TV device and the new Google TV interface, I’m going to try to increase my Android TV coverage and dive a bit deeper with guides and articles focused on those devices. A lot of you have been asking me to do this for some time, but I do want all the Fire TV owners to know that I’m by no means shifting the focus of AFTVnews. While there will likely be a surge of Android/Google TV, Chromecast, and Shield TV articles in the coming weeks while I cover some core functionality, I’ll still be prioritizing Fire TV articles and bring you all the same level of Amazon device coverage that you’ve become accustomed to from me.

I’m excited to announce that AFTVnews and I are back! For those of you not aware, I started and ran AFTVnews for 5 years, from 2014 to 2019, and I was then offered a position with the Fire TV team at Amazon, which I accepted. That required me to step away from AFTVnews and I spent just over a year as a Product Manager for Fire TV at Amazon Lab126. I’ve now chosen to voluntarily resign from Amazon so that I can return to running AFTVnews and developing Fire TV apps. Read more ›

When asked about how AFTVnews started, I usually say that I stumbled into it. Five years ago, I was a software engineer who was in between jobs and I was trying to figure out my next steps in life. I purchased a new gadget called the Amazon Fire TV that had just been released and I started to tinker with it. With plenty of time on my hands and a desire to fill it, I started this website to share what I had learned about the Fire TV and to help other owners get the most out of their device. I have never considered myself a writer or a journalist, and I certainly never thought that I’d make a living doing either, but the website simply continued to grow day after day, month after month, and year after year. Before I knew it, I was running this website full-time and loving every minute of it, but I’ve always had a desire to return to working in the tech industry, instead of just writing about it. A rare opportunity has now been presented to combine my affection for Fire TVs with my desire to work on tech again, that I couldn’t pass up. I’ve accepted a position with Amazon Lab126 as a Product Manager on the Fire TV team. Read more ›