Amazon, Xbox battle for living room

Amazon is reportedly poised to enter the set-top box market, while Microsoft will unveil its new Xbox on May 21.

The e-commerce giant is gearing up to make its own bid for the living room this fall, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, citing three unnamed sources familiar with the plan.

Amazon has already branched out into the tablet space with the Kindle Fire, which offers access to its own-branded and LoveFilm on-demand services, so the expansion into the set-top box space is a natural extension.

The project is being handled out of the company’s Lab126 division in Cupertino, California, according to the report.

Amazon, which this week began piloting its first original series online, also bought out UK-based interactive TV specialist Pushbutton a couple of years ago to help it develop “the next generation of TV and film services.”

The firm will be going up against the Apple TV and Roku devices that currently lead the market, while Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox are stepping up their own TV strategies.

Microsoft confirmed yesterday that its long-awaited Xbox upgrade will be shown off on May 21 as it continues to reposition the device as a central home entertainment hub, following the recent sell-off of its Mediaroom IPTV business and increased emphasis on original programming.

In the latter space, Xbox is being tipped as a potential candidate to revive cancelled NBC sci-fi series Heroes.