Amazon Fire TV and TV Stick Update Introduces USB Storage, Hotel and Dorm WiFi Connectivity, and More

Amazon announced this morning that a major update will be rolling out to the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick over the coming weeks. The update introduces expandable USB storage to the Fire TV, allows you to connect either device to hotel or dorm room WiFi, adds Bluetooth wireless headphone support, lets you search Prime playlists, and more.

The full changelog can be found below for the update, which is free, of course. 

• 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.

Amazon also announced that both products are now available in Germany and the UK.

Amazon Links:  Fire TV ($99) | Fire TV Stick ($39)

Via:  Amazon