Amazon may reveal its set-top box next week in New York

In just a week from now, we’ll likely find out the truth about Amazon’s living room ambitions. The company has sent out invites for an event in New York at 11:00AM ET on Wednesday, April 2nd that promises to offer an “update for our video business.” Amazon has long been rumored to be working on a set-top box for the living room to compete with the likes of the Apple TV, Chromecast, and Roku’s popular streaming boxes.

The most recent rumors say that the device will run a version of Android and will be able to play games. A leaked image even revealed what the game controller for the set-top box could look like. It’s expected that the set-top box will be based on a “forked” version of Android, much like the company’s Kindle tablets. That means that it wouldn’t have access to the Google Play store or certain Google apps — instead, users would download from Amazon’s own storefront. Of course, a centerpiece to the device would likely be the company’s Amazon Instant Video service and its free TV shows and movies for Prime members.

According to rumors, the device has been delayed multiple times. At one time the company hoped to have the product ready in time for the all-important holiday season, but it missed that date entirely. Nevertheless, we’ll find out what Amazon has up its sleeve next week — we’ll be there to cover the event live.

Update: The Wall Street Journal reports that the set-top box will include Netflix and Hulu apps. In addition, the paper’s sources say that the company is working on a free video streaming service.