In introducing it’s $99 set top box, Fire TV, last month, Amazon played up its voice search function as revolutionizing the process of finding content online. But in fact, all it did was revolutionize the search for Amazon content and Vevo music videos, as no other services supported the feature. However, Amazon took a step to making Voice Search more than a parlor trick by announcing that it will soon fully support Hulu Plus as well as free video site Crackle and cable TV companion app Showtime Anywhere.
Despite many positive early reviews, early adopters of Amazon’s streaming media box have been underwhelmed by many half-baked features including voice search, which will get a little more useful this summer. Amazon just announced three new content partners are working to enable unified voice search on Amazon Fire TV, the e-tailer’s little black box for the living room launched earlier this month. At launch, Fire TV’s coveted voice search feature was limited strictly to Amazon’s own movie and TV show content as well as music videos from VEVO – a shortcoming the company appears ready to start addressing. Starting this summer, Hulu Plus, Crackle and Showtime Anytime will integrate their full catalogs into Amazon’s voice search – and that’s only the beginning of what Bezos and Friends have in store for us.