Google unveils its first Android TV device – the Nexus Player

Search giant Google has detailed its competitor to Amazon’s Fire TV with the announcement of its own Android set-top box.

The Nexus Player runs on Google’s new Android TV platform and expands upon the streaming properties of the existing Google Chrome by providing dedicated hardware to run a number of apps – including games.

It will offer an optional controller, too, for the existing library of Android software. A mini-remote is included in the box that, among many things, integrates a microphone for voice control.

The Nexus Player itself, which houses 8GB of internal memory and a 1.8GHz Intel quad core processor, will cost $99.99, with the controller priced at $39.99. US pre-orders will start tomorrow (October 17th) with the device releasing on November 3rd.

A European date has not yet been announced.

It’s all pretty similar to Amazon’s Fire TV, which arrives in the UK this month. Indeed, just this week Google said Amazon and not Microsoft was its most significant competitor.

Amazon’s device also offers an optional dedicated games controller and despite its insistence that Fire TV is absolutely not a games console” the company continues to bolster its games development arm Amazon Game Studios.

There have also been rumours that Apple will tonight unveil a new Apple TV alongside the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3.