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Roku Announces New Roku 3 Device – Faster & Better

Niloufar Gibson / Mar 6th, 2013 No Comments

Roku 3

The Roku 3 has been announced as the latest product by the popular media player manufacturer in a press release sent out late last night. Roku devices have gained widespread popularity and are offered in mainstream shopping channels, either at stores like Best Buy or online at Amazon. The new Roku 3 is promised to be the most powerful Roku ever released, offering a faster processor and an enhanced remote with a headphone jack for private listening.

The new Roku 3 is priced at $99.99 and is available now at online retailers at Roku.com and Amazon.com and will be seen in retail stores in the United States come the beginning of April. In addition to the aforementioned features, the new Roku 3 will introduce Roku’s new user interface design that should enable more fluid browsing and navigation. Many Roku users rave about the unit, using it for watching videos on YouTube, streaming movies and shows via Netflix and Amazon Prime, and even for playing video games.

Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku said, “As Roku continues to build the largest selection of streaming entertainment, we are always exploring ways to improve the TV experience for our customers. Roku 3 introduces thoughtful new features that customers will love. The intuitive new interface makes it easy to find movies and shows quickly while the private listening mode is perfect for late-night streamers who don’t want to wake up the family.”

The new enhanced remote that comes with the Roku 3 features a built-in headphone jack for private listening and ships with in-ear headphones. There are volume buttons on the remote that offer an easy way to control the audio levels during private listening mode. The remote is also a motion-sensor game controller to play games, such as Angry Birds Space. Roku has a free app for both iOS and Android devices that turn a phone such as the iPhone 5 into an “ultimate Roku command center” according to the press release.

The new user interface is purportedly new and improved and fully integrates the Roku Channel Store and one-stop searching. The new interface will automatically roll out as a free software update to existing Roku owners in April for all current-generation devices. The Roku 3 will feature more than 750 channels of entertainment, 1080p resolution support, dual-band wireless, Ethernet, USB ports and even a microSD slot. Roku also recently launched TWC TV, BlockBuster On Demand and iHeartRadio. New channels are launch soon, including FOX NOW, PBS and PBS KIDS.

Stay tuned to Gaming Illustrated for the latest Roku and other tech device news.

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Niloufar Gibson

Contributor at Gaming Illustrated

Niloufar Gibson is part of the GI news team and has been associated with the site for a number of years. She primarily covers consumer electronics and mobile devices and also handles much of the social media duties for Gaming Illustrated.