Kindle Fire Adds Hulu Plus Support

Amazon has announced that Hulu Plus will be joining Netflix on the Kindle Fire, as the retailer does its best to outplay the B&N NOOK Tablet when it comes to streaming media options. The Hulu Plus app, Amazon tells us, joins the roster of titles announced earlier this week, along with sports tracking software ESPN ScoreCenter.

Hulu Plus offers access to recent and classic TV shows from ABC, Comedy Central, The CW, Fox, NBC, MTV, VH-1 and others, with a monthly subscription rate of $7.99. That still includes some "limited advertising" however. Shows currently on offer include Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Glee and Modern Family.

As for ESPN ScoreCenter, that pulls in multiple game results and updates for a variety of leagues worldwide, including football, soccer, tennis, golf and more.

While Hulu Plus and ESPN ScoreCenter are both already available in the Android Market, Kindle Fire owners will not be able to access Google's official download store. Instead, they'll be limited to the titles Amazon selects for its own Appstore for Android. That tight control over software is likely to reduce and contribute to owner frustration in equal measure: Kindle Fire users will have the confidence of knowing the apps available to them have been checked through for compatibility with the modified ereader-slate, but they'll also be restricted from trying new titles that Amazon doesn't approve of.

The Amazon Kindle Fire begins shipping on November 15. More information in our launch day report.