Amazon announces the Fire TV Stick, a $39 Chromecast competitor
Amazon’s Fire TV is a slick device for $99, but for that price tag it might not be quite the looker for folks who only need to use a few of its streaming video apps. They’ve gone ahead and challenged Google at their own game, though, with the company officially unveiling the Amazon Fire TV Stick.
This $39 dongle attaches itself to your TV and allows you to stream all your video with ease. It can be used independently of a phone or tablet as it has ample on-board storage for downloading all the streaming apps you need. Amazon’s put quite a bit inside its chassis to power the experience:
Dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM, and 8 GB storage for fast and fluid navigation and instant search results. Fire TV Stick has 50% more processing power and 2x the memory of Chromecast; it has 6x the processing power, 2x the memory, and 32x the storage of Roku Streaming Stick—this results in faster and more fluid navigation, plus more storage for apps and games. It delivers stunning 1080p HD video and immersive audio with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound. All of this power comes in an incredibly small package—Fire TV Stick is the size of a pack of gum.
What’s more is that it features a remote control in the box for those who don’t like using smartphone apps to control playback. For those who do, a smartphone app will be available that will also enable voice search to find the content you want. Folks using the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Amazon Fire Phone can “fling” content from their devices to the TV without much effort. Not a bad little companion if you’re already deeply ingrained in Amazon’s content ecosystem.
The device is available for pre-sale right now, and Amazon expects it will ship starting November 19th. Prime members get a great opportunity to grab the thing for super cheap as Amazon is holding a two-day sale of the thing for just $19.
Thankfully the company has confirmed that you can sign up for a free trial of Prime if you don’t have it already and still get in on the deal. Amazon’s also offering a free 30 days of Prime and Netflix for those who decide to order. Not a bad way to spend a quick $20 if you aren’t a fan of what the Chromecast or similar options have to offer.