Amazon launches a $39 Fire TV Stick, a competitor to Google’s Chromecast

Amazon has launched a new Fire TV Stick, an HDMI Dongle for media streaming that will offer tough competition to Google’s $35 Chromecast that it had introduced last year. Last month we saw Google unveil a set top box Nexus Player costing $99 in direct competition to Amazon’s $99 Fire TV introduced last year.

The Chromecast had become quite a hit among consumers as it provided affordable media streaming and now Amazon is entering the market with its own Fire TV Stick which is more powerful than the Chromecast. It has a dual core processor, a dedicated VideoCore4 GPU, 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage. Its processing power is six times that of the Roku Streaming Stick. The memory is twice that of Chromecast and the internal storage is four times that of Chromecast and 32 times that of Roku Streaming Stick.

The Fire TV Stick also has a dual-band dual-antenna Wi-Fi (MIMO) supporting 802 11 a/b/g/n networks giving a better Wi-Fi performance and more reliable viewing. It has Bluetooth 3.0 with support for HID, HFP and SPP. The device has its own UI and can store apps. It can also mirror whatever is on your Fire phone or tablet on your HDTV.

The Fire TV Stick also has its own dedicated remote control or if you want to navigate from your mobile device, there is a free Fire TV Remote App available for Android and Fire devices. App for iOS would be available soon.

The Fire TV Stick holds a price tag of $39 and is available for pre-order. Amazon’s Prime members got the Stick for a mere $19 for the first two days. The shipping is expected to begin from November 19. The Stick connects to the HDMI port of your TV and streams media from Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, Amazon Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora and much more. The device is great for gaming too, with over 200 playable games on it.

Amazon launches a $39 Fire TV Stick, a competitor to Google’s Chromecast

Google announces Android-based Nexus Player for Media Streaming and Gaming

Apart from the much awaited Nexus 6 and Nexus 9, the Mountain View tech giant has also introduced the Android-based Nexus Player developed in collaboration with Asus. The Nexus Player is a set-top box to stream music, TV shows and movies as well as play Android Games. Nexus Player will be the first device to run Google’s Android TV that was officially unveiled by Google at its I/O conference back in June this year and was set to arrive with Android L. It runs Android TV based on Android 5.0 Lollipop.

The Nexus Player is a small seek-looking device measuring 4.7 inches in diameter and 0.78 inches in height (120mm x 120mm x 20mm). It is powered by a quad-core Intel Atom processor clocked at 1.8GHz and Imagination PowerVR Series 6 graphics 2D/3D Engine. It has 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage.

The Player connects to the TV through HDMI so you’ll need a TV with HDMI input. Internet connectivity is through WiFi and there is Bluetooth for the remote along with a micro USB 2.0 port. The Nexus Player also has a voice-activated remote for playing casual games and searching for media by using your voice. A Gamepad is available to buy separately for gaming.

Personalized recommendations based on data collected by Google from all its services will appear automatically on the home screen so that you won’t have to search much. Google Cast allows you to cast the media of your choice to the TV from Android or iOS devices, Mac, Windows laptop/PC or Chromebook. You have the option to start a game or a movie on your TV and finish it on your tablet or smartphone because the Nexus Player has the ability to sync content across Android devices.

Apart from its own YouTube, Google Play Music  and Google Play Movies & TV, Google’s media partners for the Nexus Player include Netflix, tunein, huluplus, Bloomberg TV,TED, HGTV Watch, musixmatch, Pluto.TV, iHeartRadio, Vevo, Food Network and many more.

According to re/code, the Nexus Player will cost $99 and the Gamepad will cost $39. The device will be available on November 3 but you can pre-order it from October 17 onward from Google Play Store.

Google announces Android-based Nexus Player for Media Streaming and Gaming