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
