Amazon is sticking it to Chromecast with a sized-down version of its Fire TV set top box.
The new Fire TV Stick is Amazon’s take on diminutive streaming devices, offering a raft of televisual goodies in bite-size form.
The Fire Stick works exactly as you’d expect it to – plug it into your TV’s HDMI port and have instant access to a smorgasbord of movies, TV shows, music, photos, apps, and games.
Amazon is tagging up its latest TV fare as the world’s ‘most powerful streaming media stick’.
The right to this claim comes courtesy of a dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage, and a promise of 6x the processing power of the Roku Streaming Stick.
The online retail giant promises ‘stunning’ 1080p HD video and Dolby Digital Plus surround sound, all in a form factor ‘the size of a pack of gum’.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO, said: “The team has packed an unbelievable amount of power and selection into an incredible price point.”
The Fire TV Stick currently marks up at $39, which translates to roughly £24 sterling.
By comparison, Google’s Chromecast is being flogged for £29.99 on Amazon.co.uk, and is currently the best seller in electronics on the US site.
With Amazon’s Fire Stick, you’ll be able to access the expected selection of content, including Prime Instant Video, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Spotify, Vevo, Twitch, and YouTube.
It’s also got built-in dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi – Chromecast rocks single-band, single-antenna Wi-Fi, for contrast.
The stick goes on sale on November 19, but its available for pre-order from today. We’ve reached out to Amazon regarding a UK release date.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
