Amazon has had a lot of success with consumer electronics. The Kindle lineup is still a top-seller in the tablet category and even the Fire TV media streamer is still going strong. Now, they are looking to go smaller, with the newly announced Fire TV Stick.
The Fire TV Stick is Amazon’s attempt to scoop up some of the Chromecast audience. If you don’t think so, Amazon makes it pretty evident by stating that the Fire TV Stick has “2x the memory of Chromecast” in the marketing materials.
It has plenty of other goodies as well. Most notably, the Fire TV Stick can stream movies, TV shows, music, photos, apps and games to any TV with an available HDMI port. Just plug it in, connect it to your home network, and start streaming.
It also has a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, dual-band and dual-antenna Wi-Fi, support for 1080p HD and Dolby Digital Plus surround sound, and an open ecosystem. It even has its own app for Android devices, with an iOS version coming soon. It can also “fling” movies and TV shows from a Fire tablet or Amazon’s Fire phone, as well as mirror content from those devices and other Miracast-enabled phones or tablets.
Another nifty feature is “ASAP.” Also known as Advanced Streaming and Prediction, this perk can predict what movies and TV shows you want to watch and start streaming them instantly, without any buffering. It also has Amazon’s Whispersync technology and X-Ray for movies, TV shows and music.
Amazon is shipping the Fire TV Stick with its own remote. You can also opt for the Amazon Fire TV Voice Remote, which adds in voice search options for another $29.99.
Amazon is now taking pre-orders for the $39 Fire TV Stick, with plans to start shipping the device on November 19, 2014. Each purchase comes with a free month of Amazon Prime and a 30-day Netflix trial. However, if you’re a new or existing Prime member, you can snag the Fire TV Stick for the next two days for just $19.
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