Move over, Google Chromecast. There's a new sub-$40 streaming stick in town.
Amazon on Monday unveiled the Fire Stick, a $39 dongle that plugs into the HDMI port on your TV, and offers access to movies, TV shows, music, photos, apps, and games. That includes popular video and music services like Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN, NBA Game Time, Twitch, Showtime Anytime, Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, Vevo, Plex, A&E, PBS, PBS KIDS, Watch Disney Channel, and YouTube.
The device basically offers the same experience of the Amazon Fire TV , introduced less than seven months ago, in a smaller package, Amazon said.
On the gaming front, you'll be able to play titles like Monsters University, Ski Safari, and Flappy Birds Family, with more games being added each week. Fire Stick is also like having a virtual movie store in your living room, with more than 200,000 movies and TV episodes available to rent or purchase.
You can also wirelessly mirror your phone or tablet display to your TV from Amazon Fire tablets and Fire phone as well as Miracast-enabled devices from Motorola, Samsung, LG, and Google. It also features Amazon's Whispersync technology, which saves and syncs your music and video library across all of your devices so you can start watching on your phone or tablet and pick up on your TV where you left off.
Fire TV stick is available for pre-order today on Amazon's website and will start shipping out Nov. 19. Amazon Prime members who pre-order in the next two days can get it for $19. If you're not an Amazon Prime (or Netflix) member yet, you can get a 30-day trial of Netflix and Amazon Prime when you purchase the Fire TV Stick.
Why should you buy the Fire Stick over the Chromecast or Roku Streaming Stick ? Amazon pointed to more memory and processing power.
"Fire TV Stick is the most powerful streaming media stick available - a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, dual-band and dual-antenna Wi-Fi, included remote control, voice search with our free mobile app, easy set-up, an open ecosystem, and exclusive features like ASAP for instant streaming," Amazon.com Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement. "The team has packed an unbelievable amount of power and selection into an incredible price point - Fire TV Stick is just $39."
Setup should also be a breeze; it arrives pre-registered, so you can "plug it in and start streaming in minutes," Amazon said.
For more, check out Google Chromecast vs. Roku Streaming Stick: Media Streamers Compared.