Why US$39 Amazon Fire TV Stick challenges @Roku and @Google Chromecast Streaming Sticks

“50 percent more processor power and two times the memory of Chromecast, and six times the processing power...Roku Streaming Stick”

Amazon claims in their Press Material for the US$39 Amazon Fire TV Stick

Amazon still has their eyes on the prize, which is of course beating the US$35 Google Chromecast and eventually the US$50 Roku Streaming Stick.

Their latest Streaming device, the US$39 Amazon Fire TV Stick launched on Monday October 27^th, 2014 is proof that Amazon is serious about seizing Pole Position in the Streaming Video World as reported in the article “Amazon takes on Chromecast with Fire TV Stick”, published October 27, 2014 6:17 AM PDT by Don Reisinger, CNET News.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick comes a mere seven (7) months after the successful launch of the US$99 Amazon Fire TV as stated in my blog article entitled “Amazon Fire TV is a bonafide hit and is out-of-stock according to Amazon - The Bamboo powered smartphone running Amazon apps cometh” and can be seen as a portable version of their thus far successful Amazon Fire TV Set to Box.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick went on sale in November 2014 after initially being sold for US$19 for the first two (2) days it went on pre-order on Amazon’s Website. This comes with a free one-month Amazon Prime Subscription, which Amazon already routinely gives to new subscribers to Amazon Prime.

This makes only persons without Amazon Prime eligible for this deal as noted in the article “The mixed-up math of Amazon's Fire TV Stick discounts”, published October 27, 2014 9:31 AM PDT, by Joan E. Solsman, CNET News

So what does the Amazon Fire TV Stick bring to the table that the Amazon Fire TV doesn't? Streaming and Gaming Portability!

US$39 Amazon Fire TV Stick – Direct challenge to Roku and Google Chromecast Streaming Sticks

In September 2014, Google celebrated the Chromecast's one year anniversary by giving lucky customer three (3) free months of Streaming via Google Play Music’s All Access Music Subscription as I'd reported in my blog article entitled “Google Play Music’s All Access Music Subscription Three months Free Streaming - Happy Birthday as Google Chromecast fights Amazon fire TV”.

While the US$99 Amazon Fire TV was a direct challenge to the dominance of the Roku Streaming family of devices, the US$39 appears to be an indirect challenge to the dominance of Roku overall and more specifically, to the US$49 Roku Streaming Stick as noted in the article “Amazon's Fire Stick Is a Challenge to Google and a Threat to Roku”, published October 27, 2014 By Joshua Brustein, BusinessWeek.

It has all of the Roku's features as detailed in my blog article entitled “US$49 Roku Streaming Stick with HDMI Compatability launched before Ash Wednesday - Roku facing a Transformers Age of Extinction as Console Games becomes Content of Choice for Streaming”, as it connects to your TV in a similar manner via the HDMI Port.

So what do you get with a US$39 Amazon Fire TV Stick that you don’t get with the US$35 Google Chromecast or US$50 Roku Streaming Stick? Plenty of Movies and Content to stream!

US$39 Amazon Fire TV Stick - Press Kit calls out Google Chromecast but Challenges Roku

The Amazon Fire TV Stick has some impressive hardware that’s aimed squarely at the Google Chromecast as stated in the article “Amazon’s New Fire TV Stick is a $39 Chromecast Competitor with a Hardware Remote”, published 10/28/2014 by Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch. 

According to their website Press Material, the Amazon Fire TV Stick has double the memory Storage of the US$35 Google Chromecast and is six times faster that the US$50 Roku Streaming Stick.  The specs are somewhat telling as the Amazon Fire TV Stick has a Dual-Core Processor 1GB of RAM, 8GB of Internal Storage and a bigger Memory Buffer with better memory virtualization called Amazon ASAP that reduces buffering when you're streaming.

The use of MIMO Wi-Fi with its superior Channelization and bandwidth management also helps with the quality of streaming and may potentially make this device capable of handling 4K Videos and even 4K Gaming.

US$39 Amazon Fire TV Stick - 200,000 virtual movie store Streaming Nirvana

 It also comes with a remote that's different from the one that comes with the Amazon Fire TV and has the option of Voice Control, for which you can pay an extra US$30. You also get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime and Netflix

If you already had a Netflix subscription, then straight out of the box, you can connect to your Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, Twitch, WatchESPN subscriptions as well as such notables as Spotify, Vevo and A&E.

However, by early 2015, you should be able to connect to NBC Live as well as HBO Go and Showtime once you have a Comcast Cable Subscription as explained in my blog article entitled “NBC Universal NBC Live Streaming Service - How TV Everywhere is American Streaming TV's Future as Comcast steps into 21st Century”.

You also have the option of mirroring or casting your smartphone or Tablet to your HDTV via Wi-Fi your Amazon Fire TV Stick, a neat trick that the Google Chromecast can also do. It also supports MiraCast, which is the same thing as Wi-Fi Direct and is the technology used by the US$59.95 Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter as detailed in my blog article entitled “US$59.95 Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter - Poorly designed 1080p P2P HDMI Wi-Fi Direct Miracast Streaming Stick with No Streaming Content”.

US$39 Amazon Fire TV Stick - Portable Gaming on the Go to liven up any party

The Amazon Fire TV Stick, which also has its own remote control as noted in the comparison article “Fire TV Stick vs. Chromecast vs. Roku Streaming Stick: Battle of the sticks”, published October 27, 2014 12:54 PM PDT, by David Katzmaier, CNET News also doubles a HDMI stick Gaming Console once you opt to buy the US$40 Game controller, which also works with the US$99 Amazon Fire TV.

The Amazon Fire Stick TV comes bundled with such titles as Monsters University, Ski Safari, Flappy Bird Family as one of its growing list of Casual Gaming titles as explained in the article “Amazon Unveils US$39 Fire TV stick”, published OCTOBER 27, 2014 10:44AM EST BY ANGELA MOSCARITOLO, PC Magazine.

Flappy Bird Family, as you may be remember, is the result of as deal between Amazon and Vietnamese Developer Dong Nguyen, founder of Game Development Studio DotGears inked in August 2014 as explained in my blog article entitled “Flappy Bird returns on Amazon Fire TV - Multiplayer Platform lends to family-friendliness and a Less Addictive Design”.

So if Gaming is your thing along with loads of Streaming, then you'll appreciate the fact for US$39, the Amazon Fire TV Stick is sure to get any house party started once you plug it into their HDMI capable flat screen TV.

Amazon Fire TV Stick