Today, Amazon got into the streaming-stick game with the announcement of the $39 Fire TV Stick, an HDMI-port plugin for your HDTV that will replicate much of the functionality of the full-size Fire TV. Existing Amazon Prime members can preorder the stick for just $19 in the next couple of days, but it won’t ship until November 19, according to Amazon’s site.
It’ll have a few differentiating factors compared to the rapidly expanding field of streaming sticks. Those include a dual-core processor that should mean zippy reaction times, more onboard storage than its competition, and second-screen treats for Amazon tablet users that include X-Ray sync with onscreen content. Like the full-size Fire TV box, the stick will also offer faster load times for Amazon’s streaming content via the “ASAP” feature, and it’ll come with a free month of Prime.
But how does it compare to the Google Chromecast and the Roku Streaming Stick, which will be the new micro-streamer’s obvious competitors? They’ll all fit in your pocket, but here’s how they’ll fit into your life.
| | Fire TV Stick| Chromecast| Roku Stick
| Price| $39; $19 for Amazon Prime members through Oct. 29. | $35 | $50
| Connectivity| Dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) 802.11a/b/g/n | Single-band (2.4GHz) 802.11b/g/n | Dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) 802.11a/b/g/n
| Comes with remote?| Yes. | No. | Yes.
| Does the remote come with batteries?| Yes. | N/A. | Yes.
| Will this streaming stick stream Styx?| Yes. (Pandora, Spotify, Plex, Amazon Music) | Yes. (Pandora, Spotify, Rdio, Plex, Google Play Music) | Yes. (Pandora, Spotify, Rdio, Slacker, Amazon Cloud Player)
| App store| Amazon Appstore. You download apps directly to the stick from its onscreen interface. | Google Play Store. You download compatible apps to your phone, tablet, or laptop and “cast” from your device to TV. | Roku Channel Store. You download apps directly to the stick from its onscreen interface.
| What’s missing?| HBO Go, Rdio, Vudu. | Amazon Instant Video—although you can stream it to your TV from a browser using the Google Cast extension in Chrome. | Nothing, it has all that and a bag of chips.
| Does it have a channel devoted entirely to 1950s sex-education videos?| No. | No. | Yes.
| Storage| 8GB + 5GB free storage on Amazon Cloud Drive | 2GB | 256MB
| TV input| HDMI | HDMI | HDMI
| Do I have to plug it in?| Yes, via included USB cable/charger. | Yes, via included USB cable/charger. | Yes, via included USB cable/charger.
| Does it have HBO Go?| No. | Yes. | Yes.
| Can I watch HBO shows anyway?| Yes. Amazon Instant Video has a lot of HBO shows, such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, and Eastbound & Down. | Only on HBO Go. | Yes. On both Amazon Instant Video and HBO Go.
| Why would you buy it?| Loads Amazon content quickly due to ASAP; you have an HDX tablet or Fire Phone you want to “fling” stuff from; you want a free month of Amazon Prime; has good CPU and audio specs. | You want a quick and easy way to use your TV as a big second screen for anything you watch on your mobile device or laptop. | You want the best overall streaming selection.
| Why wouldn’t you buy it?| You don’t use Amazon services much and/or you already pay for HBO. | You’d like a polished streamer experience and/or want to use a real remote. | You want to mirror your laptop screen on your TV and/or you have less than $50.
| Star sign| Capricorn/Aquarius cusp | Sagittarius | Taurus
