Amazon's Fire Stick Is a Challenge to Google and a Threat to Roku

[truebluefan]

Amazon’s parade of new devices marches on. The company announced on Monday that it’s taking pre-orders for a streaming media stick that plugs into a TV, making it possible to watch a range of Internet video services.

The Fire Stick mimics most of the capability of the Fire TV, the streaming media box Amazon released earlier this year. It comes with a remote control (sans the Fire TV’s voice controls) and access to Amazon’s Prime Video, as well as the standard lineup of services like Netflix, Hulu, and WatchESPN. The Fire Stick also resembles Google’s Chromecast, which went on sale last summer. The Fire Stick costs $39, slightly more than the $35 Google version. For the next two days, Prime members can buy it for $19.

Read more http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-27/amazons-fire-stick-challenges-google-threatens-roku