Amazon Unveils $39 Fire TV Stick

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.

:story: PC Magazine