Amazon Fire Stick - what is it?

1. 85

   Easy Exerciseposted 9 years ago

   Amazon Fire Stick - what is it?
   
   Long ago I purchased an expensive cable to play Netflix and Amazon from my smart phone to the television. Sadly I have never used it. Now there is something advertised called Amazon Fire Stick - what is this? Do I really need this or do I just need to connect my cable (from the smart phone to the television set) and pull up Amazon or Netflix on my phone?
   
   Also, if I set up an Amazon account, will that allow access to Netflix or must I add Netflix separately?
   
   

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2. 60

   NinetythreeProofposted 9 years ago

   The Fire Stick looks very similar to Chrome Cast, but according to the amazon page, it doubles (at the very least) the performance specifications in some areas.
   
   Paid services will still require the same subscription fee (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc.) but free services will remain free (Crackle, Pandora, etc.)
   
   Honestly, your cable will allow you to do nearly everything that the Fire Stick will allow. However, you might find the Fire Stick to be the much more convenient solution, as it doesn't need to rely on your phone, freeing it for other uses. Also, using the screen-mirroring from your phone to the Fire Stick cuts out the limitation of distance depending on the length of your cable, and the annoyance of trying to operate your phone with the cable plugged in.
   
   At the cost of $39, the convince sounds worth the price if you're planning to use this often.

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3. 60

   gposchmanposted 9 years ago

   The Amazon Fire Stick is an HDMI media streaming player that connects to your TV's HDMI port and allows you to access through apps to a variety of content providers, some who charge for their content and some who do not.
   
   There are a number of streaming media players out there that do the same job, for a variety of prices, none of which need to use your smart phone. HDMI streaming media is the current "Must Have".
   
   If you already have a cable for your smart phone, and it is convenient to use it, I would say plug it in and use it and save a couple of bucks, but if it isn't convenient, and you want more content for your TV, then go shopping.
   
   I was given ROKU some tie ago by my son, and I like it a lot.
   
   I hope this helps.
   
   Gene Poschman

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