Can this streaming device fire its way to the top?
Amazon has a long history of releasing hardware in the US first and making the rest of the world wait. It did it with the Kindle, the Kindle Fire, the Fire TV and now it's done it again with the Fire TV Stick. Released in the UK on 15th April, it's actually been available to Americans since November last year. Still, better late than never, we suppose.
But what does it actually bring to a party that already has Google's Chomecast and the Roku Streaming Stick as guests of honour? Can it be the one everyone wants to be friends with, or will it be universally shunned, before slinking off home early?
Well, if you've seen or used its bigger brother, the Fire TV set-top box, then you might have a fair idea of how this one performs. It is without doubt an excellent piece of hardware for a great price (made even better if you benefited from one of the preorder deals, which made it as cheap as £7).
Like the Roku and the Chromecast, it looks like an oversized pen drive, with an FIDMI connection at the end, rather than USB, and you simply plug it into your TV and connect it to the mains via the micro-USB power port. Once up and running, you should find that it comes pre-registered with your Amazon account details (although there is the option to change this), and one you've set up the wi-fi connection, you're taken to the main menu.
There, you're greeted with tiles. Lot of tiles. And down the left is a menu of options, each of which leads to more tiles. This is certainly a visually appealing approach, reminiscent of Windows 8, making it a good way to show off movie, TV and music artwork, but it's not particularly efficient. It would have been helpful to have an option to view items as a text list, with perhaps a preview box showing up when you highlight something.
Putting this minor criticism aside, the general operation of the Fire TV Stick is straightforward but impressive. For such a cheap product, this heavily customised version of Android looks slick and runs well, which is no doubt helped along by the dual-core ARM processor and dedicated graphics. We did experience the odd bit of lag and even a couple of short freezes, but for the most part, vve were able to get around quite easily and find what we wanted.
This was made all the more easy once we'd downloaded the free Fire TV app for our smartphone, because although the included remote control is fine for clicking through menus, its lack of keys makes text entry a chore. With the app, you don't have to use the stick's clunky on-screen keyboard; you can instead use voice search or your phone's keyboard. You could also consider buying the official Amazon voice remote, but that will set you back a further £25.
No matter you locate what you want to play, once you do, you shouldn't be disappointed with the quality. High-definition video plays fluidly, without any stuttering and, if you have the correct equipment, you'll also find it outputs surround sound using Dolby Digital Plus.
As great as this all is, though, before before buying this device, you should be aware of how eagerly it tries to push you into buying more stuff from Amazon. That's to be expected, maybe, but it's still annoying. Most of the categories in the menu (Movies, TV, etc.) display only Amazon content, and if you want to see things like Netflix and the BBC i Player, you need to head to the Apps section to launch them.
Fair enough; they're are competitors, after all. But what's less fair is how difficult Amazon has made it to side-load apps and then launch them. You need to download .apk files for apps and then use third-party software to get them on the Fire TV Stick. And to make matters worse, once installed, they don't even appear in the Apps section; instead, you have to head to Settings > Applications > Manage All Installed Applications and then launch the app. Every single time.
If you're heavily invested in the Amazon ecosystem, then this might not present much of a problem to you, but if you'd prefer something that offers more freedom, then the Roku might be the better option. You might even be better served by the Raspberry Pi and an installation of OpenELEC, but that involves a lot more setting up, and certain services like Netflix aren't available for it.
Regardless of what the competition offers, though, the fact remains that for £35, you get a tiny streaming media device that can quickly turn any TV into a smart TV. It might not do everything it possibly could do, but what it does do, it does well and without any kind of fuss or complications. Anthony Enticknap
A bit limited, but excellent value nonetheless.
Specifications:
• Size: 84.9 x 25.0 x 11.5 mm
• Weight: 25.1g
• Processor: Broadcom Capri 28155, dual-core 2xARM A9
• GPU: VideoCore4
• Storage: 8 GB (actual formatted capacity will be less) available for apps and games
• Memory: 1 GB
• Wi-fi Connectivity: Dual-band, dual-antenna wi-fi (MIMO); supports 802.11a/b/g/n wi-fi networks
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth 3.0 with support for HID, HFP, SPP
• Game Controller Support: Yes, optimised for Amazon Fire Game Controller, compatible with Nyko PlayPad Pro and other Bluetooth controllers
• Cloud Storage: All Amazon Cloud Drive customers start with 5GB of free storage
• Ports: 1 Type A HDMI 1.4b output, w/HDCP 1.4
• 1 micro-USB for power only
• Audio: Dolby Digital Plus certified, audio pass through up to 7.1
• Content Formats Supported
• Video: H.264
• Audio: AAC-LC, AC3, eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), FLAC, MP3, PCM/Wave, Vorbis
• Photo: JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP
• Output Resolution Supported: 720p and 1080p up to 60fps