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Amazon Launches $39 'Fire TV Stick' to Compete With Chromecast, Apple TV

Bearxor said:
Can we please stop calling these things 'Apple TV Competitors'?

At this point ATV is so far behind that it's unfair to the rest of the devices being released.
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I guess. I haven't found ANY features on any of these that would compel me to switch from Apple TV. It has a clean interface and streams video reliably from either my iTunes library or whatever channel I pick, and that's 99% of my use right there.

On top of that, it will let me AirPlay from my phone or extend my display from my laptop. I can type directly into search fields from a paired bluetooth keyboard or the on-screen keyboard on my phone.

I'm not out to play video games on a crappy set-top box (have an Xbox) and voice search just sounds like a gimmick.

Seriously, what am I missing by not having a super over-spec'ed Fire TV or whatever?
 
octothorpe8 said:
I guess. I haven't found ANY features on any of these that would compel me to switch from Apple TV. It has a clean interface and streams video reliably from either my iTunes library or whatever channel I pick, and that's 99% of my use right there.

On top of that, it will let me AirPlay from my phone or extend my display from my laptop. I can type directly into search fields from a paired bluetooth keyboard or the on-screen keyboard on my phone.

I'm not out to play video games on a crappy set-top box (have an Xbox) and voice search just sounds like a gimmick.

Seriously, what am I missing by not having a super over-spec'ed Fire TV or whatever?
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The 4 other Tvs in the house that would all need an 99€ appletv instead of a 19$ device on each doing almost the same thing 😉

Oh and about the streaming directly from your laptop or phone... What do you think those things are? Exactly doing that...
 
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When will Apple get into this game?

They're rarely first to a category but this is a category where the average consumer is highly unlikely going to want to have more than one black box or stick attached to their TV. Why? Because of remotes, management of devices and the fact they have so much core cross over.

What is Apple waiting for? They have a matured iOS. An App Store. Their own distribution model. As well as the chops to make an highly effective incremental update to the Apple TV (the same sort of incremental update they're happy to make with the ipad mini or Mac mini) and create a new dent in the universe.

Even the watch, an unreleased product has got a 'kit' for developers. But the Apple TV - the one accessible box that could become a home hub for the masses, languishes.

Get in the game Apple.
 
What's Apple doing?

Apple needs to definitively tell us if they are in this set-top market or they should retire the Apple TV and move on. I don't care what they have up their sleeves but I want to know if they are working on ANYTHING?!

This $39 is more powerful than a $109 Apple TV and compared to the Fire TV it's simply a crime and Apple should be ashamed for continuing to sell the Apple TV at it's current price. A $10 drop in 2 years is not compelling enough to buy Apple TV today.

Apple needs to make an announcement soon, like early 2015, something related to a new set-top entertainment platform to revolutionize the Apple TV and bring a gaming and app marketplace to the livingroom and significantly enhance it's feature set, like 4K streaming and gaming.

If Apple has another major keynote speech that does not mention anything new with Apple TV then I think Apple should end this product and quietly declare they lost the livingroom.
 
I Am Designer™;20229862 said:
When will Apple get into this game?

They're rarely first to a category but this is a category where the average consumer is highly unlikely going to want to have more than one black box or stick attached to their TV. Why? Because of remotes, management of devices and the fact they have so much core cross over.

What is Apple waiting for? They have a matured iOS. An App Store. Their own distribution model. As well as the chops to make an highly effective incremental update to the Apple TV (the same sort of incremental update they're happy to make with the ipad mini or Mac mini) and create a new dent in the universe.

Even the watch, an unreleased product has got a 'kit' for developers. But the Apple TV - the one accessible box that could become a home hub for the masses, languishes.

Get in the game Apple.
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because i think apple tries hard to appeal to the masses
i dont think im speaking out of turn to say that my generation (early to mid 20s) use their tv mostly to stream netflix, occasionally rent itunes and more often, to project 'streamed' videos onto the tv...

apple tv does all that. all my friends who have set top boxes have apple tvs. noone else has anything else.

until the sports channels fully embrace the internet tv model, i dont see any reason why my generation would fully embrace the internet tv model, beyond how they currently do (how i described, above). as such, i dont see apple tv maturing much beyond how it is currently. in my opinion, the demand isnt there.
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
So what's the difference between this and the Fire TV?
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No matter what Phil Schiller says...

Google and Amazon are innovating, at least for the products many people want.

appleTV, the non-updated iPad Mini, and the non-upgradeable Mac Mini are true fails for Apple right now.

And I've been an Apple user (and pretty close to a fanboy) since 1986.

Not everyone who wants good products is a high-end user.

If you aren't at least somewhat frustrated by Apple, you're not paying attention.

(PS ordered 2 Fire TV Sticks)
 
JDee said:
Not sure how this will do but it's pretty amazing how fast technology is changing. I never thought I'd see the day where 1 GB of memory, a dual-core processor & 8 GB of storage could be on a device the size of a flash drive. And all that for $39? Wow.
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$19 for Prime members.
 
usersince86 said:
Google and Amazon are innovating, at least for the products people want, no matter what Phil Schiller says.

appleTV, the non-updated iPad Mini, and the non-upgradeable Mac Mini are true fails for Apple right now.

And I've been an Apple user (and pretty close to a fanboy) since 1986.

Not everyone who wants good products is a high-end user.

If you aren't somewhat frustrated by Apple, you're not paying attention.

Getting frustrating...

(PS ordered 2 Fire TV Sticks)
Click to expand...


i just dont understand the demand for anything else but the apple tv.
aside from the price ($99 is pretty reasonable to me)..i have 1 tv in the house...
i can stream ios, use airplay, netflix, itunes movies and stream my laptop for everything else...
 
I was waiting for a new Apple TV but for $19 I'm grabbing two of these things. One for me and the other as a stocking stuffer!
 
teknikal90 said:
i just dont understand the demand for anything else but the apple tv.
aside from the price ($99 is pretty reasonable to me)..i have 1 tv in the house...
i can stream ios, use airplay, netflix, itunes movies and stream my laptop for everything else...
Click to expand...

Apple should drop the AppleTV price to $39 now for the holiday season. They'd sell like hotcakes and get more people into the ecosystem.
 
Thinking about purchasing this just because Chromecast is so temperamental when streaming Netflix. Disconnects frequently, the audio/video sync is off and then on, the auto play function doesn't pause when you push pause, etc.
 
octothorpe8 said:
I guess. I haven't found ANY features on any of these that would compel me to switch from Apple TV. It has a clean interface and streams video reliably from either my iTunes library or whatever channel I pick, and that's 99% of my use right there.

On top of that, it will let me AirPlay from my phone or extend my display from my laptop. I can type directly into search fields from a paired bluetooth keyboard or the on-screen keyboard on my phone.

I'm not out to play video games on a crappy set-top box (have an Xbox) and voice search just sounds like a gimmick.

Seriously, what am I missing by not having a super over-spec'ed Fire TV or whatever?
Click to expand...

Just because you're not using more advanced features doesn't mean the Apple TV supports more advanced features.

You have an iTunes extender and a Airplay-mirroring device. If that's all you need, more power to you.
 
farewelwilliams said:
I just want a freaking HDMI adapter than I can beam any device screen wirelessly to the screen that the adapter is plugged into.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you need a Chromecast. Works with Android (duh), iOS 6 and above - iPhone, iPad, and iPod, and Mac.

On topic - Hmmm, $19 bucks. The remote is a nice addition, as is the 8GB hard drive. Worth it just to see what it's all about. I got a Fire TV when it came out. Will be re-gifting it for Xmas. Works fine, just did nothing more than my Roku and Chromecasts.
 
69Mustang said:
Sounds like you need a Chromecast. Works with Android (duh), iOS 6 and above - iPhone, iPad, and iPod, and Mac.

On topic - Hmmm, $19 bucks. The remote is a nice addition, as is the 8GB hard drive. Worth it just to see what it's all about. I got a Fire TV when it came out. Will be re-gifting it for Xmas. Works fine, just did nothing more than my Roku and Chromecasts.
Click to expand...

The problem with Chromecast is that it can't do anything on it's own. I need (want) a stand alone device that doesn't require a phone or tablet to control it.
 
Power adapter fail

Looked great until I read the details and notice you need to plug it into a wall outlet. That is a deal breaker. I have no easily accessible outlet right next to the TV. The outlet for the TV itself is recessed into the wall behind where the TV is mounted. It also kills the portability for the product. Not to mention the unsightly cord (wife hates visible cords) and power adapter brick that adds to the bulk you have to carry around.

Love how none of the photos include the adapter in the shot.
 
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