Starting last year, Amazon has continued to offer a bonus credit when trading in an old Amazon device (or related devices from other brands).

Amazon is offering the largest discount on Echo devices, specifically 25% off on the purchase of a new Amazon Echo, Echo Dot or Echo Show. In order to qualify for the discount, you have to trade-in older Echo devices.

For instance, a 1st generation Amazon Echo in good condition will get you $25 back in a digital gift card as well as a 25% off coupon on a new Echo device. You could go from 1st generation to 4th generation for roughly $50, which is half the cost of the 4th gen Echo speaker.

You could also pursue a large discount by trading in a third gen, Echo Dot for $5 (ideal for anyone that took advantage of the Echo Dot for $9 deal last year) and use that 25% off discount to get $62 off the new Echo Show 10.

Beyond 25% off on new Echo devices, Amazon is offering 20% bonus discounts for trade-ins across a barrage of categories:

• 20% off Fire TV with trade-in: LINK
• 20% off Kindle with trade-in: LINK
• 20% off Fire Tablets with trade-in: LINK
• 20% off Ring security with trade-in: LINK
• 20% off Eero Wi-fi Mesh with trade-in: LINK

Regarding trade-in value, Echo devices appear to offer some of the better trade-in values while Fire TV devices off the worst. But if you were planning on upgrading anyway, it’s going to be worth it for the additional discount.

Two things to keep in mind to save even more money:

1. The % off discount is automatically applied in your cart when you purchase the new device through midnight on November 30, 2021. That means the discount will be available during Prime Day as well as Black Friday & Cyber Monday. You may save even more money by waiting for additional sales on your new device.
2. Watch for bonus % back offers on the Amazon Prime Visa card. The base is 5% back, but Amazon likes to offer additional discounts on Amazon devices during Q4. Potentially, you could save up to another 20% by using that specific credit card during checkout.

Want to pay less for a new Amazon Echo? Get an extra 25% off with a trade-in.

Shopping for an Amazon Echo? Or perhaps a Echo Show? We’ve looked through all the Black Friday ads and broken down where you can get the cheapest Echo Dots, Echo speakers, Echo Show, Fire TV and Fire tablets this year.

For the most part, Amazon sets identical pricing for all retailers; but you can find bonus offers or bundles with specific product at Amazon and other retailers.

Best Price on an Amazon Echo: $60

This will be the same price at all retailers, a $40 discount off the MSRP. It’s possible that Amazon will also discount the model with 4-months of free Amazon Music Unlimited to the $60 price point as well. It’s unlikely this will go out of stock at Amazon.

The current generation of the Amazon Echo comes in five colors, utilizes a 0.8″ tweeter and 3″ woofer, includes a 3.5 mm line in/out and is compatible with Dolby Audio.

• Amazon: Echo Speaker

Best Price on an Echo Dot: $22

The 3rd generation Echo Dot will be on sale for the same price at all retailers, $22. That’s a $28 discount off the $50 MSRP. It’s unlikely this will go out of stock at Amazon.

If you are buying in bulk, head back to Kohl’s. If you purchased 5 Echo Dots at Kohl’s, that would cost $110, but you would get $30 in Kohl’s Cash back. If you want the version with the clock face built-in, Amazon will have it on sale for $35.

• Amazon: Echo Dot
• Kohl’s: Echo Dot in Bulk
• Amazon: Echo Dot with Clock Face

Best Price on an Echo Show 5: $50 + $15 GC

Advertised on the front page of the Kohl’s ad, this offer is likely to sell out quickly. You get the same sale price found at other retailers, but $15 in Kohl’s Cash back after the purchase. This price is a $40 discount off the MSRP.

The Echo Show 5 comes in 2 colors, offers access to Alexa, uses a 5.5″ smart display and includes a switch to turn off the microphone & camera if you prefer privacy. If you want the larger 8-inch model, Amazon has it on sale for $100.

• Kohl’s: Echo Show 5
• Amazon: Echo Show 5
• Amazon: Echo Show 8

Best Price on an Fire TV 4K Cube: $90

This will be the same price at all retailers. It’s unlikely this will go out of stock at Amazon. This is a $30 discount off the retailer price of $120.

The Fire TV 4K Cube offers 4K video playback with HDR, HDR 10, HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision support as well as a built-in speaker, a hexa-core processor, 16GB of storage, Dolby Atmos support and 802.11ac dual-band MIMO Wi-Fi.

• Amazon: Fire TV 4K Cube

Best Price on an Fire TV 4K Stick: $25

Again, this will be the same price at all retailers. There are two versions available, the 4K model at $25 and the 1080p model at $20. That’s a 50 percent discount for each model. It’s unlikely this will go out of stock at Amazon.

The Fire TV 4K Stick offers 4K video playback support for HDR, HDR 10, HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision as well as a quad-core processor, 8GB of storage, Dolby Atmos support and 802.11ac dual-band MIMO Wi-Fi.

• Amazon: Fire TV 4K Stick
• Amazon: Fire TV Stick

Best Price on an Fire 7 Kids Edition: $60 + $15 GC

This is the 2018 model, but the pricing is better than the 2019 model.  This tablet will be the exact same price at every retailer, but you can earn $15 in Kohl’s Cash if you buy it at Kohl’s.

This tablet includes a kid-proof case, a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, a 1024 by 600 display, 16GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, a 2MP camera and 1-year of FreeTime Unlimited. The model without the kid case can be found on sale for $30.

• Kohl’s: Fire 7 Kids Edition (2018)
• Amazon: Regular Fire 7 Tablet

Here’s the cheapest Echo, Echo Show, Fire TV & Fire Tablets on Black Friday 2019

If you know someone that hasn’t upgraded to a television with streaming apps or simply wants to upgrade an existing “dumb” television in their home, there are a ton of streaming media players that will get the job done.

In addition, there are a massive number of streaming media options available this year, with more coming next year. Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, etc…  If you want to stream everything, here are the best home theater, streaming media players for 2019:

Best Overall Option for Dolby Vision & HDR10+: Fire TV Cube

If you know someone that’s upgraded to a high end television that supports new formatting like Dolby Vision & HDR10+, Amazon’s new Fire Tv Cube (2019 model, MSRP $119) is your best bet. Utilizing a hexa-core processor (up to 2.2GHz), you can easily stream 4K content in Dolby Vision and HDR, HDR10+. There’s also support for the Dolby Atmos sound format on select titles on Netflix and Amazon.

Other cool features include the Alexa voice assistant, 16GB of storage, 802.11ac dual-band MIMO Wi-Fi, Ethernet support for hard wired connections and Bluetooth 5.0 support (longer range). The upgraded internals make is significantly faster than the previous model as well as faster than streaming stick options. If you are looking for a cheaper option, check out the Roku Ultra (which has equally snappy performance, but no Dolby Vision support; MSRP $99).

Check Price on Amazon

Best Option for Casting via Smartphone: Chromecast Ultra

If you know someone that lives their life with a smartphone in their face, consider getting a Chromecast Ultra so they can cast their streaming video from their phone to the television. The Ultra is 4K capable and includes support for HDR10 and Dolby vision. It also works with Google home, ideal for streaming content by voice commands.

If you don’t need 4K playback, consider the regular Google Chromecast. It provides an identical feature set, but limits resolution to 1080p at 60 frames per second. It’s half the price of the Ultra model and can be found as cheap as $20 on Black Friday.

Check Price on Amazon

Best Option for Tight Budgets: Roku Streaming Stick+

Definitely an awesome stocking stuffer, the Roku Streaming Stick is one of the better buys for overall quality and usability. I’ve tried all the smart user interfaces and Roku is always a step above the rest, which is why companies like TCL have adopted the Roku interface for their smart interface.

The Streaming Stick+ starts at $50, but Black Friday sales will drop it to $30 (page 5 of the Target Ad). It has a very small footprint (plugs into a HDMI port) and is extremely snappy. It supports 4K playback as well as HDR10 and Dolby Atmos. It also works with both Alexa and Google Assistant for voice control.  FYI, there are also even cheaper Roku options (probably in the $20 range on Black Friday) is you don’t need 4K playback.

Check Price on Amazon

Best Option for Apple Fanatics: Apple TV 4K

One of the priciest options on the list, the Apple TV 4K is ideal for anyone that’s invested a considerable amount of money in the Apple ecosystem of products (iPhone, iPad) and digital media (iTunes). Sold at $180 for the 32GB model and $200 for the 64GB, the device offers 4K resolution, Dolby Vision / HDR10 support and Dolby Atmos functionality.

It allows users to access Siri for voice control and does include an Ethernet port for those who prefer a hardwired connection. Like many other Apple products, don’t expect a huge sale on the Apple TV 4K during Black Friday sales. It may fall to the $150 range for new models and $130 for refurbished models.

Check Price on Amazon

Best (Two) Options for Gamers

If you know someone into video games, getting them a new gaming console will offer them access to awesome games as well as streaming video applications. There are two standout options:

• The Console Gamer: Get the Xbox One S. Significantly cheaper than the PS4 Pro, the Xbox One S can handle 4K streaming as well as offer playback of Ultra HD discs. You can find plenty of $200 Xbox One S bundles during November as well as a $150 Xbox On S digital console (if you only want 4K streaming, no disc playback). The Xbox One S supports Dolby Vision, HDR10, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.
• The PC Gamer: Get the Nvidia Shield TV Pro. Offering access to any streaming app that’s on the Google Play store, the Sheild Tv Pro offers a really snappy performance with the new Tegra X1+ processor as well as access to over 200 games on Android TV. The 2019 model supports Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and Dolby TrueHD with Atmos via Plex.  But one of the biggest selling points of the Shield is the ability to stream games from your PC to your television; ideal for anyone with a huge PC gaming library.

Check Price on Xbox One S / Check Price on Nvidia Shield Pro

Check Ben’s for the latest streaming media player deals

2019 Gift Guide: The Best Streaming Media Players

This fall, Amazon introduced the 2nd generation Fire TV ($100) amidst a slew of hardware updates for other big-name streaming devices from Roku, Apple and Google (and to a lesser extent, Nvidia). Two new features headline the second Fire TV: 4K streaming video support and Alexa, the “Siri-like” voice assistant that’s currently found on Amazon’s Echo “smart” speaker.

The Fire TV is identical in form factor to the first version, measuring a compact 4.53″ x 4.53″ x 0.69″.  The optical audio output is gone, in favor of a microSD slot to expand your storage up to 128GB. (It has 8GB onboard storage.) I think this change will be welcome to most users, especially for gamers.

Speaking of gamers, Amazon has also released a $140 Fire TV Gaming Edition with a 32GB microSD card, game controller and two games.

The internals of Fire TV 2 now boast a 64-bit quad-core processor and dedicated GPU for “75% more processing power” over the 1st generation Fire TVs. While the interface and loading of content seemed snappy, I didn’t notice any huge difference, but the potential for gaming is there—should the current anemic selection improve.

Connectivity has been boosted this year. You get HDMI 2.0 with HDCP 2.2 and dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi over last year’s 802.11n. Much needed when it comes to the bigger bandwidth required for 4K streaming.

Let’s Get to the 4K!

I was very anxious to test the 4K capabilities of the Fire TV 2. TL;DR: it’s disappointing. And that’s not because of the limited 4K content out there, which has been well-documented. Read on for the long version.

While you already know you need an Ultra HDTV to play 4K material from the Fire TV 2, you may not know that you need an HDMI input that’s HDCP 2.2 -compliant (aka the copy protection). Most major brand 4K TVs produced since 2014 have at least one HDMI input with HDCP 2.2, but definitely check your 4K TV to make sure.

You’ve probably also guessed you need pretty fast internet to handle Ultra HD resolution (3840 x 2160). Amazon says you need at least 15Mbps, but that’s the bare minimum and real world speeds never match the listed speeds that your cable company tells you.

The Fire TV offers 3840 x 2160 content at up to 30fps, although the new Roku 4 will do 60fps. Since most content is not even there yet (e.g. Netflix Ultra  HD is 24 fps), that’s not a deal breaker.

Fire TV 2 GUI Looks the Same

My first disappointment with 4K on the Fire TV came in the user interface. The new Fire TV sports the same platform as the previous Fire TVs, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s a good platform, albeit Amazon Prime-centric, as we already knew going in from last year’s version. No, the main problem is Ultra HD (4K) content—the whole reason for this unit’s existence—is buried 4 or 5 rows from the top, after Recent, Featured Apps, Prime Originals, etc. I wanted to dig into 4K stuff right away, and it wasn’t easy to find.

Granted, there isn’t much 4K content to begin with, but actually with Amazon Instant Video alone, there are at least 12 Prime shows available in Ultra HD, including the new alternate history series The Man in the High Castle (which is pretty cool). These 4K shows should be plastered all over the new Fire TV. Instead you’re more likely to stumble upon the 1080p versions first. Boo! (Also if you start watching the 1080p version and switch to Ultra HD, it won’t remember your place. 1080p and Ultra HD (“UHD”) versions are displayed as two separate programs.)

A Bag of Hurt

First off, 4K in general looks great, although the “wow” factor is dependent on the content itself and what kind of cameras it was shot in. I found new 4K content on Netflix, Amazon Video and YouTube to watch.

A shot from Amazon’s Sneaky Pete in Ultra HD. Good luck seeing it on the Fire TV.

But I ran into two major —very serious—problems. One is speed. I tried all sorts of 4K content on Amazon Instant Video, and it would frequently take several minutes (if ever) to start streaming in 4K. At first the video would be HD (720p), then switch to 1080p HD, and after a few minutes—if I was lucky—finally become Ultra HD. Sometimes the transition didn’t happen at all and would stay stuck at 1080p after 10 minutes.

I thought maybe something was wrong with my internet (although it’s 150Mps on a 5GHz wireless network). But when I switched over to the built-in Amazon Instant Video app on the 4K test TV (a Vizio), Ultra HD content streamed within seconds.

Then I tried Netflix 4K content on the Fire TV 2, and lo and behold, it was streaming in Ultra HD within seconds. Ruh-roh!

The second major problem began occurring after a few days of testing. Once again, it was Amazon Instant Video. After a minute of playing Ultra HD video, the screen turned to black and returned  to the menu screen, which possibly indicated an issue with the input or HDMI cable… except that other 4K content through other channels (Netflix, YouTube) was still working fine.

So there are serious issues with 4K on Amazon Instant Video, and it looks like a software issue. It better get fixed fast.

It’s not the only software issue – people are having problems with Dolby Surround everywhere else but Amazon Instant Video. I wasn’t able to test this bug, but as you can see, there are definitely issues with 4K streaming, particularly with Amazon’s own service.

Alexa, Your Digital Voice Assistant and Other Goodies

Alexa is the cloud-based digital voice assistant found in Amazon’s Echo smart Bluetooth speaker. It’s an evolution of last year’s Gary Busey-endorsed voice search, so it will tell you the weather (it works) and trivia like who the Prime Minister of Canada is (currently Stephen Harper but didn’t mention the new PM-designate) or when World War II started (it went with Sept 1, 1939). Alexa works pretty fast when she can deliver what you’re asking.

While weather and trivia are nice additions, content search is the most essential and practical aspect, and I’d like to see more improvements, beginning with search that goes outside of Amazon Instant Video. Roku’s been doing for years, and the new Apple TV promises this feature, as well.

I’d also like to see improved filtering of results. For example, “Show all movies with Tom Cruise” came up with a nice list of Cruise movies, but “Show all Amazon Prime Movies with Tom Cruise” or “Show all Oscar-Winning Dramas”  got nothing.

X-Ray was added to the 1st Gen model earlier this year, but it’s worth mentioning this fun feature that lets you pull up actor/IMDB info on command, like on the Google Chromecast. ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) is another cool feature which pre-buffers Amazon Instant Video shows based on viewing habits. But it’s also not new to the 2nd Gen Fire TV.

Games

The new micro SD slot (up to 128GB) is good for gaming… if the games were there.

I tried out a couple free games like the popular Crossy Road and Table Top Racing, and these Android games worked perfectly well, but with the Amazon Fire TV’s specs, there should be more interesting games made for this platform. There are rumors that Amazon is working on a game, but right now gaming on the Fire TV just feels like untapped potential.

Conclusion

Before I started reviewing and using the 2015 Fire TV, I was not aware of just how many problems people were already having with it. If you go to to customer reviews on Amazon or Best Buy, you will see many legit reports of buggy performance all over the map.

AFTVnews.com (the unofficial Amazon Fire news site) reported that nearly 500 Amazon employees have been doing internal testing on the 2nd gen Fire TV. Due to Fire OS 5 issues, the 2nd Gen Fire TV orders are now delayed to November 7, and the new voice-activated Fire TV stick orders are delayed to November 13th on Amazon.

No doubt the pressure of today’s expected annual release cycle for tech products has something to do with it. And while firmware updates may (and will) fix some of the glitches, consumers have other choices to throw their money at in the meantime.

If you’re buying the Amazon Fire TV specifically for its 4K capabilities, I cannot recommend it. If you just want a regular HD streaming box, there are too many options out there, especially cheaper ones—including Amazon’s own Fire Stick—that do the job just as well or better.

Amazon Fire TV (2015) Review: Don’t Buy it for the 4K

Every time one of these media boxes is announced, I’m always reminded of that little Irving Berlin ditty Anything You Can Do. First, the Apple TV was announced in early September, Apple’s first revision of the hardware in years. Everyone was excited about iOS support, Siri support. Then Amazon 1up’ed Apple with the 4K Fire TV announcement during mid-September. Everyone was excited about 4K support, faster hardware, lower price tag.

Well, Roku just announced the Roku 4. Here’s a handy spec sheet to help you decide between the three main options in set-top boxes this holiday season.

[table caption=”2015 Set-Top Box Comparison” width=”620″ colwidth=”20|25|25|25″ colalign=”center|center|center|center”]
Category,Roku 4,2015 Fire TV, 2015 Apple TV

Supported Resolution?,4K Ultra HD (up to 60 fps),4K Ultra HD (up to 30 fps),1080p

Supported Wi-Fi?,802.11ac MIMO,802.11ac MIMO,802.11ac MIMO

Wired Ethernet?,Yes,Yes,Yes

Processor?,Quad-core,Quad-core,Dual-core

RAM?,1.5GB,2GB,2GB

Optical Digital Output?,Yes,No (HDMI only),No (HDMI only)

HDMI Version?,HDMI 2.0,HDMI 2.0,HDMI 1.4

USB port?,One USB 2.0 port,One USB 2.0 port,No

Micro SD card slot?, Yes (up to 128GB), Yes (up to 128GB), No

Voice Search?,Yes,Alexa,Siri

Universal Search?,Yes,Crippled,Yes (but fewer apps)

Remote Finder?,Yes,No,No

Hotel & Dorm Connect*?,Yes,No,No

Supports Headphones?,Wired,Bluetooth only,Bluetooth only

Operating System?,Roku OS 7,Fire OS 3.0 “Mojito”,tvOS 9.0 (iOS 9)

Gaming Support?,Good,Better,Best (Probably)

Price?,$129.99,$99.99,$149 (32GB) / $199 (64GB)

[/table]

*Hotel & Dorm connect. Using Roku mobile app, users enter login details to connect to Wi-Fi networks that require login through a Web browser.

The facts are clear. Amazon is aiming at the budget audience, but still offering 4K playback as well as the best specs. Of course, some of the downsides include a search engine that’s not truly universal and a general lack of 4K content at the moment. It’s also a less useful player without a Prime subscription.

Apple is content charging people significantly more than competitors while offering less powerful hardware at the same time. Of course, the integration of iOS 9 is likely going to open the floodgates to mobile gaming on the family television and Siri could be a powerful voice assistant for finding content. The remote control is also pretty slick, assuming it works as advertised.

Alternatively, Roku appears to be pricing the Roku 4 in the middle of the other two options, specifically going after the home theater crowd. It’s the only option that offers 60 fps playback in 4K as well as a physical optical output for home theater speakers. Roku’s also been doing universal search longer than anyone else (and arguably more effective at it). However, voice search may end up being spotty and it’s obvious that gaming is an afterthought compared to the other two set-top boxes.

If interested in ordering, the Amazon Fire TV is available now, Apple hasn’t opened preorders up for the new Apple TV yet, and Roku has opened up preorders for the Roku as of today: LINK

Order the $99 Fire TV –  Order the $129 Roku 4

You can check out more photos of the new Roku 4 below:

Roku 4 vs. Fire TV vs. Apple TV: 2015 Streaming Showdown

While Apple seems content to push prices higher and higher with each new tablet release, Amazon is taking the opposite approach this year and reducing the cost of nearly all tablets in their Fire HD lineup.

The retailer is also introducing an entirely new tablet to the lineup, the $50, 7-inch Fire tablet. It’s outfitted with a Quad-core 1.3 GHz processor, 8GB of storage, single-band Wi-Fi and a resolution slightly less than HD.

In addition, the new Fire HD Kids edition has plummeted in price by $50 and increased in screen size form 6-inches to 7-inches. It also still comes with 1 year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, the kid-proof case and the 2-year worry-free guarantee in case a kid smashed it.

Amazon is also introducing two more budget tablets, an 8-inch model and a 10-inch model. While neither tablet supports the dazzling resolution of the HDX series, both offer a respectable 720p resolution of 1280 x 800. Both also offer Dolby Atmos support for audio, dual stereo speakers, dual-band Wi-Fi, Quad-core processors up to 1.5 GHz and expandable memory up to 128GB.

Outside of the tablet changes, Amazon also announced a push into 4K support on the Fire TV platform as well as Alexa voice support without raising the $99 price on the set-top box. This is the first set-top box from a major manufacturer to include 4K support, a feature that Apple ignored when creating the new Apple.

With the push to 4K, the Fire TV has a stronger processor, 2GB of memory, support for dual-band 802.11ac and a dedicated graphics engine. Amazon also announced a $50 version of the Fire TV streaming stick with Alexa voice support in the remote control and a $140 gaming edition of the Fire TV, which includes two bundled games valued at $25, a 32 GB microSD card and the Fire TV game controller (regularly $40).

All of the new tablets are currently available for preordering with release dates on September 30, 2015. The Fire TV products will be available on October 5, 2015 with the Fire TV stick with the voice remote available on October 21, 2105.

Amazon retools tablet line to attract budget-minded consumers

The arrival of Amazon’s shiny new streaming toy, the Fire TV Stick ($39), came at a convenient time for me. My 3rd Gen Apple TV (2012) had suddenly gone on the fritz (stuck on activation after an update — there are plenty of threads on the Google).

So maybe I was just looking for a media player pick-me-up or the Fire TV Stick was really just that good, because I had a great time using the Fire TV Stick.

It’s not like Amazon reinvented the wheel or anything. The Fire TV Stick is a streaming media player. There are millions of those out there. It’s a thumb-drive form factor just like last year’s Google Chromecast (7/10) and the Roku Streaming Stick (8/10), which I reviewed earlier this summer.

Not only is the Fire TV Stick on par with both of those devices, it exceeds them in some areas. Let’s see why.

Starting Out

The Fire TV Stick comes in a slick, minimalist eco-friendly slipcover box—pretty much what you expect these days from high-profile tech companies.

A couple things stood out about the stick itself: one, the placement of the microUSB port is odd. It’s not at the end of the stick but on the side which could cause issues with other cables depending on how the HDMI ports on your TV are aligned. An HDMI extender cable is included for such situations.

Two, the power adapter is square-shaped with the prongs centered on the underside, which means plugging it in makes for an awkward fit with other plugs on a power strip.

Beyond those minor design issues, the Fire TV Stick looks like your standard media streaming dongle, measuring 3.3 inches x 1.0 inches x 0.5 inches.

On the inside, however, it’s more robust than its nearest competitors. It’s got a dual-core processor, 8GB storage, 1GB memory and dual-band Wi-Fi compared to the single-core processor, 2GB storage, 512MB memory and single-band Wi-Fi on the Chromecast and single-core processor, 256MB storage, 512MB memory and single-band Wi-Fi on the Roku Streaming Stick.

After you connect to your Wi-Fi network, you will be prompted to download the latest software, which took about 5 to 7 minutes. (Oddly, I had to rejoin the network after the update.) Like other Kindle products, the Fire TV Stick is already registered under your Amazon user account.

To get you started, Amazon gives you an animated Fire TV Stick introduction which lays out all the features and functions of the product. It’s a good touch that shows Amazon has thought about the details.

Like other media players, you’ll want your computer or phone with you to activate certain apps (like the Hulu Plus or PBS app) after you’ve installed them.

Speed and Navigation

On paper, the Fire TV Stick outshines its rivals. In practice, it’s very zippy—maybe not in the same league as the full-sized players out there, but often smoother than the Roku stick. I found the remote control surprisingly responsive, and scrolling through the tile-based menus, after getting used to the remote, was mostly painless.

HD video playback was instant and flawless on Amazon’s video app with zero buffering. There was, however, some video buffering on HD video playback when I sampled the YouTube app, and the Hulu Plus app seemed more sluggish than the version on the Roku stick. Hopefully, that will improve soon with a software update.

There’s no HBO Go app at launch which Chromecast and the Roku Stick both have. Otherwise, all major third-party services are represented, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Showtime, Pandora, Disney Channel, WatchESPN and Twitch.

The layout of the menus is not surprisingly centered around Amazon’s Instant Video service, and there’s access to Prime Music as well the Amazon Cloud Drive where you can view your pictures and videos. The tile layout and app menus are reminiscent of both Xbox One and Roku.

I liked one cool feature in Prime Music where on-screen lyrics were highlighted as the song played. It’s available on some tracks, but not all.

If you poke around settings, you’ll see that there’s a sleep button, which is a nice feature that the Roku doesn’t have. You can also fine-tune privacy settings like app collection data, manage your app storage space, turn on developer options and watch help videos.

Voice Search and Games

The full-sized Fire TV ($99) that launched earlier this year was promoted heavily for its great voice search feature by the inimitable Gary Busey. The Fire TV Stick doesn’t have this feature built-in, but a separate voice remote is available for $29.

That’s a bummer, but fear not, voice search fans! You can use voice search on the Fire TV Remote App (Stick Only Edition), which is totally free and currently available on Android (through Amazon’s App Store). It will be available for iOS, but there’s no ETA at this time.

I downloaded the app and found it very simple and easy to use. For voice search, you just drag down and hold the mic button, say the words, and let go of the button. Voice search was very quick and responsive. Navigating with the app was also very easy and fast.

I think the biggest advantage the Fire TV Stick has over its competitors is the emphasis on (Android-based) games. There are over 200 games at launch, many of which are free or 99 cents. Admittedly, some of these games look lame.

While you can play plenty of the games with the included remote, some do require the $40 Bluetooth Game Controller. These games include Terraria, Virtua Tennis. Reaper and Sonic the Hedghog.

Bargain Price

In October, we saw Amazon offer Prime customers the Fire TV Stick at an introductory bargain-basement price of $19 for pre-orders. Even at $39 retail, the Fire TV Stick is competitively priced with the $35 Google Chromecast and $50 Roku Streaming Stick and arguably offers more.

Amazon said the Fire TV Stick is its “fastest-selling Amazon device ever,” and it will be a very hot—and hard to find—item this holiday season. Shipping times have been pushed back to January 15, 2015, a full two months from the time of this review.

That’s a long time to wait when the Roku Streaming Stick and Chromecast are both readily available. Practically speaking, you can’t really go wrong with the similar Roku Streaming Stick. But if you decide to wait it out, you won’t be disappointed.

Amazon Fire TV Stick Review: The Little Stick That Could

The CheckOut is all growns up!

This week marks one year since the debut of our little blog The CheckOut. In that time, we’ve covered everything from super important life-changing surveys to Fisticups coffee mugs to Batman and Harry Potter’s bromance to shopping search engine comparisons to the latest tech reviews for UNTOLD MILLIONS (or thereabouts).

Yeah, who cares? Keep reading for free stuff.

To celebrate and thank you, our faithful readers, we’re giving away the brand-new, Gary Busey-approved Kindle Fire TV (Retail: $100) to one lucky winner! To enter, all you have to do is answer this short 3-question quiz testing the limits of your pop culture knowledge. Please post your answers in the comment section below.

Fine print: To qualify, you must answer all 3 questions in order with proper American, punctuation, and speeling. And be 18 or something. And not answer 4 questions.

CONTEST POP QUIZ

1) Where were you when The Phantom Menace opened and what was your response when you first laid eyes on the horror of Jar-Jar Binks?

 2) If you could be Doge and time travel in the TARDIS for one day, to what historical event would you visit?

3) Who would win in a fight between Snuffleupagus and Sweetums, that big Muppet working on the car lot in The Muppet Movie?

Happy Birthday to The CheckOut! Win an Amazon Fire TV to celebrate!

This week at Ben’s Bargains, Black Friday arrived early in the form of annual “Spring Black Friday” sales at big box stores Home Depot and Lowe’s. It’s a good time for you DIYers because a bevy of home and garden deals have also popped up elsewhere (Ace Hardware, Sears, Amazon) to coincide with the good weather.

In tech news, Amazon released its own set-top media box, the $99 Amazon Fire TV, to compete with big-hitters like the Google Chromecast ($35), Roku 3 ($100) and Apple TV ($99). Watch for the release of the much-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S5 next week.

Have that credit card handy because the following deals won’t last much longer!

Here are the current hottest deals of the week on Ben’s Bargains, organized by category (prices include shipping):

[table caption=”General Offers” width=”620″ colwidth=”5|20|65|10″ colalign=”center|center|center|center”]
,Store,Deal,Price

1,DigiDNA,DiskAid iOS File Transfer Software,Free

2,American Express,$5 Credit on iTunes Purchases $5+,

3,Amazon,Plex Mobile App (Android),$0.99

4,Jamba Juice,Fresh Squeezed Juice,$2

5,Amazon,Riptide GP2 Game (Android),Free

6,Newegg,Knack (PlayStation 4),$25

7,Microsoft,FIFA 14 Game (Windows 8.1 touch),Free

8,Olive Garden,BOGO 50% off Entree,

[/table]

[table caption=”Tech” width=”620″ colwidth=”5|20|65|10″ colalign=”center|center|center|center”]
,Store,Deal, Price

1,Groupon,ASUS Cube with Google TV Version 2,$30

2,Newegg,QNAP TS-212-E-US Diskless System Network Storage,$104

3,eBay,Pentax Q10 Compact Mirrorless Camera w/ 5-15mm Lens,$160

4,Best Buy,HP Envy TouchSmart m6 4th Gen Core i5 1080p 15.6″ Sleekbook,$550

5,IT-Direct Deals,Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM,$60

6,Best Buy,Sharp LC-32LB150U 32″ 1080p LED HDTV,$200

7,Amazon,Lenovo Miix 2 Windows 8 Bay Trail 64GB 8″ Tablet,$269

8,Amazon,Anker 40W-8A 5-Port USB Smart Charger,$26

9,Best Buy,SPOT 2 Satellite GPS Messenger,$45

10,Dell Business,Samsung UN50EH5300 1080p LED 50″ HDTV,$748 + $250 GC

[/table]

[table caption=”Apparel & Fashion” width=”620″ colwidth=”5|20|65|10″ colalign=”center|center|center|center”]
,Store,Deal, Price

1,6pm,Up to 75% off Boat Shoes & Loafers + Free Shipping,

2,J. Crew,Extra 50% off Final Sale Items,

3,Jos. A Bank,Two Select Suits,$188

4,Macy’s,70% to 80% off Select Men’s Suits,

5,Original Penguin,Up to 45% off in Sale + Extra 50% off,

6,6pm,Steve Madden Briggs Men’s Leather Shoes,$23

7,Woot!,OGIO 15″ Laptop Backpack,$33

8,Amazon,Urban Boundaries Aviator Sunglasses,$2.75

[/table]

[table caption=”Home & Outdoors” width=”620″ colwidth=”5|20|65|10″ colalign=”center|center|center|center”]
,Store,Deal, Price

1,Home Depot,Spring Black Friday Sale,

2,Home Depot,7 x Philips 11W A19 Dimmable LED Light Bulbs,$49

3,Ace Hardware,Earth Minded 45 Gallon Rain Barrel,$60

4,Newegg,Deadbolt Beacon Device,$7.99

5,13 Deals,100 ft. 325-lb Paracord Rope,$4.49

6,Home Depot,Werner MT-22 22-Foot Telescoping Ladder,$119

7,Starbucks Store,25% off Select Coffee & Drinkware,

8,Macy’s,Bella 1 Scoop 1-Cup Coffee Maker (in-store),$5.99

9,Amazon,2 x Valeo 900 Frameless Wiper Blades,$20

10,Sears,Garden Oasis Bay 10 ft. x 12 ft. Window Gazebo,$405

[/table]

Top 10 Expired or Sold Out Deals

Don’t forget to set up deal alerts on Ben’s Bargains so you don’t miss out on any more of these great savings!

[table caption=”Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder” width=”620″ colwidth=”5|20|65|10″ colalign=”center|center|center|center”]
,Store,Deal, Price

1,Starbucks,5 Bonus Stars for My Starbucks Rewards,

2,Home Depot,Ryobi 18-Volt Drill and Circular Saw Combo Kit,$40

3,Microsoft Store,Garmin Head-Up Display,$100

4,Staples,Dell Inspiron 15 4th Gen Core i3 15.6″ Touch Laptop,$350

5,Puma,Puma evoPOWER Men’s Training Top,$11

6,Staples,Ergocraft Ashton L-Shaped Desk,$50

7,Amazon,Splinter Cell Blacklist Paladin Multi-Mission Aircraft Edition,$60

8,Best Buy,Logitech K400 Wireless Touch Keyboard w/ Touchpad,$20

9,Wayfair,Fire Sense Deluxe Propane Patio Heater,$60

10,Home Depot,EcoSmart 24 4.6 GPM Electric Tankless Water Heater,$364

[/table]

Deals of the Week (April 4): Deals and Taxes

Announced within a press conference this morning, Amazon has launched a new set-top box device that’s taking on the Roku 3, Apple TV and Google Chromecast. Called the Fire TV, the set-top box is basically a Roku 3 on steroids with a quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM.

Amazon is also touting a voice search feature that allows users to locate movies and television shows by speaking the name of the content or actor into the microphone built into the controller. In addition, voice search can locate a specific genre of content. For instance, someone in the mood for action could simply say ‘action movies’ to bring up a collection of action movies and television shows. Or this can happen:

Interestingly, Amazon has added a new feature called ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) that uses a predictive model to pre-load content that Amazon thinks you will want to watch to reduce loading times. However, it’s likely that this feature is limited to Amazon Instant Video rather than carrying over to all the third party applications like Netflix or Hulu Plus.

Beyond streaming content, Amazon has also released the Fire Game controller for the set-top box. This can be used to play Android-based based such at Minecraft or driving game Asphalt 8. Interestingly, music being played in apps like Pandora or VEVO can continue while operating games or other apps.

One planned feature that won’t be available until next month is Amazon FreeTime for parents. This elevated level of parental control allows parents to create a kid-safe environment with user profiles. Similar to the Kindle tablets, parents can also set time limitations on when a child can watch television as well as how long.

For anyone that owns a Kindle Fire HDX tablet, it can be used as a second screen during movies, television shows and games. On the video side, that provides extensive actor and actress information, supplied from Amazon-owned IMDB, within the X-Ray feature.

All this new tech isn’t going to be cheap though. Amazon is pricing the Fire TV set-top box in line with competitors at $99, no discount for Prime members. If you want to play games as well, the controller is an additional $40. Perhaps it’s priced on the high end to pay for the phenomenal Gary Busey plug seen above.

So what do you think? Will this product be snatched up by millions of Amazon shoppers or die a slow death in an already overcrowded product category? Tell us in the comments below.

Check Out the Fire TV on Amazon

Buy or Die? Amazon launches the Fire TV set-top box and controller