We analyze the Amazon Fire Stick TV, a more interesting alternative than Chromecast

Smart TVs are increasingly present in all our homes. Even with those, there are many users who do not end up being pleased with the possibilities of these devices, and it is that apart from Samsung with Tizen, there are many obstacles that those companies that want to include a really useful Smart TV still have to jump on their televisions.

That is why not a few users choose Chromecast and small Android TV with the intention of consuming multimedia content more easily in their living room. Amazon, which is up to date in everything, and despite the fact that it already had devices with similar purposes, decided to present a few weeks ago the Amazon Fire TV Basic Edition, a small device that concentrates all the power of multimedia control. En Actualidad Gadget We have gotten to work and we are going to tell you what our experience has been with the Amazon Fire TV Stick Basic Edition, which has left us great sensations.

We are going to follow the analysis procedure that we always follow, so if you want to save some section I entrust you to go through the index with direct links. Without further delay we go there with the detail of the product.

Technical characteristics: Fair and functional hardware

We are, as you know, before an HDMI stick that includes power inside. It does this by using a low-performance, non-denominational processor, manufactured by MediaTek and offering speeds of 1,3 GHz, just enough for your tasks, we are not facing a barbaric product in potential. The product's GPU also goes to the limit, Mali 450 Mp4 to consume multimedia content and a little more. How could it be otherwise, it has its own memory RAM since it runs Android, it only spends 1 GB In total, so it can be seen that the Operating System is optimized, otherwise the hardware deficiencies would be very noticeable to use, and we already anticipate that they are not.

Regarding storage we have 8 GB in total, not expandable and remaining at approximately 6 GB for the user after discounting the Operating System and native applications. We take a look at the video codecs and formats:

• Videographer: H.264 1080p30, H.265 1080p30; Audio: AAC-LC, HE-AACv1 (AAC +), HE-AACv2 (eAAC +), AC3 (Dolby Digital), eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), FLAC, MIDI, MP3, PCM / Wave, Vorbis, AMR-NB, AMR -WB; Image: JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP
• Audio: Dolby Audio, 5.1 surround sound, 2 channel stereo and HDMI 7.1 audio signal pass-through.

We have a little more to say on a technical level, we are left with their connections WiFi ac and of course Bluetooth 4.1 both to control the device and to broadcast audio among other features. In our case we have not managed to make it work with 2,4 GHz WiFi networks, something to take into account.

Design: Minimalism with utility by flag

We cannot expect much at the design level, and it is really that we are facing a product destined to hide behind the television. Thus we have 119 x 40,4 x 13,8mm in dimensions for a total of 56 grams of weight, lightweight and easy to use. As it could not be otherwise, it is built in a totally matte black plastic material, once again aimed at going unnoticed together with our television, Amazon's work in this section is logical, apart from the fact that it does not usually bet by materials premium For your products, we imagine that with the intention of saving and adjusting the price, and we understand and applaud that. It is a simple stick that has the HDMI male at one end and the microUSB connection on one side. Certainly I would have understood more that HDMI was at the other extreme, but to taste the colors. On one of the bases we find the Amazon logo and his big smile, nothing more.

Packaging and accessories: A command that differentiates it

One of the aspects that most induces your purchase is that it counts with your own commandJust the right buttons to navigate easily and quickly through its user interface and built in the same materials as the stick, enough, small and will not become a clutter on the side table. Similarly it has a HDMI adapter / extender for those who cannot easily access the HDMI jack, which will make connection easy. Similarly, although some televisions provide enough power to operate these devices, Amazon decides to include a network adapter (a simple USB charger) so that you do not have the desire or have to purchase products separately. The reality is that Amazon thinks of everything in this section and simply wants to give you the complete pack.

Packaging the usual in the company of the smile, a kind of rigid cardboard bag that opens at one end, almost designed to be on any shelf you can imagine. Everything is designed inside the "box" to fit perfectly.

Setup: All ready to go and plug in

Unless we mark it "as a gift", our Amazon account will be installed in the system in advance, so we will not have more than plug in the product and it will begin to guide us through the installation procedure as well as download our applications and subscribed content from the Amazon store. This has a point to note, as you well know it is not compatible with the Google Play Store, at least formally, but as we will tell you later, you can add ".APK" files without too much complication. The configuration menu will allow us both to add control systems for videogames and Bluetooth keyboards and mice that facilitate interaction, although we emphasize that the command is more than enough.

Use experience: Few limits and a lot of comfort

The user interface is typical of an Android TV, it is designed to be able to navigate quickly and easily from your remote. We will have a Start menu where we can access the applications quickly, a Category system where we will download our own applications from the Amazon store and finally the Settings menu with what to expect.

As you well know, Fire OS is based on Android but does not support the Google Play Store. The alternative will be to activate the installation of applications and browse the web until downloading the .APK that interests us, this is how we will be able to make the Amazon Fire Stick with applications of the Movistar + style. Unfortunately these applications are not designed to work with FireOS, so without a Bluetooth mouse we will have a difficult time navigating the applications, since the remote will not let us.

As you well know, contained in Full HD 1080p at 30 FPS It is the most that the Amazon Fire Stick Basic Edition will offer us, logical in a device that hhas reached € 29,99 for Amazon Prime users en THIS LINK. If you are looking for the maximum in performance and quality, you should opt for the competition, much more expensive, but without a doubt the Amazon Fire Stick TV is a step ahead of Google's Chromecast. For a use of Movistar +, Amazon Prime Video, Spotify, Netflix and similar applications it is more than enough, especially considering the ridiculous price.