Amazon Fire TV Stick gets UK launch

Friday, March 27, 2015 - 08:54 by Graham Miller

Amazon's answer to Google's Chromecast has finally arrived in the UK, giving buyers an affordable way to access video streaming content on their TVs, without having to invest in a new smart model.

The Fire TV Stick will be available to buy online for just £35 and will be compatible with any screen that has an HDMI input.

It harnesses Wi-Fi connectivity to provide access to a range of services, including the likes of Netflix and Amazon's own Prime video streaming platform, although of course, some of these do require a separate subscription to operate correctly.

Free streaming from catch-up TV services, such as BBC iPlayer, will also be built into the Fire TV Stick. And it also offers users the unique opportunity to control it using their voices, rather than relying on pushing buttons.

The Fire TV Stick is more powerful than the current Chromecast iteration, as well as being more affordable than the Fire TV set top box.

This news comes in the same week that Amazon announced it had been given preliminary approval to roll out its drone delivery service in the US.

However, the retailer was also critical of the FAA, the body which grants companies license to use US airspace. This is because in the length of time that it took to approve the drone delivery plans, the machine that Amazon had initially intended to use has become superseded.

BBC News reports that this bust-up may mean that people who carry out safe shopping online in the UK could be amongst the first to benefit from drone delivery, as long as Amazon is willing to experiment with the service in other countries, where aviation authorities may be quicker to act to approve its new hardware.