[GCARC] Have you bought your Firestick yet...? You can if you want to.

[MARK]

Good Morning All, 

Well, I received the http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QGKNP32?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00 yesterday and tried it last night. Is it better than a Firestick? I will give it a qualified Yes. Qualified because I am disappointed with the Quad Core performance of the unit. It does not seem much faster than the Firestick in terms of performance but once content is selected the streaming quality is comparable. Some might not like the fact that this device, unlike the Firestick, is external and is another wire plugged into the TV. The Firestick is invisible plugged in behind the TV. Also, one would not have access to their Amazon prime movie account because Amazon still has not created an Android App for their movies. However, these are the only negatives which some may say are a deal breaker. Some of the advantages of the unit, though, over the Firestick are as follows: 

!. Slightly less expensive . 
2. Will support a wireless mouse/keyboard for faster control of the device 
3. Most of the good apps come pre-loaded on the unit out of the box (movies, tv shows, live sports, cable channels) and, like the Firestick, one can add more at anytime 
4. USB ports which would allow fast back-up, of the content including apps, or the ability, I assume, to stream content with an external drive (flash, optical) 
5. Google Internet Browser 
6. Google Play App store 
7. Skype 
8. Larger storage capacity (8GB v. 6GB) 
9. Gaming is better (not a big favorite of mine though) 
10. Computer like functionality 

I think, for the money it is a good value for these type of devices but I still would have liked it to be a little faster. With the extra features (Google browser, Google Play store, wireless mouse), it is worth it for the price over the Firestick. One can still cut off Mr. Comcast with this device(s) and not miss them unless paying $120+/month is their favorite hobby. 

Mark 
WA2DIY