Entertaining prospect: Amazon Fire TV Stick

Cloud sourcing

Although the Amazon Instant Video app for iOS and Android allows you to choose content and resume titles begun on other devices, the handover function for a second screen is absent on non-Fire devices and you can’t access previously purchased music either.

Even so, it’s nicely joined up although there's no Fire place for Windows Phone users, they're left out in the cold.

Dongle delivery – just add telly and Wi-Fi

The Reg Verdict

Amazon's approach to offering its Instant Video content on its Fire product range is certainly comprehensive and extends to iOS, Android and desktop platforms too. The catch is, it's all in the cloud. Even if you paid extra for the Amazon Fire TV box, you'd still not find a USB socket to plug in your own content.

If that doesn't bother you, then the Fire TV Stick is not a massive investment for some joined up entertainment, although for a fiver more, Roku's Streaming Stick will tap into your NAS box and play content from there. And the pricier standalone Roku 3 supports playback from USB devices. In the US, Roku has an Amazon Instant Video app too, but over here, conspiracies abound as we're still waiting.

So if you're sold on Amazon Instant Video, have an inquiring mind that will thrive on X-Ray, and live in Blighty, the Fire TV Stick has a slick user interface, quirky apps, fun games and syncs to remote devices.

However, I do get the feeling that by this time next year, we'll probably be throwing all these dongles in the bin, as the 4K versions will have finally emerged and we can plug, power and play all over again. ®