Amazon is taking on Google (News - Alert) Chromecast with the Amazon Fire TV Stick. The $39 thumb drive-sized gadget connects to the HDMI port on an HDTV for instant access to movies, TV shows, music, photos, apps and games.

Slated to ship November 19, the Fire TV Stick has an option to upgrade to the Amazon Fire TV Voice Remote for an additional $29.99. Eligible customers get a free 30-day trial of Netflix and Amazon Prime with the purchase.

"Fire TV Stick is the most powerful streaming media stick available--a dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM (News - Alert), 8 GB of storage, dual-band and dual-antenna Wi-Fi, included remote control, voice search with our free mobile app, easy set-up, an open ecosystem and exclusive features like ASAP for instant streaming," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com (News - Alert) founder and CEO. "The team has packed an unbelievable amount of power and selection into an incredible price point—Fire TV Stick is just $39."

Less than seven months ago, Amazon introduced Amazon Fire TV, and it quickly became the best-selling streaming media box on Amazon. The stick form factor will compete with both Chromecast and Roku’s streaming stick, all of which are in the sub-$40 range. Chromecast doesn’t come with a remote, which is one crucial difference.

From a content perspective, Fire TV Stick offers Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN, NBA Game Time, Twitch, Showtime Anytime, Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, Vevo, Plex, A&E, PBS, PBS KIDS, WATCH Disney (News - Alert) Channel, YouTube.com and others.

“The number of video services and games available on Amazon Fire TV has tripled in just seven months, with more services and games being added every week,” the company said. “You can also rent or purchase over 200,000 movies and TV episodes from Amazon Instant Video, which has the world's largest selection of videos to rent or buy, including new releases and blockbusters.”

Amazon last week made 10 episodes of the second season of Garry Trudeau's critically-acclaimed political comedy series Alpha House available on Prime Instant Video in the U.S., U.K. and Germany.

John Goodman (Argo), Mark Consuelos (All My Children), Clark Johnson (The Wire) and Matt Malloy (Six Feet Under) reprise their roles as Republican Senators living under one roof in Washington, D.C., dealing with the outrageous—and sometimes all-too-real—foibles of Beltway life. The series is produced by Trudeau, Elliot Webb (Mob City) and NBC News contributor Jonathan Alter.