Roku has unveiled a new, faster version of its Streaming Stick that, it claims, is eight times speedier than its predecessor.

The new Roku Streaming Stick, which features a quad-core processor and connects to TV HDMI ports, sells for $49.99 and will take on other small-profile devices in the market such as recently redesigned Google Chromecast streaming adapter, which retails for $35, and the Amazon Fire TV Stick, which regularly sells for $39.99. According to Strategy Analytics, the Chromecast led the way with 35% of the 42 million digital media streamers shipped in 2015, followed by Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV products.

Preorders on Roku’s latest entry start today and will hit retail shelves in a couple of weeks, Sharad Sundaresan, Roku’s SVP of product management, said, noting that the new Streaming Stick will replace the model that the company introduced in March 2014 for $49.99 (prior to introducing the new model, Roku has been selling the previous generation Streaming Stick online for $39.99).

The new Roku Streaming Stick comes with an RF remote without an integrated headphone jack, but is the first product in Roku family to offer a “private listening” feature via the Roku Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. That element, which plays up the portability of the product, lets users stream the audio via headphones tethered to the smartphone or wirelessly using Bluetooth. Roku plans to extend the private listening feature to other streaming products, as well.

The Roku Streaming Stick will continue to complement the company’s streaming lineup, which also includes the Roku 1, Roku 2, Roku 3, new 4K-capable Roku 4, and more than 60  integrated Roku TV models from five TV makers – TCL, Haier America, Sharp, Hisense and Insignia (Best Buy’s in-house brand).

The Roku Streaming Stick “is one of our top-selling products,” Sundaresan said.

Roku doesn’t break out sales by product byte, but its user base currently consists of about 10 million active accounts. All Roku users streamed 5.5 billion hours of content in 2015, up 73% from the previous year.

The new entry, optimized for portability, features improved WiFi (dual-band 802.11n), a faster boot time and a faster, snappier interface than the previous generation Streaming Stick, Sundaresan said.

“It’s a great option for business travelers or vacationers or college students [who] take their entertainment with them on the go,” he added.

The latest Roku Streaming Stick will also support the company’s My Feed feature and a library of more than 3,000 apps.  

The device will also integrate Roku’s “unbiased” search platform that now spans more than 30 content partners.

That list now includes: ABC, Acorn TV, Amazon Video, CBS All Access, CinemaNow, Comedy Central, Crackle, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Encore Play, Fandango Now, Fox Now, Freeform, FXNow, Google Play Movies & TV, HBO Go, Hulu, Met Opera on Demand, MTV, Nat Geo TV, Netflix, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, Popcornflix, SnagFilms. Starz Play, TWC TV (Time Warner Cable, Tubi TV, Vudu, VH1, Watch Food Network, and Watch HGTV. 

Walmart is nearing the launch ofhas launched the Spark, an HDMI-connected TV streaming stick that shares some of the basic functionalities found in other devices in the category such as the Google Chromecast, Roku Streaming Stick and Amazon Fire TV Stick. 

As first spotted by GigaOm, Walmart has recently launched a Web site for the new product, though there’s still no info posted there about how Spark will be priced. But to prime the pump, consumers who do snap up the Spark when it does go on sale will be in line for a $5 VUDU credit code each month for five months (for a total of $25)...at least until that promo expires on Sept. 1, 2015.

The site does offer some other details, noting that the product will be offered only at Walmart.com and “select” Walmart stores, that it will support up to 1080p resolution, require a minimum broadband connection of 1 Mbps, and come equipped with integrated 802.11n WiFi. The Spark package also includes and a remote control and a USB-based power cord.

It also appears, at least in the early going, that the Spark will limit access to the VUDU service, which lets customers rent and buy from a library of more than 100,000 movies and TV shows.

We’ve asked VUDU for more detail on what other content sources and apps might be offered down the line, but the user manual only features the VUDU service and walks through how consumer can link the Spark to link their existing VUDU accounts or create new ones. In fact, the VUDU app will automatically launch once it's connected to WiFi, according to the document, which makes no mention of any app or OTT service outside the VUDU universe. 

If that’s the way things stay, then consider the Spark merely a vessel for VUDU and not much of a direct threat to any of the far more capable streaming sticks already on the market. But the $25-worth of VUDU credits is a nice perk that might entice some to jump on board, especially if Walmart decides to practically give the device away. 

Update:  A Walmart official confirmed that the retailer started to sell the VUDU Spark in about 2,400 Walmart stores last month. "It’s priced at $24.95 with $25 worth of VUDU credit, so it’s a low-cost way for our customers to access the latest HD movies and TV on VUDU in their living room," the official added in an emailed statement. 

So, there you go. The five months in VUDU credits offered via the promo cover the bulk of the price of the device. And the base price of the Spark, which does include the remote, undercuts the typical sales price of the Chromecast ($35), Amazon Fire TV Streaming Stick ($39, with remote), and the Roku Streaming Stick ($49.99, also with a remote). Time will tell if Walmart makes the Spark a bit more attractive and less limited by expanding the amount of content and apps it can support. 

Update 2: Blogger Dave Zatz visited Walmart  over the weekend to buy a Spark and found that the in-store promo is a tad different than what the retailer is pitching online...$20 in VUDU credits in four monthly installments of $5. So, not quite as sweet, but the promo still covers the bulk of the hardware costs. And Zatz, who found the Spark with the DVDs and Blu-ray discs rather than next to other streaming players, offers a good history lesson on VUDU...I forgot they got off the ground in 2006 (pre-Walmart) with a dedicated device that sold for a lofty $400.

With HDMI streaming sticks from Google, Roku and Amazon still all the rage, it follows that the cable operators will eventually offer set-tops box in this popular form-factor.

While we’ve already seen Alticast trot out demos of an  RDK-based set-top-on-a-stick, Broadcom used this week’s International CES to show a new design, the BCM72502, that will serve as the innards of HDMI sticks capable of providing “operator-level functionality and security.”

As for what’s going inside Broadcom’s design, it will pack an HEVC decoder and HDMI 2.0 (elements that will be key as operators expand into 4K video), 802.11ac WiFi for in-home wireless distribution, and an option for Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) 2.0.

Boiled down, the platform, which is currently sampling, will give MSOs the ability to tap into designs that so far have been relegated to the OTT world, but pack enough punch to deliver “full-featured set-top box functionality.”

According to Broadcom, MSOs will have the option to use the same platform to provide full-service IPTV using a multi-room gateway/client architecture, to a standalone dongle for “entry level” OTT offerings.