Roku, a manufacturer of set top streaming boxes an other media devices, made a sizable announcement on Tuesday. The California company announced the new Roku Streaming Stick (HDMI version):

Previously, Roku did offer a streaming stick, but it was priced at $99, and its compatibility was limited to only those televisions that were “Roku Ready,” essentially meaning that the TVs had a specialized  MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) HDMI port. Further compounding these less than desirable features, the original Roku stick shipped without a remote. ¹

That is all in the past, however. The new HDMI Roku Streaming Stick is priced at a much more affordable $49.99 and has nearly all the features of the Roku 1 set top box. What’s more, the new stick ships with a remote.

This is pretty clearly a move to counter Google’s Chromecast. Although the Chromecast is $15 cheaper than the Roku Streaming Stick, Google’s offering has nowhere near the amount of content streams as Roku.
The new Roku Streaming Stick will be available for purchase in April of this year.