In light of a current Kickstarter project that has more than doubled its funding goal with just under a month left of fundraising time to go, it looks like Chromecast better get ready for company. Matchstick is a new streaming stick built on the Firefox OS that is completely open-source, and from the look of things, it means business.
Matchstick vs Chromecast
The Matchstick is a WiFi-connected stick that plugs into the HDMI port of any HDTV or HD monitor. Through this connection, you’re able to stream anything on your computer—TV, movies, music, games, Internet content—straight to your HDTV. This sounds a whole lot like Google’s Chromecast, and in many ways it is, but what sets the Matchstick apart is that it’s built on and certified for Firefox OS. Its creators were set on building a completely open hardware and software platform, so they teamed up with Mozilla to make it happen.
By building on an open, adaptable platform, they manage to reduce production costs, slim down the install, and offer way more personalized apps than any other platform. We’re aware now more than ever before that the Internet is full of extraordinarily talented designers and developers with crazy ideas for new apps to share—why keep them from improving products like the Matchstick by building on a closed-source platform?
The Matchstick’s Hardware
- Dual-core Rockchip 3066 Processor
- 4GB Onboard Storage
- 1GB DDR3 Memory
The team at Matchstick are so dedicated to being truly open that they’ve even made the hardware schematics for the device available for download on their website! This way anyone who wants to build their own streaming stick can do so.
They’re also in the process of creating 250 Matchstick prototypes to be distributed to qualified app developers so that content can begin being created before the final product is publicly released. Qualified developers only can apply for the program on the Matchstick Developer Portal.
The Kickstarter campaign ends on October 30, and the Matchstick team plans to have the final product in backers’ hands by February (early adopters as early as November). As of now, their product is fully functional and ready to begin production. They are excited to see what their engineers and community of developers are able to bring to life in the coming months before the retail version of the Matchstick is released.
In addition to having the upper hand as far as its openness goes, Matchstick is going to retail for a whole $10 less than Chromecast at a mere $25. It’s looking like the Matchstick is going to give Chromecast a serious run for its money…what do you think? Let us know on Facebook!
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