Mozilla and Matchstick Unveil Chromecast Competitor with Firefox OS

Matchstick will launch a variant of the Chromecast. Their hdmi stick has similarities with Google’s device, but it runs on Mozilla’s Firefox OS operating system.

Firefox OS is the open source operating system built by Mozilla that can run HTML5 apps. The Matchstick is the first device with the OS that is not a smartphone. The developers chose Firefox OS because the open source system would cut production costs and be easy to use. The system could work with Android, iOS, Firefox and Chrome. The developers claim that the Matchstick offers more options than just streaming videos and music to the television. For example, there are no rules or restrictions imposed on app developers and this freedom would give them more options when developing. The Matchstick is equipped with a Rockchip 3066 dual core, with 1GB DDR3 memory and 4GB of storage capacity.

The Matchstick is initially only available through Kickstarter. The early versions can be bought for 12 dollars, which is the equivalent of 9.50 euros. This offer applies to the first 500 people who support the project. The hdmi stick can then be ordered by anyone for 18 dollars, about 14 euros. It has not yet been announced on which date the Matchstick will be in stores. The retail price has already been announced at 25 dollars, approximately 20 euros. The developers also report that there will be variants for developers, where the stick is combined with SDKs and APIs, among other things.

The new HDMI stick comes as no surprise. In June it was already announced that Mozilla would be working on a Chromecast competitor. Microsoft and Dell have also recently announced similar HDMI sticks.