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Matchstick and Mozilla Take On Google's Chromecast With $25 Firefox OS Dongle

Posted by timothy on from the what-can-it-slurp dept.

An anonymous reader writes Matchstick and Mozilla today announced their open-source take on the Chromecast: a $25 Firefox OS-powered HDMI dongle. The streaming Internet and media stick will be available first through Kickstarter, in the hopes to drive down the price tag. Jack Chang, Matchstick General Manager in the US, described the device to me as "essentially an open Chromecast." He explained that while the MSRP is $25 (Google's Chromecast retails for $35), the Kickstarter campaign is offering a regular price of $18, and an early bird price of $12.

2 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Not sure how well it will work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I this and love it: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/videostream-for-google-ch/cnciopoikihiagdjbjpnocolokfelagl?hl=en

    You're welcome.

  2. Re:Chromecast by chaosdivine69 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'll see your "smart TV" and raise you a "3D TV".

    I have both features in my TV and I use neither of them - well, besides the built in Netflix app. Anyhow, I admit I fell for the hype, call me gullible. I have watched a grand total of 0 3D Blu Rays even though I own a 3D Blu Ray player and an unopened copy of Avatar 3D. The player is still in the box after a whole year. I hope it works because I think the warranty is about to expire in December. I don't buy Blu Rays since they're way more expensive than DVD and since Netflix came along, I don't really need to go on a wild goose chase to find a still operational rental store either. Too bad Netflix doesn't offer 3D capabilities on some of its titles. I might actually use the 4 pairs of stupid looking glasses that came with it.

    For a real smart TV experience I connect my desktop computer to the big screen via HDMI cable and sit back with a wireless keyboard with built in touchpad. Now THAT'S a smart TV experience considering I can do everything and anything I desire with that kind of setup.

    Moral of my story: If you can save a few bucks on a dumb TV then I'd seriously suggest you consider it. Connect your laptop or desktop to it via HDMI and go nuts if you really want a satisfactory experience.