Streaming media dongles are a dime a dozen these days. Google’s Chromecast was the first on the block but since then, we’ve seen a number of different devices from major players like Microsoft and Roku. None, however, have been able to compete with Google on price… until now.
Matchstick is the first HDMI stick based on Mozilla’s open source Firefox OS. What’s different about this streaming media solution versus others already on the market is that it was built with the mindset to be a completely open platform in terms of hardware and software.
Powering Matchstick is a dual-core Rockchip 3066 processor, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of onboard storage. The company notes the bigger processor along with more RAM provides a better video playback cache and increased performance for games and custom overlays.
And because everything is open source, you can even build your own streaming stick. Reference designs and hardware schematics are readily available for download – very cool.
The dongle is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter with a goal of $100,000. With 29 days left as of writing, nearly 2,100 backers have collectively pledged a little over $46,000. Early adopters can secure a Matchstick for just $18 or wait until it hits retail priced at $25 – that’s still $10 cheaper than Chromecast.
Matchstick plans to ship their HDMI dongle to early backers starting February 2015.
It’s clear that streaming media sticks are here to stay and others are going to have to step their game up in terms of price and features / freedom if they want to compete on a level playing field.
