New Mozilla's Firefox OS Dongle at $25 - A Serious Threat to Chromecast

Mozilla and Matchstick announced a new Firefox Operating System powered HDMI dongle on Wednesday. The $25 dongle is being considered as their open-source take on the Chromecast. In an effort to lower the price tag, the HDMI dongle will first be made available through Kickstarter.

A serious threat to Chromecast, Firefox OS powered dongle called 'Matchstick' is essentially a small, WiFi-connected HDMI stick that plugs into your HDTV or HD Monitor that lets you stream and interact with your favorite stuff from the Internet - movies, TV, music, games etc. You can even use it in a conference room to get presentations or other media from your laptop to an HDTV. All in all much similar to what Google's Chromecast offer but its cheaper than Chromecast has open-source software and open-source hardware as well which means now developers can build their your own TV dongle just like Chromecast.

Matchstick is the world's first open source software and open source hardware HDMI streaming dongle. Matchstick provides full hardware design source files for interested developers, device manufacturers and service providers to build their unique TV streaming devices.



Jack Chang, General Manger, Matchstick, US described the HDMI dongle as "essentially an open Chromecast". The device at $25 is still cheaper than Chromecast which is available for $35 in the market. Further, the kickstarter is making the streaming Internet and media stick available at an early bird price of $12 and a regular price of $18.



Matchstick has an initial plan of raising around $100,000. A free shipping of the dongle will be provided in the United States and an additional $5 will be charged for international shipping. The full breakdown for the kickstarter goal amount is as follows:

1) Pledge $2 or more: This donation amount will be used to support the open software and open hardware platform.

2) Pledge $12 or more: The first five hundred units of the HDMI dongle will be made available at this price.

3) Pledge $18 or more: This is the price at which the streaming Internet and media stick will be offered to everyone else during the Kickstarter campaign.

4) Pledge $24 or more: 250 developer units will be offered in prototype. This includes access to all APIs and SDKs and Matchstick team’s developer support.

5) Pledge $34 or more: Two Matchsticks will be made available at this price.

6) Pledge $ 160 or more: 10 Matchsticks will be made available. Extra shipping charges of $10 for International shipping and free shipping in the US.

7) Pledge $ 10,000 or more: Four Matchsticks will be made available at this price along with a bunch of Matchstick swag. On the top of that, a trip for the one who was pledged the amount to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Les Vegas along with a guest. The trip would include a stay at the Venetian, free passes to the CES show, $200 daily spending money, a show one night and a dinner with the team.

The startup is hoping to get the HDMI dongle into the developer hands by November this year and everyone else’s by February next year.

Mozilla is playing a huge role in the Matchstick’s debut since the device runs on the Firefox Operating System. This device is a part of Mozilla’s plan of pushing its OS into more devices than just Smartphones.

Both Mozilla and Matchstick share the same vision about the device: the first streaming stick which is free of any walled garden ecosystem. This vision means the constraints of Google Play doesn’t exist with this HDMI dongle.

New Mozilla's Firefox OS Dongle at $25 - A Serious Threat to Chromecast

Mozilla and Matchstick announced a new Firefox Operating System powered HDMI dongle on Wednesday. The $25 dongle is being considered as their open-source take on the Chromecast. In an effort to lower the price tag, the HDMI dongle will first be made available through Kickstarter.

A serious threat to Chromecast, Firefox OS powered dongle called 'Matchstick' is essentially a small, WiFi-connected HDMI stick that plugs into your HDTV or HD Monitor that lets you stream and interact with your favorite stuff from the Internet - movies, TV, music, games etc. You can even use it in a conference room to get presentations or other media from your laptop to an HDTV. All in all much similar to what Google's Chromecast offer but its cheaper than Chromecast has open-source software and open-source hardware as well which means now developers can build their your own TV dongle just like Chromecast.

Matchstick is the world's first open source software and open source hardware HDMI streaming dongle. Matchstick provides full hardware design source files for interested developers, device manufacturers and service providers to build their unique TV streaming devices.



Jack Chang, General Manger, Matchstick, US described the HDMI dongle as "essentially an open Chromecast". The device at $25 is still cheaper than Chromecast which is available for $35 in the market. Further, the kickstarter is making the streaming Internet and media stick available at an early bird price of $12 and a regular price of $18.



Matchstick has an initial plan of raising around $100,000. A free shipping of the dongle will be provided in the United States and an additional $5 will be charged for international shipping. The full breakdown for the kickstarter goal amount is as follows:

1) Pledge $2 or more: This donation amount will be used to support the open software and open hardware platform.

2) Pledge $12 or more: The first five hundred units of the HDMI dongle will be made available at this price.

3) Pledge $18 or more: This is the price at which the streaming Internet and media stick will be offered to everyone else during the Kickstarter campaign.

4) Pledge $24 or more: 250 developer units will be offered in prototype. This includes access to all APIs and SDKs and Matchstick team’s developer support.

5) Pledge $34 or more: Two Matchsticks will be made available at this price.

6) Pledge $ 160 or more: 10 Matchsticks will be made available. Extra shipping charges of $10 for International shipping and free shipping in the US.

7) Pledge $ 10,000 or more: Four Matchsticks will be made available at this price along with a bunch of Matchstick swag. On the top of that, a trip for the one who was pledged the amount to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Les Vegas along with a guest. The trip would include a stay at the Venetian, free passes to the CES show, $200 daily spending money, a show one night and a dinner with the team.

The startup is hoping to get the HDMI dongle into the developer hands by November this year and everyone else’s by February next year.

Mozilla is playing a huge role in the Matchstick’s debut since the device runs on the Firefox Operating System. This device is a part of Mozilla’s plan of pushing its OS into more devices than just Smartphones.

Both Mozilla and Matchstick share the same vision about the device: the first streaming stick which is free of any walled garden ecosystem. This vision means the constraints of Google Play doesn’t exist with this HDMI dongle.

Amazon Launches New E-Ink Kindles and a Special Fire tablet For Kids

In order to cash on the holiday season, Amazon on Thursday unveiled six new devices in the market. This includes a new Kindle especially designed for kids. The new Kindle for kids would come with free parental control software and apps and a special $25 case.

The collection also includes an 8.9 inch tablet which features Fire OS 4.0 and is lighter than the iPad Air. The Fire OS 4.0 is an Operating system based on KitKat, which is designed for work, play and reading.  The collection also included a new e-ink tablet called the Voyage.

[caption id="attachment_94790" align="aligncenter" width="700"] The new 6-inch Kindle Fire HD 6, in a range of nice colors – along with the older HD 7[/caption]

The new Kindle Fire HDs have been launched in two configurations, a 6 inch version and a 7 inch version. Both the configurations are thinner and more powerful than the previous versions. They have an angular rear panel and run on a quad core processor. Both the configurations come with a rear and front facing camera and have been launched in interesting colors like yellow, black, red, white and blue. The 6 inch version would cost you $99, while the 7 inch version comes in at $139.

The newly launched HDX model is a stunning performer with 339 ppi pixel density and a 2.5 GHz processor. It is Amazon’s flagship device which would cost you around $379. The device can be used with a $59 wireless keyboard called the Fire Keyboard. The keyboard works by connecting to the Fire and then allows the user to scroll on screen and edit documents.

There’s a new tablet in town for kids called the Fire for kids. This new offering by Amazon comes in with a rubber case and a year -long subscription to FreeTime. It will also come in two configurations, a 6 inch version and a 7 inch version. The 6 inch tablet would cost $149 and the 7 inch model is available for $189. The new Fire for kids comes with a two year warranty.

[caption id="attachment_94789" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Amazon Fire HD Kids Edition Tablet along with colorful Kid-Proof Case [/caption]

The Voyage is a super light and thin e-ink device which has been launched with a price tag of $199. The touchscreen device comes with an improved screen resolution and can last up to six weeks with just one charge. The older Kindle has been also updated by adding touch to them.

All the new devices have an improved integration with Amazon’s recently acquired GoodReads service. The service allows the user to share his/her reading status with their friends.

All the devices are open for pre-ordering but will only be shipped during the holiday season of October.

 

Amazon Launches New E-Ink Kindles and a Special Fire tablet For Kids

In order to cash on the holiday season, Amazon on Thursday unveiled six new devices in the market. This includes a new Kindle especially designed for kids. The new Kindle for kids would come with free parental control software and apps and a special $25 case.

The collection also includes an 8.9 inch tablet which features Fire OS 4.0 and is lighter than the iPad Air. The Fire OS 4.0 is an Operating system based on KitKat, which is designed for work, play and reading.  The collection also included a new e-ink tablet called the Voyage.

[caption id="attachment_94790" align="aligncenter" width="700"] The new 6-inch Kindle Fire HD 6, in a range of nice colors – along with the older HD 7[/caption]

The new Kindle Fire HDs have been launched in two configurations, a 6 inch version and a 7 inch version. Both the configurations are thinner and more powerful than the previous versions. They have an angular rear panel and run on a quad core processor. Both the configurations come with a rear and front facing camera and have been launched in interesting colors like yellow, black, red, white and blue. The 6 inch version would cost you $99, while the 7 inch version comes in at $139.

The newly launched HDX model is a stunning performer with 339 ppi pixel density and a 2.5 GHz processor. It is Amazon’s flagship device which would cost you around $379. The device can be used with a $59 wireless keyboard called the Fire Keyboard. The keyboard works by connecting to the Fire and then allows the user to scroll on screen and edit documents.

There’s a new tablet in town for kids called the Fire for kids. This new offering by Amazon comes in with a rubber case and a year -long subscription to FreeTime. It will also come in two configurations, a 6 inch version and a 7 inch version. The 6 inch tablet would cost $149 and the 7 inch model is available for $189. The new Fire for kids comes with a two year warranty.

[caption id="attachment_94789" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Amazon Fire HD Kids Edition Tablet along with colorful Kid-Proof Case [/caption]

The Voyage is a super light and thin e-ink device which has been launched with a price tag of $199. The touchscreen device comes with an improved screen resolution and can last up to six weeks with just one charge. The older Kindle has been also updated by adding touch to them.

All the new devices have an improved integration with Amazon’s recently acquired GoodReads service. The service allows the user to share his/her reading status with their friends.

All the devices are open for pre-ordering but will only be shipped during the holiday season of October.

 

Intex Cloud Fx is India’s cheapest smartphone at Rs 1,999

Intex has just realized the dreams of those millions and millions of people who always wanted to own a Smartphone but couldn't due to budget constraints. The Smartphone is called Intex Cloud FX and comes at an attractive price of just Rs.1,999.

The phone will be initially sold on the ecommerce site Snapdeal.com. The phone packs in decent features according to its price and is surely going to provide Internet access to a lot of people.

According to Keshav Bansal, who is the director marketing at Intex Technologies, Snapdeal.com is going to take the Smartphone  to over four hundred towns especially in tier 2 and 3 cities of the country. He further added that the company is quite confident about its product and hopes to sell around a half million units of it this year with the help of the company’s massive marketing plan for the product. The company has its presence in some fifty thousand outlets, out of which ten thousands outlets sell Smartphones manufactured by them.

The phone comes with a decent display of 3.5inch and has a resolution of 320x480 pixels. It runs on a 1 GHz processor and has 128 MB worth of RAM. The phone further comes with a 2G/3G dual SIM support. It has a 2 megapixel rear camera and no front camera, which is good enough according to the price range. The Intex Cloud FX has Firefox OS as the operating system and has a storage capacity of 46 MB which can expand upto 4 GB using a micro SD card. The phone has a removable battery with 1250 mAh capacity.

The phone is light in weight at 104 grams and is 115.90x62.00x11.80 in dimensions. On the connectivity side, Intex Cloud FX has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Micro- USB.  The phone also comes with FM and 3.5mm headphones.  The Cloud FX further comes with proximity sensor and accelerometer.

According to Bansal, his company's motto is to empower each and every Indian with the latest technology. He further adds that there is a need to understand that seventy percent of the Indian mobile users are still using feature phones and they aspire for Smartphones.

Intex Cloud Fx is India’s cheapest smartphone at Rs 1,999

Intex has just realized the dreams of those millions and millions of people who always wanted to own a Smartphone but couldn't due to budget constraints. The Smartphone is called Intex Cloud FX and comes at an attractive price of just Rs.1,999.

The phone will be initially sold on the ecommerce site Snapdeal.com. The phone packs in decent features according to its price and is surely going to provide Internet access to a lot of people.

According to Keshav Bansal, who is the director marketing at Intex Technologies, Snapdeal.com is going to take the Smartphone  to over four hundred towns especially in tier 2 and 3 cities of the country. He further added that the company is quite confident about its product and hopes to sell around a half million units of it this year with the help of the company’s massive marketing plan for the product. The company has its presence in some fifty thousand outlets, out of which ten thousands outlets sell Smartphones manufactured by them.

The phone comes with a decent display of 3.5inch and has a resolution of 320x480 pixels. It runs on a 1 GHz processor and has 128 MB worth of RAM. The phone further comes with a 2G/3G dual SIM support. It has a 2 megapixel rear camera and no front camera, which is good enough according to the price range. The Intex Cloud FX has Firefox OS as the operating system and has a storage capacity of 46 MB which can expand upto 4 GB using a micro SD card. The phone has a removable battery with 1250 mAh capacity.

The phone is light in weight at 104 grams and is 115.90x62.00x11.80 in dimensions. On the connectivity side, Intex Cloud FX has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Micro- USB.  The phone also comes with FM and 3.5mm headphones.  The Cloud FX further comes with proximity sensor and accelerometer.

According to Bansal, his company's motto is to empower each and every Indian with the latest technology. He further adds that there is a need to understand that seventy percent of the Indian mobile users are still using feature phones and they aspire for Smartphones.

Mozilla to launch $25 phone in India in partnership with Intex & Spice

Mozilla is all prepared to launch the first Firefox OS devices in India in next few months. For this venture, it has partnered with Indian handset brands Spice and Intex.

The specifications of these Smartphones haven’t reveled by the companies yet but according to the reference design, they might have a 3.5 HVGA touch screen display, integrated Wi-Fi, camera, FM along with a Spreadtrum SC6821 processor.

Mozilla earlier this year introduced its new range of Firefox OS devices at the MWC 2014. It also announced a $25 reference design powered by a Spreadtrum processor.

The Smartphones will start from $25 (Rs. 1,500 approximately). According to Gong Li, who is the Chief Operating Officer at Mozilla, with a price tag of $25, there will be no price gap left between a feature phone and smart phone. With this low price range, Mozilla will aim to motivate the people in making the switch from feature to Smartphones.

Low-cost Smartphones have become a hit in emerging markets like India. Though the Firefox handsets might not be able to fight with its Windows, iOS and Android counterparts but it surely will be able to grab the eyeballs of first time Smartphones buyers with its attractive low price range.

According to Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, Business Head, Mobile, Intex technologies (India) Ltd, Intex’s association with Mozilla will enable them to develop unparalleled smart devices on the Firefox OS latest platform. This will further give them an edge in upgrading feature phone users to Smartphones while at the same time making it affordable for the mass market. This association will make their devices much more than just a way to use the Web. It will take the engagement further and develop the Web as a mobile platform. Intex’s Firefox OS-powered Cloud FX Smartphones will be available in the Indian market by early August.

On the other hand, Dilip Modi, Co-founder and CEO of Spice states that they are pleased to be associated with Firefox OS devices as they have always been technology innovators in the Indian telecom industry. According to him, this association is symbolic of their commitment in providing first-hand technological innovations experience to their customers. Spice has announced that its Mozilla Firefox OS devices will be available in the Indian market by July 2014 and it would come with a dual SIM support.

 

Mozilla to launch $25 phone in India in partnership with Intex & Spice

Mozilla is all prepared to launch the first Firefox OS devices in India in next few months. For this venture, it has partnered with Indian handset brands Spice and Intex.

The specifications of these Smartphones haven’t reveled by the companies yet but according to the reference design, they might have a 3.5 HVGA touch screen display, integrated Wi-Fi, camera, FM along with a Spreadtrum SC6821 processor.

Mozilla earlier this year introduced its new range of Firefox OS devices at the MWC 2014. It also announced a $25 reference design powered by a Spreadtrum processor.

The Smartphones will start from $25 (Rs. 1,500 approximately). According to Gong Li, who is the Chief Operating Officer at Mozilla, with a price tag of $25, there will be no price gap left between a feature phone and smart phone. With this low price range, Mozilla will aim to motivate the people in making the switch from feature to Smartphones.

Low-cost Smartphones have become a hit in emerging markets like India. Though the Firefox handsets might not be able to fight with its Windows, iOS and Android counterparts but it surely will be able to grab the eyeballs of first time Smartphones buyers with its attractive low price range.

According to Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, Business Head, Mobile, Intex technologies (India) Ltd, Intex’s association with Mozilla will enable them to develop unparalleled smart devices on the Firefox OS latest platform. This will further give them an edge in upgrading feature phone users to Smartphones while at the same time making it affordable for the mass market. This association will make their devices much more than just a way to use the Web. It will take the engagement further and develop the Web as a mobile platform. Intex’s Firefox OS-powered Cloud FX Smartphones will be available in the Indian market by early August.

On the other hand, Dilip Modi, Co-founder and CEO of Spice states that they are pleased to be associated with Firefox OS devices as they have always been technology innovators in the Indian telecom industry. According to him, this association is symbolic of their commitment in providing first-hand technological innovations experience to their customers. Spice has announced that its Mozilla Firefox OS devices will be available in the Indian market by July 2014 and it would come with a dual SIM support.

Firefox OS Stable version released to compete with Android and Tizen

Mozilla released new Firefox OS first stable version, this is Mozilla's new mobile operating system that will compete with Android OS and Samsung backed Tizen mobile OS. Firefox OS is an open source OS with latest release brings a lot of new features and improvements that were missing on the initial release (not stable).

The Firefox OS running smartphones can be a lot cheaper options with equivalent or may be more more features than Android OS.

Firefox OS users can now send MMS messages, while the developers can use the new push notification APIs, which allow for timely notifications and reduction in battery consumption. Furthermore, Mozilla has enhanced the contact manager, which now supports Gmail and Hotmail contact import, adding a number to a contact when it’s listed in the call log, SMS message or email.Additionally, Firefox OS now have the smart dial feature, which works just as expected.

Android OS had made smartphones more affordable comparing to proprietary based mobile OS such as iOS, Windows or Blackberry. An Android smartphones can be bought within price range of Rs.8,000-Rs.15,000 easily, Firefox OS which unlike to Google or Apple backed by a non-profit organization and as Mozilla says - 'We're out to make a difference, not a profit', Mozilla will surely give a stiff competition to Android and iPhones once its available for sale across the globe.

One can purchase Firefox OS on a ZTE Open handset or on an Alcatel One Touch device. More devices will be announced over the next few weeks. ZTE Open powered by Firefox OS is available at price of $249 however in India ZTE Open 3G Unlocked phone is available at eBay India at mere price of RS.6,500.

Available in 3 languages - Spanish, Polish and English 17 operators spanning the globe are currently distributing Firefox OS devices: América Móvil, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Hutchison Three Group, KDDI, KT, MegaFon, Qtel, SingTel, Smart, Sprint, Telecom Italia Group, Telefónica, Telenor, TMN and VimpelCom.

In Coming weeks more countries and mobile phone operators will be selling Firefox OS.

Most smartphones are made by a small number of people, all in one place, probably pretty far from where you live. Firefox OS phones are different they're made by a huge global community probably could give lot more features to users over the years gradually.