Mozilla’s Firefox OS stick is looking to challenge Chromecast

Mozilla is working on a streaming device that’s meant to compete with Google’s Chromecast. The latter is a stick that can be plugged into the HDMI port of a television and allows you to stream content from a smartphone, tablet, or computer directly to your TV. Mozilla’s device will be quite similar to Chromecast except that it will run on the Firefox OS. The company’s employees have hinted at something like this on more than one occasion, but now we actually get to see it in action thanks to a recently leaked video. The stick is said to be compatible with most Chromecast apps and the two devices even share similarities in regards to the interface.

Rumor has it that Mozilla has been working on the streaming device for quite some time now. The company is only developing the software while their still unannounced partner will be taking care of the hardware. The original article mentions that the software will be open-source, which means that it might end up offering more features that Chromecast. “Firefox OS is an open platform freely available for any company to build on top of without restriction,” said a Mozilla spokesperson. “This means companies can experiment with different form factors that run Firefox OS.”

Furthermore, the hardware features a boot loader and will reportedly be able to run other software as well. This is a completely different approach than what we’ve seen from Google. The internet giant was closely involved in the development and manufacturing process of the Chromecast. Mozilla on the other hand seems to be far less involved given that it allows other companies to freely experiment with the Firefox OS. We don’t have an idea about a possible price point yet, but it is assumed that the device will cost a bit more than Google’s $35 Chromecast.

Speaking of the Firefox OS, we’ve heard earlier this month that India plans to introduce $25 smartphones that will run on Mozilla’s operating system. As you might imagine, these will be low-end devices and are not aimed at competing with Android or iOS handsets. Instead, they provide a cheap alternative for people who can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars on a new phone. Lately Mozilla seems to want to extend the power they have in the desktop world and bring it to other areas as well. They look to be on the right track here and we’re eager to see what else they bring to the table in the future.