Built on Firefox OS, the Matchstick is free software and open source hardware — anything in your Firefox browser-window can be “flinged” into your HDMI TV; it’s an incredible $12 for one stick.
Caveat, this is not from the Mozilla Foundation; it’s from a startup called Matchstick TV, and the company’s website doesn’t name any of its personnel, nor does it detail any projects any of the people involved have seen through to completion. This is a serious red flag when it comes to crowdfunding projects. I’m willing to risk $12 on this, but not much more.
Matchstick is being built around a community that loves video and the Internet, so not only do you get great content from the apps the Matchstick team is building into the product, but you also benefit from the cool stuff being built by the Mozilla and Matchstick developer communities.
With no limitations, rules, or boundaries, app developers can explore their creativity to bring mainstream content to places never accessible before as well as unexpected, creative apps and personalized viewing and interactive experiences that just aren’t available in closed systems. Matchstick allows for cool, crazy stuff that no one else could deliver.
There are already hundreds of apps in the Mozilla app store, and as the developer program ramps up many of those apps and hundreds of new apps will become available on the Matchstick app store.