A new report suggests that Mozilla is working on a Firefox OS powered media streaming stick akin to Google"s Chromecast. Despite the stick being powered by Mozilla"s HTML5-based Firefox OS, it is actually capable of running some apps from Chromecast, most likely as a result of Google opening up its Cast SDK to developers earlier this year.
Gigaom reports how sources "directly involved" with the project gave details of the device and even provided a prototype of the product. It is possible, should the unit hit retail the shelves, that it will be called "Netcast" as this is a term seen in some recent Mozilla developer notes.
Gigaom"s report came just hours after Twitter user and Mozilla evangelist @codepo8 showed off an image of the device, proclaiming it to have an open boot loader. This could make it possible to install different operating systems onto the unit.
Gigaom confirmed this detail and highlighted how the apparent openness and transparency of the project could enable developers to add casting capabilities to apps from any platform rather than just the Android and iOS options officially supported by the Google Cast SDK.
A Mozilla spokesperson responded to an enquiry by Gigaom about the unit by saying
"Firefox OS is an open platform freely available for any company to build on top of without restriction. This means companies can experiment with different form factors that run Firefox OS."
This almost suggests that the device has been produced by a third-party company. It is known that Mozilla has been playing around with adding content-casting capabilities to Firefox for a while through Roku streaming units.
We will be curious to see how this device compares to Google"s offering and of course, price will play a big factor into is success as well.
Source: Gigaom