Why mess around with a tiny touchscreen interface when you can run your android OS from your big screen TV — or really any screen for that matter?
This prototype dongle, codenamed Cotton Candy, is designed by Norwegian company FXI Technologies. It’s about the size of a normal USB stick, 8cm x 2.5cm and 21 grams, but packs both USB 2.0 and HDMI-out plugs. It’s powered by a dual-core 1.2-GHz Samsung Exynos ARM CPU — the same one that powers the Galaxy S II — and employs a microSD card slot for data storage. It also includes 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Cotton Candy currently uses the Android 2.3 OS but can also support Unbuntu as well as a virtualization client for Windows, Linux, Mac.
The device is designed to work on anything with a screen and USB port — TVs, laptops, smart phones, anything. You can hook it up to a HDTV and stream 1080p videos from the net. When you hook it up to a computer, either Windows or Mac, it will run android applications in a secure window — essentially creating a dumb terminal.
While the final price and release date haven’t yet been set, FXI estimates the device will cost under $US200 when it does go on sale. [FXI Tech via Laptop Magazine]
Incredibad
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 9:43 AMSo you plug it into your TV. How do you control it?
Nifty looking gadget by the way
Que
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 10:08 AMusing bluetooth to interact with keyboard and mouse? I am gettin one for sure when they are on shelf! just be quick and be there before they build the same interface into every single smart phone…
Will
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 11:27 AMHow is it powered?
DarthDVD
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 11:41 AM/me wonders if there is a 50″ touch screen kit that connects to the cotton candy via bluetooth.
Chris
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 1:06 PMTegra 3 please ;)
But this is a good idea. I remember one on here 12 months ago but $25 so no way near this level but I think if it’s around the 150-200 mark it would do really well!
poltak
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 1:09 PMI thought it would be extremely hard to virtualise x86 stuff (Windows, Mac) in an ARM environment… if not impossible without an x86 emulator of some kind.
Anyone know how this is meant to work?
Ed
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 1:10 PMThis is amazing, the perfect media streamer, XBMC and away we go. So tiny, if the price comes down to ~$130 I will get, simple as that. I currently have my old Galaxy S performing these duties, this will make it a little more elegant.
Pete
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 3:23 PMSeems like a more polished but more restrictive version of the raspberry pi.
awallafashagba
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 4:14 PMawesome .. that is a AppleTV / WD Elements killer fullstop .. complete cross platform access would be nice via an app for apple etc .. but great idea chaps
CHT
Friday, March 2, 2012 at 12:52 AMThe virtualisation will be through VNC/RDP etc but that’s a bit of a waste of it’s CPU/GPU power really.
It’s Powered through the usb
and it runs Ubuntu.. :-)