Company creates Android PC on USB stick

A Norway-based tech startup has created what it dubbed the world's first "any-screen" PC-on-a-stick that can run Google's Android OS.

 

The device, codenamed "Cotton Candy," looks like a regular USB flash drive but has an HDMI port as well as Bluetooth and WiFi capabilities.

 

Norway-based FXI Technologies said the device will serve as a technology bridge between any display, the Cloud, and any input peripheral, according to an article on MarketWatch.

 

FXI Tech is sampling prototypes to key OEM partners from the set top box, memory, PC, mobile phone, appliance, in-car entertainment and other industries.

 

It expects to make the product available by the second half of 2012.

 

TheVerge.com said FXI expects the device to cost "well under $200" in the second half of 2012.

 

The vision for Cotton Candy is to allow users a single, secure point of access to all personal Cloud services and apps through their favorite operating system, while delivering a consistent experience on any screen.

 

It will serve as a companion to smartphones, tablets, notebook PCs and Macs, as well as add smart capabilities to existing displays, TVs, set top boxes and game consoles, it added.

 

"Today's device functionality is often limited by the size of the screen it inhabits. We've turned things upside down, eliminating the screen and delivering the power of a PC and the web to any screen," said Borgar Ljosland, founder and CEO of FXI Technologies.

 

Prototype specifications

 

Cotton Candy is a prototype USB stick equipped with an ARM Cortex-A9 (1.2GHz) CPU, an ARM Mali-400 MP (Quad-core) GPU, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, HDMI output and the Android operating system.

 

It decodes MPEG-4, H.264 and other video formats and display HD graphics on any HDMI equipped screen.

 

The device can access content through a secure FXI web portal and can be controlled via smartphones, keyboards, mice and other USB peripherals.

 

"By leveraging the strengths of ARM CPU and GPU cores, FXI has packed an amazing amount of computing horsepower into a completely new form factor," said Pete Hutton, general manager of multimedia processor division, ARM.

 

He said the device, weighing only 21 grams, can be powered from a USB port.

 

FXI said its Cotton Candy device aims to:

 

 

Demo unit

 

FXI demonstrated Cotton Candy by connecting it via HDMI to a 42-inch HDTV running Android and displaying YouTube videos and 3D games.

 

It then switched to a word processing and spreadsheet application, then connected it via USB to a Windows and then a Mac laptop to play Angry Birds on the Android OS.

 

"The laptop use case shows how with FXI's patent protected Any Screen Virtualization Protocol, Cotton Candy can take over a host device's screen to display Internet connected content," said Ljosland. "We believe these usage scenarios will be easily adopted by consumers and FXI's USB connected computing devices will make an ideal companion for the multitude of digital devices and screens people touch daily." — TJD, GMA News