FXI, pioneer of the Cstick Any Screen Micro Computer, announced today that it releases a full system solution for ARM Linux and Android developers on its Cotton Candy device platform, targeting developers. The agreement and close collaboration with ARM will enable FXI to take full advantage of the resources of the Mali development community, while providing an easy to use, innovative development platform for Mali GPU developers. Existing owners of the Cotton Candy device can download development versions of Ubuntu Linux for ARM v12.04 and Android 4.0 in both source and binary forms by visiting this page. Developers can get Cotton Candy from here.

FXI is working closely with ARM to take full advantage of the capabilities of the ARM Mali-400 MP GPU (and other ARM technologies). The Cotton Candy Any Screen IP enables developers to work with the Cotton Candy device inserted in their PC and develop with their existing tool chains directly on the Cotton Candy. The combination of the ARM Cortex-A9 and Mali-400 MP can be found in a wide range of devices ranging from smartphones, tablets and smart TVs. By using Cotton Candy, which also uses this combination, developers can target a wide range of Cortex processors and Mali GPU based platforms -or for Cotton Candy itself- can develop on actual market leading Mali silicon.

"FXI's Cotton Candy device offers exceptional performance and graphics capabilities with the ARM Mali-400 MP GPU and we believe it will provide new opportunities for our developer ecosystem designing the next generation of smart applications with unprecedented display quality," said Pete Hutton, general manager, media processing division, ARM.

"The ability to work closely with ARM and the other providers of technology to the Cotton Candy is essential for us to get the most out of its hardware capabilities and allows us to plan a continued roadmap of performance-leading software and hardware," said Borgar Ljosland, CEO and co-founder of FXI.


Cotton Candy - The True Micro Computer
FXI's Cotton Candy is a USB stick-sized computing device that provides 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. Developers and companies are currently using Cotton Candy as a platform for enabling a consistent user experience of apps and services for multiple markets.

The exceptional performance of the quad-core Mali-400 MP was a key design decision for FXI. While today's Micro Computers are mostly evaluated for their ability to make a TV a smart device by connecting to a screen via HDMI and displaying 1080p video, simple games and access the Internet, FXI envisions a much broader role for Cotton Candy.

FXI's Any Screen IP weds the Micro Computer with the Intel processor-based computing platform by allowing Cotton Candy to turn the PC into a thin client. In these use cases, the UI and application performance needs to be high enough for users to have a PC-type experience when inserted. This ability is unique to Cotton Candy, and requires significantly higher levels of performance, especially with regard to graphics, compared to existing "TV only" devices. This makes the Cotton Candy a much more capable platform for games and web-based applications in the TV use case, while enabling 1080p graphics for a variety of display devices.

Added Ljosland, "ARM has enabled FXI to innovate in smart computing and maximize the potential of these new devices. We cherish the close relationship we have built with ARM and are eager to expand this relationship as FXI continues to shape the market for Micro Computers."