Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Another Raspberry Pi? $49 ARM Single-Board Computer With Android

Posted by Soulskill on from the not-bigger-than-a-breadbox dept.

n7ytd writes "Announced today and running on an 800 MHz VIA core, the 170 x 85mm 'APC' is expected to ship this July. It has 2GB of flash storage and 512MB of DDR3 memory. 'A modified version of Google Android 2.3 uses up most of that 2GB of flash storage, but there are external storage options. On the back I/O is a microSD slot, and of course you could hook in an external USB 2.0 drive. VIA spent a lot of time customizing Android to enable keyboard and mouse support which natively it does not support. ... On the I/O panel you get VGA output, HDMI output (up to 720p playback with hardware acceleration), four USB 2.0 ports, gigabit LAN and audio out and microphone in.' With a 'Neo ITX' form factor, VIA touts the single-board computer as a 'bicycle for your mind.'"

4 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. Keyboard and mouse... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    VIA spent a lot of time customizing Android to enable keyboard and mouse support which natively it does not support.

    Uhm, I'm no expert, but I've plugged a USB keyboard and mouse into my Android 2.3 phone and both were recognized and usable instantly.

  2. Hardly a Raspberry Pi by Gaygirlie · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Raspberry Pi is first and foremost meant for hardware hacking which is quite obvious from the generous amounts of GPIO, I2C et. al. connectors on it. This thing lacks all that and is apparently aimed more at half-assed HTPC-tasks.

    Even on the hardware-side this one is quite lacking. Yes, 4 USB2.0 - ports and a Gigabit ethernet are good features to have, but then they're paired with a measly 720p video output? What do you need all that bandwidth for if you can't even do full 1080p? In theory it could be used for data-processing or such, but then again, the thing would need more RAM and faster CPU for that. Well, it will make for a quite useable small box for running emulators and watching low-quality media, like e.g. YouTube videos.

  3. Re:It doesn't say... by Jeng · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I know the other two people did mention that it is in the article and in the summary, but I would also like to point out that it was also in the very title at the top of your screen.

    --
    Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
  4. Re:yes it does support keyboard and mouse by farble1670 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    well you'd have to wonder why they "spent a lot of time" adding keyboard support to an outdated version of android when they could have used a slightly less old version of android that had it natively.

    probably has to do with the memory constraints, but lame nonetheless.