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

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

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

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday May 22, 2012 @07:36AM 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.'"

37 of 206 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Android != Pi by JoeMerchant · 2012-05-22 07:41 · Score: 4, Funny

Can't run Qt? Can't be a Pi.
1. Re:Android != Pi by gl4ss · 2012-05-22 07:53 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  yeah so instead of obscure sw with more obscure installation you can just hook it up and start playing angry birds or viewing netflix or using your market released android app.
  or just hack it to run qt if you want, it's not like there's not ports.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtA_7kaB-0g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU_zPnQrM6E etc.
  it's a much much more practical than pi tbh. but via didn't really need to do that much hard work (there's shitloads of 2.2-2.3 android boxes on dx for sale for 70-100 bucks which work with usb keyboards and mouses).
  pi is a toy like altair, with a real os a device like this is more of a normal home computer.
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
2. Re:Android != Pi by JohnnyMindcrime · 2012-05-22 09:45 · Score: 2
  
  You're just jealous because RaspberryPi is British design.
  
  --
  Windows 10 is great - I used it to download Linux.
3. Re:Android != Pi by Archangel+Michael · 2012-05-22 10:51 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  So, what you're saying is that it has to be a QT/PI ?
  
  --
  Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
4. Re:Android != Pi by ozmanjusri · 2012-05-22 11:03 · Score: 2
  
  My Android 4.03 Asus Transformer has a mouse/keyboard and works remarkably well. Most useful computer I own.
  
  --
  "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
5. Re:Android != Pi by marcosdumay · 2012-05-22 12:21 · Score: 2
  
  How is Debian obscure? And how is "Put this image at the card; boot; you are done" is obscure installation? Pi is interesting because you can do actualy usefull things with it, what you can't do out of the box with Android.
  Also, good luck playing Angry Birds without a touch screen.
  
  pi is a toy like altair, with a real os a device like this is more of a normal home computer.
  So, the thing running a desktop OS is a toy, while Android is like a home computer?
  
  --
  Rethinking email
Keyboard and mouse... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-05-22 07:42 · 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.
1. Re:Keyboard and mouse... by vlm · 2012-05-22 08:02 · Score: 2
  
  Maybe "spent a lot of time" meant they copied the work of the "android x86" guys. That's what I used to put android on my EEE netbook. Works great.
  Reinventing the wheel?
  
  --
  "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
2. Re:Keyboard and mouse... by gl4ss · 2012-05-22 08:16 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  http://s.dx.com/search/android+tv+box
  don't believe the release notes, believe the released machines. many 2.3 flavors support usb host just nicely.
  or install android-x86 on your pc. android has pretty much always had mouse and keyboard support.
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
3. Re:Keyboard and mouse... by h4rr4r · 2012-05-22 08:25 · Score: 2
  
  Cyanogenmod has it as well.
4. Re:Keyboard and mouse... by dreemernj · 2012-05-22 09:16 · Score: 2
  
  Atrix 4G and Atrix II can do it but I believe, as you say, they were added by Motorola. You could get a dock to make hooking USB devices up easily or just spend a little time getting them hooked up directly to the phone and then you had keyboard and mouse via USB and video via HDMI for a nice little setup.
  
  --
  1 (short ton / firkin) = 89.1432354 slugs / keg
5. Re:Keyboard and mouse... by oPless · 2012-05-22 10:35 · Score: 2
  
  As long as the kernel is built for USB HID, android will use it.
  IIRC I've also plugged in an unsupported (in android) bluetooth dongle, the HID drivers loaded and I suddenly got a working bluetooth keyboard too. Heh.
No 1080 support? by jmorris42 · 2012-05-22 07:44 · Score: 4, Insightful

Kinda wierd to be releasing a product in 2012 that won't play 1080 video. I certainly wouldn't like a desktop on a 1280x720 display.
Some sites say the chip can do 1080, others only claim 720p. And if they are putting it on a *-ITX form factor would a SATA port have killed em to add? Any existing case will have this little guy rattling around in it, might as well have the option to put a small drive in. Sure Android probably won't use it but how many hours does anyone think it will take to get a more normal Linux distro on it?

--
Democrat delenda est
1. Re:No 1080 support? by cpu6502 · 2012-05-22 07:55 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  You are confused. It can probably DISPLAY 1920x1080, but lacks the power to play full video at speed. Like the computer I have at home.
  This thing also lacks sufficient memory. A modern-day browser like Chrome with Flash will not run properly on just 512MB of RAM. I know; I've tried. It's like a snail.
  
  --
  My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
2. Re:No 1080 support? by PCM2 · 2012-05-22 08:01 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Answering my own question: It's just speculation, but based on the memory problems they cite in TFS, maybe the device manufacturer has opted to starve it for video memory. Thus, no 1080p, even though the chip's capable of it.
  
  --
  Breakfast served all day!
3. Re:No 1080 support? by gman003 · 2012-05-22 08:08 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  1920p is not an actual resolution. You're thinking of 1080p, which is 1920x1080 in actual pixel dimensions (assuming 16:9 aspect ratio, which is near-universal for the ___p resolutions). While someone could theoretically make a 3412x1920 display, I do not know of any.
4. Re:No 1080 support? by Tough+Love · 2012-05-22 08:19 · Score: 2
  
  Maybe try Opera then.
  
  --
  When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
5. Re:No 1080 support? by EdZ · 2012-05-22 09:05 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  They were aiming for in-expensive which means cutting corners.
  The 'Pi can play 1080p h.264. At High Profile level 4.1 too, which means unfettered BluRay streams, not just main-profile low-bitrate transcoded video (as is usually the case with cheap devices advertising 1080p decode support).
6. Re:No 1080 support? by chrb · 2012-05-22 11:12 · Score: 2
  
  A modern-day browser like Chrome with Flash will not run properly on just 512MB of RAM
  Chrome without Flash, on the other hand, will run fine. I used to run Tiny Core Linux on a Wyse terminal with 64MB RAM, and it was fine for general web browsing. Opera also ran ok.
Steeling an old Jobs line. by HornWumpus · 2012-05-22 07:44 · Score: 4, Informative

'A computer is a bicycle for your mind' was his line circa 1981. Don't know who he stole it from, but I'm sure he did.

--
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
1. Re:Steeling an old Jobs line. by Gordonjcp · 2012-05-22 08:10 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  As documented here...
2. Re:Steeling an old Jobs line. by steveha · 2012-05-22 09:45 · Score: 2
  
  This ad is reproduced in the book To Catch a Mouse, Make a Noise Like a Cheese by Lewis Kornfeld. In that book, Kornfeld shares his thoughts on marketing, and as part of that, he shows a few ads and then makes comments about them.
  He was impressed (in a negative way) that Steve Jobs had his picture inserted in the ad many times. (This was pre-Mac so Steve Jobs wasn't famous yet; Kornfeld was a pioneer in the field of calling Steve Jobs on his ego.)
  Also, he was displeased by the tagline: "When we invented the personal computer, we invented a new kind of bicycle" He had something to do with the TRS-80, which predated the Apple ][, so he thought it was rather cheeky for Apple/Jobs to claim to have invented the personal computer.
  By the way, Lew Kornfeld was a big part of the project to get a special Superman comic book to try to get kids interested in computers. It's cheesy but perhaps not fully deserving of all the vitriol it gets: http://io9.com/5835188/that-stupid-time-superman-shilled-computers-for-radio-shack He talks about how that comic book happened in the book.
  To Catch a Mouse, Make a Noise Like a Cheese is out of print, but I think it's a classic and worth finding a used copy.
  steveha
  
  --
  lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by a_nonamiss · 2012-05-22 07:45 · Score: 4, Informative

Except twice the size, more expensive, and runs an outdated operating system with no room for internal storage, that doesn't yet support a mouse or keyboard. Also, it requires a proprietary power supply. But otherwise, just like it.

--
-Arthur
Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules
1. Re:Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by sizzzzlerz · 2012-05-22 07:50 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  And like Raspberry Pi, I can't get one anyway.
2. Re:Exactly like a Raspberry Pi by marcosdumay · 2012-05-22 12:37 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  It runs a real OS (that you can code for easily - no app BS), can do 1080p, is pluggable to ethernet, can host USB, can plug on your TV or any monitor you have, and have an accessible GPIO.
  The tablet isn't on the same market.
  
  --
  Rethinking email
Re:It doesn't say... by PCM2 · 2012-05-22 07:47 · Score: 4, Informative

The summary says it's an ARM-based device.
Specifically (judging by the photo) it uses a WonderMedia Prizm WM8750 SoC (system on a chip). That bundles the VIA 800Mhz ARM 11 core with some other stuff (click the link to see).

--
Breakfast served all day!
Hardly a Raspberry Pi by Gaygirlie · 2012-05-22 07:49 · 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.
Re:It doesn't say... by Jeng · 2012-05-22 07:51 · 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.
Re:Obligatory nostalgia by Bodhammer · 2012-05-22 07:53 · Score: 2

512MB is enough RAM for anybody...

--
"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
Re:Obligatory nostalgia by gl4ss · 2012-05-22 07:57 · Score: 2

most (pretty much all that don't need multitouch which is very few) android apps will run fine on this like they do on any similar android hdmi+usb kb/mouse boxes available from china.
I recently(tonight) tried a 80 bucks one.. it even had angry birds on it preinstalled.

--
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
yes it does support keyboard and mouse by farble1670 · 2012-05-22 08:07 · Score: 3, Insightful

VIA spent a lot of time customizing Android to enable keyboard and mouse support which natively it does not support.
yes, it does.
1. Re:yes it does support keyboard and mouse by farble1670 · 2012-05-22 08:18 · 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.
Re:Obligatory nostalgia by obarthelemy · 2012-05-22 08:16 · Score: 4, Informative

Actually, if that thing gets traction, the interesting thing would be to replace android with a regular Linux, and use it as a home server, a media station... I've got a couple of PCs that could easily replaced by this.

--
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
Re:No Windows? by RoboRay · 2012-05-22 08:17 · Score: 5, Funny

Oh, I'm familiar with the turn-based variant of Crysis.
Re:Toy by gbjbaanb · 2012-05-22 10:21 · Score: 2

yeah, think of the cost savings... you just need a $250 monitor and keyboard :)
Re:Toy by jmorris42 · 2012-05-22 12:09 · Score: 3, Insightful

> really dumb lockdown decision by RPi it seems to me
No, the really cheap SoC they got their hands on didn't support it. Beggars can't be choosers. On the other hand, VIA's does, probably because they wanted it to and so they made it that way. But the real win is the VIA has a network port that doesn't appear to be just bolted onto a USB bus through a converter. And four (and perhaps a header for two more) USB ports. But the huge difference is 512MB of RAM vs 256MB; especially since at least 64MB has to come out for video and many sources for the Pi are saying if you plan on actually doing 3d or heavy video you will end up splitting it 128/128. Give this board the same 128M for video and you end up with three times the program space, maybe even enough to run a app or two.
If this board had a few spare GPIO pins brought out to a header there really wouldn't be a reason for Pi to exist at this point. Add in the the hard reality that VIA will probably be able to actually ship product near the announced date in whatever quantity you care to order in and that has to count for some extra points in their favor.
And just wait until Win8 ships, bet we see ARM motherboards then with even better specs, stuff good and hefty enough to run Windows on. Of course we will have to wait a few months beyond that so that the usual suspects can jailbreak them before being able to load up a useful OS.

--
Democrat delenda est
Re:Are they trying to leverage... by tftp · 2012-05-22 12:35 · Score: 2

They are trying to leverage not only existing Android apps, but also future ones, and the Android SDK, and all the libraries, and all the skills and the numbers of developers who are familiar with Android.
If you write a Qt application you write it for a specific device. In fact, it won't work anywhere but on the system that has Qt runtime. If you write an Android application you can run it on more devices than you dare to count.
I used Qt for at least a decade, and I believe that for one Qt hacker there are 100 Android hackers.