Yet another ARM based mini-PC that can run Android & Ubuntu - Mele A1000

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

What's its main role going to be .. I've just got a compatible wireless for my Pi, so I can test if it's up to the job if you wish .. I haven't played with it much up to now, as I've been busy with another project.

Have you considered a second hand netbook ? .. I've recently bought 2 of em (separately) @ £65 each .. another AA1 and an MSI Wind U100.

[BkS]

Notebooks are a no go. It needs to be hidden out of sight, and they can have the keyboad & mouse only when told so.

It's main role will be to just download games and things from the Play Store. Things like Angry Birds, and education materials.

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Okey dokey .. well the Pi doesn't currently run Android (well), so that's out.

[BkS]

Okey dokey .. well the Pi doesn't currently run Android (well), so that's out.

Which version of Android is available for it? I'm pretty sure if Jelly Bean can run on "old" mobile hardware, it's more than capable of running on the Pi. Not to mention the nice tweaks Google made to the V-sync.

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

See here:
http://androidpi.wikia.com/wiki/Android_Pi_Wiki

[SeZo]

OK, this board is still in the planning/crowd-sourcing phase but he potentials are huge:

The following list shows the major components planned for the Parallella computer:
    Dual-core ARM A9 CPU
    Epiphany Multicore Accelerator (16 or 64 cores)
    1GB RAM
    MicroSD Card
    USB 2.0 (two)
    Two general purpose expansion connectors
    Ethernet 10/100/1000
    HDMI connection
    Ships with Ubuntu OS
    Ships with free open source Epiphany development tools that include C compiler, multicore debugger, Eclipse IDE, OpenCL SDK/compiler, and run time libraries.
    Dimensions are 3.4'' x 2.1''

Once completed, the Parallella computer should deliver up to 45 GHz of equivalent CPU performance on a board the size of a credit card while consuming only 5 Watts under typical work loads. Counting GHz, this is more horsepower than a high end server costing thousands of dollars and  consuming 400W.

http://www.adapteva.com/
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/adapteva/parallella-a-supercomputer-for-everyone

a 16-core Epiphany-III chip in the $99 ‘basic’ version, or a 64-core Epiphany-IV chip in the $199 ‘advanced’ version which will only be produced if a certain funding goal is met.

http://www.linuxuser.co.uk/news/adapteva-announces-raspberry-pi-competitor/

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Wow .. IF they can backup those claims, I can't see them having problems with funding.

I would think their biggest problem would be companies like Intel trying to put a stop to them.

[BkS]

Wow indeed. If those boards go into production, I'll buy 2 of them.

Like Mark though, I think the big corps will try to stamp on them though.

Also, Maplin have starting selling the RasPi plus a starter kit for £70.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/raspberry-piandreg-board-and-starter-kit-652805

[SeZo]

Wow indeed. If those boards go into production, I'll buy 2 of them.

Like Mark though, I think the big corps will try to stamp on them though.

And if they make good on open-sourcing it, it is even better:

Open Source: The Parallella platform will be based on free open source development tools and libraries. All board design files will be provided as open source once the Parallella boards are released.

http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/parallella-a-supercomputer-for-everyone-hits-kickstarter-video-28-09-2012/

Also, Maplin have starting selling the RasPi plus a starter kit for £70.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/raspberry-piandreg-board-and-starter-kit-652805

It is nice to see that the Raspi is going mainstream
There is a similar kit available at Microdirect:
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Articles/Index/Normal/280

[SeZo]

Freescale is joining the fun with their Wandboard developer board with an 1Ghz ARM Cortex-A9 processor
which will start shipping in November
For $69 you get a version with a single core CPU and 512MB of RAM.
And the dual core version with 1GB of RAM, WiFi and Bluetooth will set you back $89
Both versions appear to have SATA and Gigabit LAN

http://liliputing.com/2012/10/wandboard-dev-board-is-a-tiny-freescale-i-mx6-pc-for-69-and-up.html
http://wandboard.org/

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Dual-core one sounds nice, with pretty much everything except a VGA port .. and at £53, that's a cheap system if it performs.

I'll keep an eye on this one .. thanks

It's also non chinese/allwinner .. we'll have to wait and see if that's a good thing or not, on the whole I'd expect a chip from Freescale to end up being well supported, but who knows

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Here's another Allwinner A10 board ..
http://raising-tech.com/store/upload/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=50

    CPU : A10 Cortex A8 1.2GHz, Multi-Core
    Graphics Processor : Dual Mali - 400 MHz 2D/3D Core
    Operating System : Google Android 2.3 or Android 4.0 ICS
    RAM : 512MB DDR3
    Onboard Storage: 4GB NAND Flash (upgradeable by TF/MicroSD memory card - 32GB)
    Wifi: 802.11 b/g/n
    Connectivity: 1x Ac jack, 1x 3.5mm Earphone Jack, 1x Mini Usb (OTG), 1x Hdmi Out, 1x TF (MicroSD) slot
    Video Output: HDMI Ver 1.4 Output, Support 3D Vision, 2160P HD

From the pics, like the Gooseberry it appears to be from a tablet .. and currently there's no mention of Ubuntu/Linux (Just Android), I'm awaiting email confirmation on whether it will run Linux or not, and will update this posting accordingly if/when I receive it .. until then it MUST be considered ANDROID ONLY.
(which is a pity, but maybe that will change )

[EDIT - 18/10/2012]

I've just received email from them stating:-

I just want to give u a comfirm that Ubantu could working on our board.
I am sorry for delay response.
Pls feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

not a great deal of information, but sounds promising non the less

If you're considering buying on the strength of that statement, I'd suggest you email them for further info first.

The good news is that "Tracy" looked into it, and got back to me rather than just giving me an off the cuff "yes Linux will work" .. which is at least a little confidence inspiring

[END EDIT]

It's from Hong Kong, so you'll have to decide for yourselves if you want to send $50 to a non UK business.
(I'm not saying they aren't trustworthy .. just pointing out you won't get the usual legal protection you'd get from buying from a UK based company .. but then it would likely be quite a bit more expensive )

Current exchange rate is $50 = £31.26 .. so it's pretty cheap

[SeZo]

Good find, and cheap enough too (also free delivery).
But as you noted it is another mee-too board ripped out a tablet.
Not very original and more than likely it is Android only (unless you want to roll your own version of Linux).
Then there is the notable absence of any kind of documentation.

Strangely (but no surprise there) Gooseberry has gone a bit quet too, with no signs as to when they will go into the next round. 

In general terms, the last few (listed in this thread) are offering some originality which is nearly there in terms of what is required from a developer board.

[SeZo]

Interesting development with the Raspberry Pi, Model B now ships with 512MB of RAM
Eben Upton writes on the official blog:

One of the most common suggestions we’ve heard since launch is that we should produce a more expensive “Model C” version of Raspberry Pi with extra RAM. This would be useful for people who want to use the Pi as a general-purpose computer, with multiple large applications running concurrently, and would enable some interesting embedded use cases (particularly using Java) which are slightly too heavyweight to fit comfortably in 256MB.

On other news, it appears that the Wandboard developer board has lost its SATA (or may never had it, as it say Not populated)

[Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec)]

Well that's p*ssed me off, along (no doubt) with plenty of other people that got the original 

Software devs will start to develop for the 512MB model and less and less stuff will appear for the early models .. obsolete already 

But it'll make for a MUCH better board for general purpose use .. 256MB was really the Pi's Achilles heel.


The Wandboard was definitely originally advertised as having SATA:
Google search for Wandboard sata