We have a look at some alternatives
to the Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi has everyone scrambling
over each other for a taste of this fruity slice of technology, which even the
most skeptical of technology users are heralding as the second coming of the
golden age of home computing. But the Pi is only the most recent in a long line
of dedicated small PCs, albeit the most advertised.
Not everyone wants a Pi. Indeed, hard as it
is to believe, there are those among us who don't want to jump on board the
Raspberry Pi boat, or who have concentrated on other single board, tiny
computing projects for many years before the RPi ever showed its face. That's
fair enough, each to their own; therefore, this article is for you good people
who don't want a Pi, or who are involved in other projects and want your
passions advertised for a change; or for those who like the idea of a
super-small form factor computing, and all the wonderful things that can be
accomplished from such a small unit, but without the headache of having to
learn a new operating system or develop your own programs. So here are Micro
Mart's four favorite alternatives to the Raspberry Pi. Some require a level of
developmental work to get them up and running, whereas others could run a
system we are all already familiar with...
Beagle Board
Beagle Board
Introduced in July 2008, Texas Instruments'
Beagle Board was designed with open-source development in mind.
Measuring in at 75 x 75 mm, for the
standard version, this OMAP3530 System-on-a-chip includes an ARM Cortex-A8 at
720MHz, a HD capable TMS320C64x+ Digital Signal Processor for accelerated video
and audio decoding and a PowerVR SGX530 GPU for 2D and 3D rendering, as well as
256MB LPDDR RAM and 256MB NAND flash memory. It has several connectors: HDMI,
S-Video, USB OTG, 1x USB port, SD/MMC card slot, RS-232 port, stereo in and out
ports and a 5V power socket.
With emphasis on the educational
development side of things, the Beagle Board community has embraced this tiny
powerhouse with a passion, creating many worthy projects that enhance a school
or college student's understanding of electronics and programming. Together
with a number of operating systems that have been developed especially for the
Beagle Board, there are also many optional expansion boards; from a
daughter-board that houses an Ethernet port, to 4.3" touchscreens and LCD
displays.
In addition to the standard version,
there's also a modified Beagle Board-xM, which is slightly larger (at 82.5 x
82.5 mm), has a faster 1GHz CPU, more RAM, an on-board Ethernet port and a
four-port USB hub.
The lovely Beagle Board. Small, yet surprisingly powerful
Prices range from $125 for the Standard
version, to $149 for the xM, but you are buying a product that has many years'
worth of development work behind it and a community of thousands ready to help.
For more information on the Beagle Board, head on over to Beagleboard.org
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Beagle Board Specs
TI OMAP3530 processor - 720 MHz ARM
Cortex-A8 core
'HD capable' TMS320C64x+ core (520 MHz up
to 720p @30 fps)
Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX
2D/3D graphics processor supporting dual independent displays
256 MB LPDDR RAM
256 MB NAND flash memory
DVI-D (HDMI connector chosen for size -
maximum resolution is 1280x1024)
S-Video
USB OTG (mini AB)
1 x USB port
SD/MMC card slot
Stereo in and out jacks
RS-232 port
JTAG connector
Power socket (5V barrel connector type)
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