curious48

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Source:

Smaller & Faster than Raspberry Pi Zero: Meet NanoPi NEO ARM Linux Development Board





Product page:



www.friendlyarm.com/index.php?route=product%2Fproduct&product_id=132



This is what it looks like:





40 mm x 40 mm





The size comparison with the Raspberry Pi Zero is most interesting: 40 x 40 mm, meaning nearly 40% shorter (more than 1/3 its length shaved off, though at the expense of becoming 10mm wider). This is a reduction in size from 1950 sq. mm (or 3.02 sq. in.) to 1600 sq. mm (2.48 sq. in.), or in other words, from 3.54 full standard American postage stamps to 2.9 postage stamps.



I think it's very important to note the size. 40 mm starts being the diameter of a rather large men's watch.



For comparison, to show how tiny this is, here is what 40 mm diameter watch looks like, which is a standard, if somewhat large, watch size:





Nearly there: here is a 40mm diameter watch

Size comparison only, power profile

not appropriate for watch application







As such, I consider it an astounding breakthrough in size for certain embedded applications. Of course, this is just to show how mind-bogglingly small this is. It is not yet small enough for a watch-size (and has a vertical height determined by the full USB and Ethernet), to say nothing about the inappropriate power profile of any ARM chip - but it is starting to approach the holy grail of an embeddable Raspberry Pi Zero-like PC. It should be absolutely perfect for a variety of IoT applications.

not appropriate for watch application

There is, of course, a downside: it is entirely headless, no display of any kind (including VGA). You will have to connect to it over ethernet or serial (for which it has developer pins). The power profile is unknown.



Main points of difference between the Raspberry Pi Zero:

- Much beefier, quad-core CPU.

- Taller vertically with default connectors including Ethernet and full USB + USB OTG + 2 more USB header pins (+ audio + IR).

- Amazing 40x40mm footprint

- $7.99 in 256 MB RAM configuration, $9.99 with 512 RAM



Likely to be available in large quantities for embedded application.



Unlike the Raspberry Pi Zero, we would expect support to be very poor, and also there is no HAT compatibility.



But congratulations to the Nano Pi team on a breakthrough form factor. Wow.



Click the



Specifications (based on above link):



SoC – Allwinner H3 quad core Cortex A7 @ 1.2 GHz with an ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU up to 600 MHz

System Memory – 256 or 512 MB DDR3

Storage – micro SD card slot

Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet

USB – 1x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG port + 2x USB via headers

Expansion headers: 24-pin header with I2C, 2x UART, SPI, PWM, and power signals

Expansion headers (other side): 12-pin header with 2x USB, IR pin, microphone and Line OUT signals

Debugging – 4-pin header for serial console

Misc – Power and status LEDs

Power Supply – 5V/2A via micro USB port or VDD pin on headers.

Dimensions – 40 x 40 mm (Raspberry Pi Zero: 65mm × 30mm)



No screen or video out of any kind. SoC pins may support it, but no headers.



Price:

$7.99 @ 256 MB RAM / $9.99 @ 512 MB RAM



The NanoPi NEO ARM is very likely to give any other IoT boards a run for their money; provided that a headless application is appropriate. They're by far the smallest board we've seen in this price range. Check them out.





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For embedded applications, there is an interesting announcement of a $7.99 board with quad-core ARM and full USB host as well as OTG connections (also: ethernet), in an amazing form factor.Source:Product page:This is what it looks like:The size comparison with the Raspberry Pi Zero is most interesting: 40 x 40 mm, meaning nearly 40% shorter (more than 1/3 its length shaved off, though at the expense of becoming 10mm wider). This is a reduction in size from 1950 sq. mm (or 3.02 sq. in.) to 1600 sq. mm (2.48 sq. in.), or in other words, from 3.54 full standard American postage stamps to 2.9 postage stamps.I think it's very important to note the size. 40 mm starts being the diameter of a rather large men's watch.For comparison, to show how tiny this is, here is what 40 mm diameter watch looks like, which is a standard, if somewhat large, watch size:There is, of course, a downside: it is entirely headless, no display of any kind (including VGA). You will have to connect to it over ethernet or serial (for which it has developer pins). The power profile is unknown.Main points of difference between the Raspberry Pi Zero:- Much beefier, quad-core CPU.- Taller vertically with default connectors including Ethernet and full USB + USB OTG + 2 more USB header pins (+ audio + IR).- Amazing 40x40mm footprint- $7.99 in 256 MB RAM configuration, $9.99 with 512 RAMLikely to be available in large quantities for embedded application.Unlike the Raspberry Pi Zero, we would expect support to be very poor, and also there is no HAT compatibility.Click the source link for full(er) specifications, and feel free to leave your comments below!Specifications (based on above link):Price:$7.99 @ 256 MB RAM / $9.99 @ 512 MB RAMThe NanoPi NEO ARM is very likely to give any other IoT boards a run for their money; provided that a headless application is appropriate. They're by far the smallest board we've seen in this price range. Check them out.