[Updated Jan 2, 2016] — 2014 brought us plenty of new open-spec, community-backed SBCs — from $35 bargains, to octa-core powerhouses — and all with Linux or Android support.



In May of this year, LinuxGizmos and Linux.com collaborated on a joint survey, asking our readers to choose their favorite open-spec hacker SBCs from a list of 32 that run Linux and/or Android. Our SBC survey winners, ranked one to five, included the Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone Black, Odroid-XU, CubieTruck, and Banana Pi single board computers. Thanks to the flood of new open-spec, community-backed boards, as well as the demise of others, we have updated our list for this end-of-year snapshot.







Now, back to December 31, 2014…

We’re skipping the survey — and the prizes — this time around, but we hope to offer a similar, but updated list and survey in May or June 2015. With even better prizes.

We removed more than a dozen boards from the list that were no longer in stock, were not being actively supported, were just plain old, or scored too poorly in our last survey to merit inclusion. Some of these, such as the Odroid-XU, were fairly new boards but have already been replaced by newer models (Odroid-XU3). We also added about two-dozen new SBCs, thereby ending up with a total of 40 boards.











Nine sub-$50 SBCs that challenge the Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone Black: 86Duino, A10-OLinuXino-Lime, Arduino TRE, Banana Pi, BPi D1, HummingBoard-i1, Odroid-C1, Orange Pi, and pcDuino3 Nano



Over the last year we’ve seen some new quad- and octa-core boards with more memory, built-in WiFi, and other extras. Yet, most of the growth has been in the under $50 segment where the Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone reign. Based on specs alone, standouts in price/performance that have broken the $40 barrier include the new Odroid-C1 and pcDuino3 Nano, but other good deals abound here as well.



Downward pressure on commercial embedded board vendors

Deciding which boards are hacker friendly is becoming more difficult, especially as traditional embedded SBC vendors have begun experimenting with the low-end “maker” market. The success of the Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, and several other open-spec boards have motivated embedded vendors to offer more information about their products, as well as open source Linux and Android builds, and in some cases, full hardware specs and open licensing.

There have always been embedded Linux vendors that have done this — mostly the smaller operations — but the trend has clearly accelerated. Traditional vendors are feeling the pressure from the community SBC world, and many are gradually changing their approach, addressing the needs of hobbyists, educators, and smaller developer shops that prefer open source boards for prototyping.

Still, if you aren’t allowed to build and sell a board based on the hardware design, even in small runs, or if the board is made available without community features such as forums or tutorials, it’s less likely to be included here. On the other hand, if we only allowed for boards that fulfill all the open source virtues, including the inclusion of a transparent GPU platform, we would have a much shorter list. By some definitions, the Raspberry Pi, which is the best-selling hacker SBC of all time, would not even qualify.

For now, we’re sticking with our original, fairly broad guidelines for acceptance, which we will once again revisit before our next survey project. Your feedback is welcome.



One Rockchip on rye, hold the mayo

One trend we noted last May has accelerated in 2014: the proliferation of open-spec SBCs that use a sandwich-style design. In this approach, which first appeared in the community board world with the Wandboard, a baseboard (carrier board) is wedded with one or more computer-on-modules and sold as an SBC.







A tasty sampling of sandwich-style SBCs: DMP 86Duino, MYIR MYD-IMX28X, Toradex Viola, Wandboard Quad

(click images to enlarge)



With the sandwich concept, which is more widely prevalent with traditional development boards, you can upgrade your processor, memory, and perhaps even the wireless capability, by adding a new COM without having to buy a new board and learn a new design. Sandwich-style boards that have made the cut here have an open baseboard design, even if the COM itself is not open source. Perhaps not coincidentally several, including the Wandboard and HummingBoard, use the Freescale i.MX6, which is available in a single-core, two dual-core, and one-quad-core version, and is intended for modular upgrades.

In our May survey, we required that the boards be publicly available and shipping, and not only to crowdfunding backers. This time around we are more lenient, allowing some designs that have been announced with at least primary specs, but which have not been priced or started shipping. We have used our best judgment as to which boards are likely to ship by the second quarter of 2015.

We have also included several boards such as the MinnowBoard Max, which had been announced prior to our May survey, but only shipped thereafter. In the case of the Arduino TRE, the board was announced a year ago, but still hasn’t shipped. (Look for the TRE in January, however.)

The 40 hacker-friendly SBCs are briefly described in the list below, in alphabetical order:

86Duino and 86Duino One

Summary:

Company/project — DM&P, 86Duino.com

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — DM&P Vortex86EX (1x x86 @ 300MHz)

Memory — 128MB RAM

Price — $39

Description — DM&P’s 86Duino features Arduino-compatible expansion and a modular COM+baseboard approach. For $30 more, the 86Duino One model supplies the same RAM, as well as Ethernet, USB, and microSD connections, and adds HD audio and more expansion I/O.

A10-OLinuXino-Lime

Summary:

Company/project — Olimex, OLinuXino, Mouser

Product page

Processor — Allwinner A10 (1x Cortex-A8 @ 1GHz); Mali-400 GPU

Memory — 512MB DDR3 RAM

Price — $37 (30 Euros)

Description — This tiny (84 x 60mm) Android- and Linux-ready SBC is also available with an optional mini-PC enclosure. I/O includes microSD, SATA, Ethernet, and HDMI, plus three USB ports and 160 GPIOs.

A20-OLinuXino-Micro

Summary:

Company/project — Olimex, OLinuXino, Mouser

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Allwinner A20 (2x Cortex-A7 @ 1GHz); Mali-400 GPU

Memory — 1GB DDR3 RAM; optional 4GB NAND flash ($14 more) with preloaded Android

Price — $67 (55 Euros)

Description — The faster, dual-core OLinuXino model is 1080p-ready and has all the I/O of the Lime, but doubles the RAM and adds VGA, LCD/touch, and audio I/O. The A20-OLinuXino-Micro also adds UEXT expansion connectors, with optional modules.

Arduino TRE

Summary:

Company/project — Arduino

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — TI Sitara AM335x (1x Cortex-A8 @ 1GHz)

Memory — 512MB RAM

Price — N/A

Description — The Arduino TRE features a full version of Linux, unlike the limited small-footprint Linux stack available on the earlier Arduino Yun. It also offers an 8-bit Atmel ATmega microcontroller for AVR-compatible control of “shield” expansion modules. Despite being announced back in Oct. 2013, the SBC is still under development, although a Dec. 12 blog post says that the final developer boards have been sent out, and that the commercial board will be released soon.

Arndale Octa Board

Summary:

Company/project — ArndaleBoard.org, InSignal, Pyrustek

Product page

Processor — Samsung Exynos 5420 Octa (4x Cortex-A15 @ 1.8GHz and 4x Cortex-A7 @ 1.3GHz); ARM Mali T-628 MP6

Memory — 3GB LPDDR3e RAM

Price — $199

Description — ArndaleBoard.org’s new Octa board sports Samsung’s faster new Exynos 5420 SoC. It offers generous helpings of display (HDMI, eDP, and MIPI DSI) and USB connections, plus MIPI-CSI camera support and an optional wireless module.

Banana Pi

Summary:

Company/project –SinoVoip/BananaPi.org

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Allwinner A10 (1x Cortex-A8 @ 1GHz); Mali-400 GPU

Memory — 1GB DDR3 RAM

Price — $50

Description — This clone of the Raspberry Pi Model B has the same port positions, 24-pin header layout, and educational focus as the RasPi, but has a faster processor. The SBC adds to the RasPi’s feature set with twice the RAM, plus I/O including a SATA and micro-USB port. A new “Banana Pi M2” (below) clones the Raspberry Pi Model B+.

Banana Pi M2

Summary:

Company/project — SinoVoip, Bananapi.org

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Allwinner A31 (4x Cortex-A7 @ 1GHz); PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU

Memory — 1GB DDR3 RAM

Price — N/A

Description — SinoVoip and the Banana Pi project it backs are prepping an M2 update to the original, $50 Banana Pi, while former backer LeMaker has jumped ship to launch its own Banana Pi Pro update (see below). Just as the original Banana Pi was a near clone of the Raspberry Pi Model B, the M2 closely resembles the Model B+, complete with a similar 40-pin expansion connector. The M2 moves from a dual- to a quad-core Allwinner SoC, and offers four USB host ports, a range of display and camera interfaces, a gigabit Ethernet port, and onboard WiFi.

Banana Pi Pro

Summary:

Company/project — LeMaker

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Allwinner A20 (2x Cortex-A7 @ 1GHz); Mali-400 GPU

Memory — 1GB DDR3 RAM

Price — $62

Description — Compared to the rival Banana Pi M2 from former partner SinoVoip, LeMaker’s own Banana Pi update sticks closer to the original, retaining the dual-core A20 SoC. It expands to a Raspberry Pi Model B+-like 40-pin connector, switches the SD slot to microSD, and adds WiFi and a micro-USB OTG port. Unlike the M2, it provides a SATA connector, but it only has two USB host ports compared to the M2’s four. The Pro is currently available at Aliexpress for $62.

BD-SL-i.MX6 (formerly SABRE Lite)

Summary:

Company/project — Boundary Devices, Element14

Product page

Processor — Freescale i.MX6Quad (4x Cortex-A9 @ up to 1GHz)

Memory — 1GB DDR3 RAM

Price — $190

Description — Freescale’s SABRE Lite dev board for the i.MX6 was spun off as a fully open spec “BD-SL-i.MX6” SBC, sold by Boundary Devices and Element14. The Linux-ready board features rich I/O including RGB, LVDS, and HDMI display connections, dual camera ports, a GbE port, dual SD slots, and a SATA interface. Three USB ports are provided, along with PCIe expansion and a CAN port.

BeagleBone Black

Summary:

Company/project — BeagleBone.org, CirtcuitCo

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — TI Sitara AM3358 (1x Cortex-A8 @ 1GHz)

Memory — 512MB RAM; 4GB flash

Price — $50

Description — The old BB Black is now gone, and a new Rev C model with double the flash (4GB) has taken its place. This Debian-ready SBC gives you a lot for your money, especially in expansion headers, but the real draw here is the large, vibrant Beagleboard.org community.

BeagleBoard-X15

Summary:

Company/project — Beagleboard.org

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — TI Sitara AM5728 (2x Cortex-A15 @ 1.5GHz); PowerVR SGX544 GPU

Memory — 2GB RAM; 4GB flash

Price — N/A

Description — The first update in years to the original BeagleBoard boasts a dual-core Cortex-A15 SoC, dual GbE ports, and an eSATA port. The 4.2 x 4.0-inch SBC also has three USB 3.0 ports, plus HDMI, LCD, and other A/V interfaces. No pricing has yet been announced on the BeagleBoard-X15, which ships in February.

BPi-D1

Summary:

Company/project — SinoVoip, Bananapi.org

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — 400MHz ARM9

Memory — 64MB DDR2 RAM

Price — $40

The 38 x 38mm, 10-gram BPi-D1 is one of the smallest hacker SBCs yet, although it can’t quite match the 15 x 10mm CloudBit (see below). The Linux-based BPi-D1 features a built-in camera that supports 1280 x 720p still-photo capture or video at 30fps. The CMOS sensor supports infrared night vision and has a viewing angle of 60°. The only real-world ports are a pair of micro-USB ports, one of which supports an optional WiFi module. The board recently began shipping as a Bananapi.org supported product for $40.

CloudBit

Summary:

Company/project — LittleBits Electronics

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Freescale i.MX233 (1x ARM9 @ 454MHz)

Memory — 64MB RAM; 4GB microSD card

Price — $60

Description — The popular, Arduino-oriented LittleBits maker platform added its first Linux SBC with the ARM9-based CloudBit. The tiny (15 x 10mm) board integrates WiFi, a USB port, and dual “BitSnap” connectors for adding standard LittleBits modules, six of which are provided in a $100 bundle. The Arch Linux based platform connects to a Node.js-oriented cloud platform designed for monitoring Internet of Things gizmos, and supports the IFTTT IF-THEN scripting language for social networking connectivity.

Creator CI20

Summary:

Company/project — Imagination Technologies

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Ingenic JZ4780 (2x XBurst MIPS32 @ 1.2GHz); PowerVR SGX540

Memory — 1GB RAM; 4GB flash

Price — $65

Description — Imagination’s first hacker SBC runs Android 4.4 or Debian 7 on Ingenic’s MIPS chip and features onboard WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. Other I/O includes HDMI, camera, and audio ports, as well as both USB OTG and host ports. You also get multiple analog inputs and digital I/Os, plus some serial UARTs. The Creator CI20 can run Imagination’s FlowCloud cloud platform for IoT device management.

Cubieboard2

Summary:

Company/project — Cubieboard.org, Wang and Tom Development, Ltd.

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Allwinner A20 (2x Cortex-A7 @ 1GHz); Mali-400 GPU

Memory — 1GB DDR3 RAM, 4GB NAND flash

Price — $59

Description — Identical to the original Cubieboard except for upgrading to the A20 SoC, the Cubieboard2 supports Android and Linux, and offers SATA, microSD, Ethernet, HDMI, and dual USB ports. It also supplies a 96-pin expansion connector.

CubieTruck (aka Cubieboard3)

Summary:

Company/project — Cubieboard.org, Wang and Tom Development, Ltd.

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Allwinner A20 (2x Cortex-A7 @ 1GHz); Mali-400 GPU

Memory — 2GB DDR3 RAM, optional NAND or TSD flash

Price — $89

Description — The CubieTruck offers everything the Cubieboard2 does, and more, but has fewer expansion pins (54) and lacks standard flash. You can choose between dual microSD slots, or a mix of microSD and flash options. New features include a generous 2GB of RAM, plus WiFi, Bluetooth, gigabit Ethernet, VGA, and SPDIF ports.

Galileo Gen 2

Summary:

Company/project — Intel

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Intel Quark X1000 (1x Pentium-compatible @ 400MHz)

Memory — 256MB DRAM

Price — $60

Description — The Galileo Gen 2 is now shipping, with the lowest price ($60) currently found at NewEgg. Intel’s second-generation Galileo offers the same Quark processor, memory, and Arduino compatibility as the original. The updates are mostly minor, such as changing the USB host port from micro-USB to full-sized, updating the PWMs to 12-bit, and making the 12 GPIOs “fully native” for faster performance. There’s also optional 12V PoE (Power-over-Ethernet) support.

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Gizmo 2

Summary:

Company/project — AMD, GizmoSphere.org, SemiconductorStore.com

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — AMD G-Series GX210HA SoC (2x x86 @ 1GHz)

Memory — 1GB DDR3 SDRAM

Price — $199

Description — The Gizmo 2 swaps out the G-Series APU found on the original Gizmo board for a faster G-Series SoC model. The SBC also adds HDMI, microSD, mSATA, and USB 3.0 ports. The SBC ships with Timesys Embedded Linux, but supports other Linux distros, as well as Windows and Minoca OS.

HummingBoard

Summary:

Company/project — SolidRun

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Freescale i.MX6 Dual (HummingBoard-i2eX), DualLite (HummingBoard-i2), and Solo (HummingBoard-i1) SoCs (2x, 2x, and 1x Cortex-A9 @ up to 1GHz); Vivante GC2000 (i2eX) or GC880 (i2 and i1) GPU

Memory — 512MB (i1) or 1GB (i2eX and i2) DDR3 RAM

Price — $50 to $60 (i1), $75 to $95 (i2) or $100 to $120 (i2eX)

Description – This sandwich style carrier board is available with several modular “MicroSOM” COMs, letting you choose from two dual-core and one single-core i.MX6 configurations. The originally announced quad-core model didn’t reach market. Even with one core, the HummingBoard should be faster than the Raspberry Pi it partially clones here. The board offers Pi-like ports, layout, as well as a similar 26-pin connector. All three models offer dual USB 2.0 ports, as well as HDMI, MIPI-CSI-2, and SPDIF audio. The i2eX model, which has an i.MX6 Dual SoC with a better GPU than the DualLite, also adds LVDS, IR, Mini-PCIe, an RTC, and extra internal USBs.

LinkSprite Acadia

Summary:

Company/project — LinkSprite Technologies

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Freescale i.MX6 Quad (4x Cortex-A9 @ up to 1.2GHz); Vivante GC355 GPU

Memory – 1GB DRAM; 8GB eMMC flash

Price — $95

Description — The pcDuino Acadia 1 was announced without pricing in September, and is now listed as the “LinkSprite Acadia,” going for $95. The product does not appear to have shipped yet. (It’s currently listed as unavailable.) The Acadia runs Linux or Android on an i.MX6 Quad, rather than the Allwinner SoCs typically used on pcDuino boards. This full-featured board not only offers eMMC flash and dual microSD slots, but also HDMI, LVDS, SATA, and gigabit Ethernet connections. You also get three USB ports, dual cameras interfaces, and an Arduino-compatible expansion header.

MarsBoard RK3066

Summary:

Company/project — Haoyu Electronics, MarsBoard.com

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Rockchip RK3066 (2x Cortex-A9 @ 1.6GHz); Mali-400 GPU

Memory — 1GB DDR3 RAM; 4GB eMMC NAND flash (expandable to 8GB)

Price — $58

Description — The MarsBoard RK3066 replaces earlier Allwinner-fueled MarsBoards, and similarly runs Linux and Android. The modular, COM+baseboard design incorporates a generous five USB ports, a 10/100 Ethernet port, along with HDMI, S/PDIF, IR, and camera interfaces.

MinnowBoard Max

Summary:

Company/project — Intel, CircuitCo

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Intel Atom E3815 or E3825 (1x or 2x x86 @ 1.46GHz or 1.33GHz, respectively)

Memory — 1GB to 4GB DDR3 RAM

Price — $99 (E3815) or $146 (E3825)

Description — The MinnowBoard Max is the most improved of the second-gen x86 hacker boards on our list. Intel moved to a much faster, more power efficient Atom E3800, and shrunk the board to 3.9 x 2.9 inches. It also added Debian and Android 4.4 in addition to the original Yocto-based Angstrom build. The low-speed expansion header is somewhat similar to that of the Raspberry Pi’s 40-pin connector, providing Arduino-like prototyping I/O and supporting add-on boards called Lures. I/O includes dual USB ports, gigabit Ethernet, micro-HDMI, and SATA. Note that the $99 single-core version has yet to ship, but is promised soon.

Odroid-C1

Summary:

Company/project — Hardkernel, Odroid project

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor – Amlogic S805 (4x Cortex-A5 @ 1.5GHz); Mali-450 GPU

Memory — 1GB DDR3 RAM

Price — $35

Description — Now shipping at a hard to beat $35, Hardkernel’s latest Odroid skips the usual Samsung SoCs for a quad-core Cortex-A5 Amlogic S805 SoC. The Android- or Ubuntu-ready board offers a somewhat Raspberry Pi compatible 40-pin connector. The board replaces the Odroid project’s previously announced Odroid-W SBC, which was discontinued before shipping. The 85 x 56mm Odroid-C1 SBC offers microSD or eMMC storage expansion, as well as HDMI in and out, gigabit Ethernet, and four USB host ports.

Odroid-U3

Summary:

Company/project — Hardkernel, Odroid project

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor –Samsung Exynos 4412 Prime (4x Cortex-A9 @ 1.7GHz); Mali-400 GPU

Memory — 2GB LP-DDR2 SDRAM

Price — $65

Description — The Samsung Exynos 4 based Odroid-U3 was the third-ranking open SBC in our reader survey. The U3 is software compatible with the discontinued U2, and supports Linux and Android KitKat. The price is kept low due to the lack of flash, but microSD and eMMC expansion options are available. Other I/O includes micro-HDMI, Ethernet, audio, and four USB ports. The 83 x 48 x 22mm dimensions reflect the built-in heat sink.

Odroid-XU3

Summary:

Company/project — Hardkernel, Odroid project

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor – Samsung Exynos5422 (4x Cortex-A15 @ 2.0GHz and 4x Cortex-A7 @ 1.4GHz); Mali-T628 MP6 GPU

Memory — 2GB LPDDR3 RAM

Price — $180

Description — This update to the Odroid-XU continues to run Android and Ubuntu on a Big.Little octacore SoC with four Cortex-A15 and four Cortex-A7 cores. However, it advances to a faster new Exynos5422 model with a more advanced Mali-T628 GPU. Otherwise, the main improvement is the addition of an eMMC socket. Other standout features carried over from the XU include both micro-HDMI and DisplayPort connections, as well as SPDIF audio and Ethernet. You also get USB 3.0 host and OTG ports, plus four more USB 2.0 host ports and a 20-pin expansion connector.

Orange Pi / Orange Pi Mini

Summary:

Company/project — Shenzhen Xunlong Software

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — AllWinner A20 (2x Cortex-A7 @ 1GHz); ARM Mali-400 MP2 GPU

Memory — 1GB DDR3 RAM

Price — $49 ($40 for Mini)

Description — We have combined the Orange Pi and similar Orange Pi Mini here, as both use the same Allwinner A20 SoC, and offer many similar features. Both boards mimic the Banana Pi, and by extension, the Raspberry Pi. The Orange Pi has a 26-pin RPi Model B compatible connector, plus an 18-pin extended interface, while the Mini has a B+-like 40-pin connector. Common features on the Orange Pi and Orange Pi Mini include SATA, GbE, SATA, and onboard WiFi. The Mini has two microSD slots compared to one for the Orange Pi, but has only two USB host ports instead of four. It also has a Parallel camera interface instead of digital CSI. An upcoming, and still unpriced, Orange Pi Plus SBC will feature a quad-core Allwinner A31, and is otherwise very similar to the Orange Pi.

Parallella

Summary:

Company/project — Adapteva, Parallella.org

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor –Xilinx Zynq-7020 or -7010 SoC (2x Cortex-A9 @ 667MHz plus FPGA); 16-core Epiphany RISC coproc.

Memory — 1GB DDR3 RAM

Price — $99

Description — Aimed at power-efficient server clustering applications and parallel programming research, the Parallella features a Zynq ARM/FPGA SoC running Ubuntu, plus a homegrown 16-core Epiphany coprocessor. I/O includes microSD, gigabit Ethernet, micro-HDMI, and dual USB ports. Four 60-pin connectors provide for Epiphany and FPGA extensions. With both Digi-key and RS Components as distributors, these boards are now available worldwide. Over 10,000 are said to have shipped.

pcDuino3 Nano

Summary:

Company/project — LinkSprite Technologies

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Allwinner A20 (2x Cortex-A7 @ 1GHz); Mali-400 GPU

Memory — 1GB DRAM; 4GB flash

Price — $30

Description — When LinkSprite announced the pcDuino3 Nano in September for $39, we were blown away by at the price/performance/feature mix. Now it’s selling for only $30. The Ubuntu- and Android-compatible Nano gives you SATA, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI and three USB ports, plus Arduino-style expansion. Audio, camera, and IR connections are also available.

Radxa Rock

Summary:

Company/project — Radxa

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Rockchip RK3188 (4x Cortex-A9 @ 1.6GHz); Mali-400 GPU

Memory — 2GB DDR3 RAM; 8GB NAND flash (1GB/4GB on Radxa Rock Lite)

Price — $99 (Pro); $59 (Lite)

Description — This tiny, 100 x 80mm SBC runs Android or Linux on the quad-core RK3188. A Lite version with half the memory sells for $20 less. Both models offer WiFi and Bluetooth, as well as real-world HDMI, Ethernet, USB, and S/PDIF ports. Expansion headers support many more interfaces. Add $10 for a case and antenna. Radxa is prepping a “Rock 2” board based on the quad-core RK3288 SoC.

Raspberry Pi Model A+

Summary:

Company/project — Raspberry Pi Foundation

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Broadcom BCM2835 (1x ARM11 @ 700MHz); Broadcom VideoCore IV GPU

Memory — 256MB SDRAM

Price — $20

Description — Compared to the $25 Model A, the Model A+ has been reduced in size to 65 x 56mm, and weighs in at just 23 grams. Power consumption has been reduced to 600mA. The board follows its more popular sibling the Model B+ in advancing to a 40-pin connector and switching from an SD slot to microSD. It also similarly offers an updated audio circuit, combines the audio and composite ports, and moves to a design with four mounting holes and rounded edges. Ports are similar to those of the B+ except that the A+ has no Ethernet port, and instead of having four USB host ports, it has one.

Raspberry Pi Model B+

Summary:

Company/project — Raspberry Pi Foundation

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Broadcom BCM2835 (1x ARM11 @ 700MHz); Broadcom VideoCore IV GPU

Memory — 512MB SDRAM

Price — $35

Description — The update to the world’s leading hacker board sticks with the Model B’s under-powered ARM11 processor and half gig of memory, but keeps the $35 price. The Linux-ready Model B+ also adds a new 40-pin GPIO header, two more USB ports, and a microSD slot, and is claimed to reduce power consumption by between 0.5W and 1W. The real draw here is the huge Raspberry Pi maker community, add-on market, and overall ecosystem.

Red Pitaya

Summary:

Company/project — Red Pitaya (Instrumentation Technologies)

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Xilinx Zynq-7020 (2x Cortex-A9 @ 800MHz plus FPGA)

Memory — 128MB DDR2 RAM

Price — $470

Description — The Linux-based Red Pitaya is designed for measurement and control applications, especially in education. Built around the FPGA enabled Zynq SoC, the open source board offers a pair of analog inputs and outputs for attaching optional diagnostic probes. It also includes a daisy chain connector, an analog signal extension connector with low-speed ADCs and DACs, and a digital signal extension connector. The Red Pitaya ships with apps for oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer, waveform generator, frequency response analyzer, and PID controller functions.

RIoTboard

Summary:

Company/project — Newark Element14, RIoTboard.org

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Freescale i.MX6Solo (1x Cortex-A9 @ up to 1GHz)

Memory — 1GB DDR3 RAM; 4GB eMMC flash

Price — $79

Description — The RIoT (“Revolutionizing the Internet of Things”) board runs Android or Linux on a low-power, single-core Cortex-A9 SoC. The 120 x 75mm SBC offers several advantages over the similar Wandboard Solo, including twice the RAM, built-in flash, and many more USB ports.

SAMA5D3 Xplained

Summary:

Company/project — Newark Element14, Atmel

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Atmel SAMA5D3 (1x Cortex-A5 @ 536MHz)

Memory — 256MB DDR2 RAM; 256MB NAND flash

Price — $58

Description — Atmel and its Linux4SAM developers site collaborated with Newark Element14 to produce this Linux-ready SBC in order to showcase Atmel’s new SAMA5D3 processor. Designed for wearables and other low-power devices, the 125 x 75mm SBC includes dual LAN ports and Arduino compatibility.

Udoo Quad

Summary:

Company/project — Udoo

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Freescale i.MX6Quad (4x Cortex-A9 @ 1GHz) or optional DualLite; Atmel SAM3X8E ARM Cortex-M3 MCU

Memory — 1GB DDR3 RAM

Price — $135

Description — This Wandboard competitor features a Cortex-M3 based Arduino Due subsystem. The 110 x 85mm Udoo Quad offers a pair of lower cost, dual-core i.MX6DualLite options: a $99 Udoo Dual that lacks SATA and the Quad’s faster Vivante GC355 GPU, and a $79 Dual Basic that foregoes WiFi and gigabit Ethernet.

USB Armory

Summary:

Company/project — Inverse Path

LinuxGizmos coverage

Product page

Processor — Freescale i.MX53 (1x Cortex-A8 @ 800MHz)

Memory — 512MB DDR3 RAM

Price — $130 (crowdfunding price)

Description — At publication time, the USB Armory had just surpassed its Crowd Supply funding goals, with a month left to go. The tiny (65 x 19), low-power SBC is designed for secure computing applications. It features Trustzone security, USB emulation, and a secure boot feature that lets users apply verification keys that ensure only trusted firmware can be executed on a specific device. The Linux- and Android-ready board is limited to two real-world ports: a USB 2.0 OTG port and a microSD slot.

Viola SBC

Summary:

Company/project — Toradex

LinuxGizmos coverage

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Processor — Freescale Vybrid VF5x (1x Cortex-A5 @ 400MHz) standard via Colibri TF50 COM

Memory — 128MB DDR3; 64MB DDR3 with ECC 128MB NAND flash

Price — $69

Description — The sandwich-style Viola is typically sold as a carrier board for Toradex’s Colibri modules, but it ships as a hacker-friendly Viola SBC when pre-integrated with the company’s Colibri VF50 module. The CF50 integrates a Freescale Vybrid VF5x SoC with a single Cortex-A5 core. The board provides LCD, Ethernet, and dual USB ports, as well as a variety of serial, analog, and industrial interfaces including CAN. The SBC ships with a Linux image, and Android is supported as well. The CF50 module can be swapped out for seven other Colibri modules that use Nvidia Tegra 2 or 3 SoCs, as well as Marvell PXA SoCs.

Wandboard Quad

Summary:

Company/project — Wandboard.org

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Processor — Freescale i.MX6Quad (4x Cortex-A9 @ 1GHz) or optional Solo or Dual

Memory — 2GB DDR3 RAM (1GB for Dual, 512MB for Solo)

Price — $129

Description — Wandboard.org is one of the more popular open board communities, although like a handful of other offerings listed here, the Wandboard is designed as a modular, sandwich-style, COM+baseboard assembly that makes it more of a “DBC” than an SBC. The combo’s COM includes the i.MX6 and RAM, plus wireless, SD, and camera interfaces. A $99 DualLite-based Wandboard Dual loses the SATA, and a $79, single-core Solo version skips the wireless radios.

Warpboard

Summary:

Company/project — Freescale, Warpboard.org, Revolution Robotics

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Processor – Freescale i.MX6 SoloLite (1x Cortex-A9 @ 1GHz) with Kinetis KL16 MCU

Memory – N/A

Price — $149

Description — Freescale announced its tiny, wearables-focused Warpboard almost a year ago at CES, and although it’s now available for pre-order at $149, shipments are not expected until January 2015. Android or generic Linux runs directly on the Warpboard’s single-core i.MX6. Meanwhile, real-time data collection chores are offloaded to the Cortex-M4-based Kinetis microcontroller on the Kinetis KL16 daughter card, which also includes dual Freescale Xtrinsic sensor modules.

ZedBoard

Summary:

Company/project — Avnet

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Processor –Xilinx Zynq-7020 (2x Cortex-A9 @ 667MHz plus FPGA)

Memory — 512MB DDR3 RAM; 4GB SD card

Price — $395

Description — Avnet seems more focused on its similarly Zynq-based MicroZed modules than on the ZedBoard, but there are still boards available. The pricey SBC offers the I/O you’d expect from a typical $100 ARM board, but supplements it with extensive FPGA-based expansion I/O.