ITEAD Studio has been making systems-on-module based on Allwinner processors for a little while which are found in the company’s IBOX mini PC, MOD Duo guitar pedal, and more. They’ve now launched a new system-on-module with a 204-pin SO-DIMM connector instead of the headers used in the earlier modules.
ITEAD Core AW2041 / AW2042 SoM specifications:
- SoC- AllWinner A20 dual core ARM Cortex-A7 @ 1 GHz + ARM Mali 400 MP2
- System Memory – 1 or 2 GB DDR3 RAM (AW2014: 1GB, AW2042: 2GB).
- Storage – 4GB NAND Flash, micro SD card slot (on the back), SATA connector.
- Connector – 204-pin SO-DIMM edge connector with UART, I2C, SPI, LCD, I2S, LVDS, GPIO, etc.. signals
- Misc – Built-in RTC, reset, FEL and power buttons.
- Power – 5V supply, 3.3V I/Os. AXP209 PMIC.
- Dimensions – 67.60 x 48.25 x 1.6 mm
- Weight – 35 grams
- Temperature Range – Commercial
To facilitate development, the company is also providing an open source hardware baseboard (Kicad) simply called “EVB Core”.
Baseboard specifications:
- SoC / Memory / Storage – Via AW204x modules.
- Eternal Storage – SATA port on module, 5V SATA power on EVB, 1x micro SD slot on EVB, 1x micro SD slot on module.
- Video Output – HDMI 1.4, 18/24-bit single or dual channel LVDS
- Audio – HDMI, optical S/PDIF, 3.5mm audio jack supporting 8 Ohm speakers @ 3W via included amplifier.
- Connectivity – 10/100/1000M Ethernet
- USB – 3x USB 2.0 OTG ports, 1x USB OTG port (full size)
- Expansions Headers:
- 32-pin connector (beige) with access to UART, I2C, SPI, I2S, and GPIO signals, that can be used with some add-on boards made by ITEAD Studio.
- 40-pin headers compatible with Raspberry Pi Model B+ (UART/I2C/SPI/GPIO)
- Misc – IR receiver, bicolor LED, power, reset, FEL buttons,
- Power – 7-23V DC via 2.5mm power jack
- Power Consumption – 200mA typical, 300mA max. @ 5V? (without devices attached to EVB)
- Dimensions – 140.2 x 90 mm
- Weight – 82 grams
- Temperature Range – Operating: 0 to 60; storage: -40 to 80
The evaluation board can be fitted into IBOX metallic enclosure. The company provide supports for ITEAD OS based on Debian 7.0 (Link to SDK), and Android 4.2 for their modules. Some documentation, mostly the pinout diagrams. can be found on the Wiki for AW204x modules, and EVB Core.
Both the modules and baseboard appear to be available now. AW2041 SoM (1GB RAM) sells for $45, AW2042 (2GB RAM) for $60, and EVB Core for $29.99, so a complete development kit would start at $75.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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These modules would be more interesting if they weren’t so expensive. There are many A20 based STB boxes on Aliexpress for $30. Now they only have 512MB RAM but they include wifi. Until modules like this are $20 instead of $40 it is cheaper just to make custom boards after the first few prototype systems if your volume is over a couple of hundred units.
I wonder if they could do a 512MB/4GB version of the module for $20?