There are plenty of ARM Linux boards featuring Arduino compatible headers such as UDOO, PcDuino, ATSAMA5D3 Xplained, etc…, and Rubix A10 looks like one of these boards, as it comes with an Allwinner A10 processor, boast Arduino compatible header, and runs Linux or Android, but instead of simply accepting Arduino shields, Rubix A10 can be used as a shield itself for Arduino (UNO?)boards. 
Rubix A10 specifications:
- SoC – Allwinner A10 ARM Cortex A8 processor @ 1.0 Ghz with Mali-400 GPU
- System Memory – 1GB DDR3
- Storage – 4 to 8 GB MLC 64-bit ECC NAND Flash, micro SD slot up to 128 GB
- Video Output – HDMI 1.4 up to 1080p60
- Audio I/O – HDMI, 3.5 mm jack for MIC + headphone.
- Connectivity – 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi up to 150Mbps,
- USB – 2x USB 2.0 host interfaces, 1x mini USB OTG 2.0 port
- Expansions Headers
- Arduino compatible headers
- 26-pin Raspberry Pi compatible header with RS232 UART port, GPIO pins, I2C, PWM, SPI
- Misc – IR receiver, power button, recovery button (designed for Android)
- Power Supply – 12V/1.5-2.0A AC-DC adapter, or 5V via mini USB OTG port
The board can boot various Linux desktop operating systems, as well as Android from the NAND flash or a micro SD card. The Linux distribution is pre-loaded with the Arduino IDE so that you can program your Arduino board directly from the board itself.
The company is apparently looking for more distributors, but the board has been spotted at Fry’s Electronics, and the electronics store also sell it online for $89.99. A few more details can be found on Rubix website which is still very much under construction. There may also be a a crowdfunding campaign launched soon.
Thanks to Bill for the tip.
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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What’s next? An Intel based board you can stack on top of this on top of an arduino?
isn’t A10 EOL(end of life) already?
This board is a piece of sh*& – I have a raspberry pi that worked great, just want something a bit more powerful so I bought the Rubix A10 – what a joke, the onboard pre programmed linux environment ( linaro) booted successfully only once! each other attempt failed with a kernel panic. To make matters worse, tried creating a variety of other bootable micro sd cards with supposedly compatible linux images (http://linux-sunxi.org/More-images#Updating_Hardwarepacks_and.2For_U-boot_of_any_prebuild_image ) using the following tutorials but this never worked.
The biggest issue is a lack of much documentation for this device… it appears that not very many hobbyist have adopted this device and hence the lack of support for it…
Don’t waste your time on this one…. buy a raspberry pi and do yourself a favor…
@minilinux
Thank you so much for your time and money.
So sorry, you encounter image issue, Pls at most early time email us, so you can get FREE support and save your lots of hours or days.
About 10 minutes may solve your Panic core issue with our best practice, other A10 images may not totally for Rubix A10, even a little bit error init may cause Panic, So sorry for a long way you walked.
We are transfering our engineers guides and best practices or others Rubix A10 customers best practices to all our new and old customers. By our support best practice, most time documents are garbage, which just waste a lot of your hours or days and guide you to far wrong way.
Hope these info help your question.
Warm Regards,
Rubix Service Team
dunno if your still active here, but i have one of these boards and i would love to get a disk image for it.
I’m a sucker for single board computers. I have an original Raspberry pi and the newest B2. I have an Intel Edison and a Galileo. I even have a Beagle Bone Black. When I saw a Rubix A-10 advertised at Fry’s I went for it. Let the adventure begin…
I managed to scramble the original Linaro 12.11 image furnished on NAND. As far as I can tell, I had insufficient power on the micro USB port even though I was using a powered hub with a 2A rating.
When I switched to 12V power, I got consistent results but the A-10 would not boot.
On request, the Rubix Service Team sent me a cryptic e-mail with a link to a replacement image on Dropbox.
Disclosure – I’m not a heavy duty Linux hacker.
Following a set of instructions I don’t understand, I managed to burn the replacement image onto a micro SD card and boot the A-10! Following more cryptic instructions and typing in mystery code, I managed to make the A-10 bootable from NAND. Victory! I was back where I started.
Plugging my A-10 into an Arduino clone, I found the pins didn’t fit. It might work on a genuine Arduino but not the Freeduino clone. I installed a set of double ended connectors and got everything working.
Unlike Galileo, the Rubix A-10 does not emulate the ATMEL 328, it just hosts the Arduino IDE. All it does is provide 5V power and a COMM port. With a few familiar keystrokes, I had BLINK running. WOW!
I couldn’t help but notice the Rubix A-10 has the same 26 pin connector as the original Raspberry pi. Is there a Raspberry pi distribution that runs on the A-10?
Conclusion: If you’re a heavy duty Lunux hacker and comfortable building custom distributions, the A-10 is a powerful but aging platform. There are certainly newer and more powerful SOC’s out there. The Linaro distribution is up to 15.3 (year and month) so the 12.11 image is getting a little tired.
If anyone has something newer or more exciting to do with a Rubix A-10 please let me know.
Richard
@Rubix-Arduino
Hi,
I recently purchased the Rubix-A10 product and I am having the same problem. After first time booting, I have a black screen with some lines of code. The first line says ” Kernel panel – not syncing: VFS: unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(93,3)”.
Please help me figure out this problem.
Regards,
M