Vocore2 Lite is a $4 Linux MIPS WiFi Module based on Mediatek MT7688AN SoC (Crowdfunding)

I’ve already written about Vocore v2 Crowdfunding campaign, where the second generation Vocore WiFi module supports audio, PoE, and ultimate dock, and price starting at $12. But there has been some development since the launch of the campaign, as the developer received request for a cheaper board, and after looking into it, has now added Vocore2 Lite WiFi module reward for only $4, or $7 once shipping included.

He obviously had to make some trade-offs to bring the cost down, but the Lite board impressively still keep many of the same features.

	VoCore (2014)	VoCore2 Lite (2016)	VoCore2 (2016)
Price	19.99 USD	3.99 USD	11.99 USD
CPU	RT5350, 360MHz	MT7688AN MIPS24KEc @ 580MHz	MT7628AN, 580MHz
Memory	32MB SDRAM	64MB DDR2	128MB DDR2
Storage	16MB NOR	8MB NOR	16MB NOR
Antenna Slot	x1	x1	x2
On-Board ANTENNA	√	×	√
Wireless Speed	~75Mbps	~150Mbps	~300Mbps
Ethernet Port	x5	x1 / x5	x1 / x5
Ethernet Speed	100Mbps	100Mbps	100Mbps
SPI Master	√	√	√
SPI Slave	√	√	√
SPI DMA	×	√	√
USB 2.0 Host	√	√	√
USB 2.0 OTG	√	×	×
PCIe 1.1	×	×	√
SD Support	SPI	√	√
GPIO	> 30**	>=40	>= 40
UART	x2	x3	x3
PWM	–	x2	x2
Power Consumption	138mA	74mA	74mA

Compared to Vocore2, Vocore2 Lite has a cheaper Mediatek MT7688N MIPS processor, which is already used in board such as Mediatek LinkIt 7688, Onion Omega2, and Widora-NEO, less memory and storage, WiFi is limited to 150 Mbps and an external antenna is required, and the PCIe 1.1 interface is gone. The dimensions appear to be the same, so the dock should be compatible too, provided PCIe is not needed. Software support will be the same with OpenWrt/LEDE Linux distribution.

If you are interested, you can pledge $7 for Vocore2 Lite on the Indiegogo page with delivery planned for January 2017. There aren’t any pledge combining Vocore2 Lite with a dock so far.

Thanks to Freire for the tip.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

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.