LattePanda development board based on Intel Atom x5-Z8300 “Cherry Trail” processor was launched nearly exactly two years ago on Kickstarter. The board also included an Atmel MCU for Arduino compatibility, and contrary to most development boards on the market, focused on Windows 10 support instead of Linux. The crowdfunding campaign was very successful having raised over 440,000 GBP from around 4,000 backers, and now you an still buy the board and accessories on DF Robot or Amazon.
The company is now back with not only one, but two new LattePanda “hackable computers”, namely LattePanda Alpha powered by an Intel Core m3-7Y30 dual core “Kaby Lake” processor, and LattePanda Delta based on Intel Celeron N4100 quad core Gemini Lake processor. This time beside offering Windows 10 Pro, they are also committed to support Linux.
Beside processor, memory capacity, and storage options, LattePanda Alpha/Delta boards share most of the same specifications:
- SoC
- Alpha – Intel Core m3-7Y30 dual core / quad thread Kaby Lake processor @ 1.6/2.6 GHz with Intel HD Graphics 615 @ 300/900 MHz; 4.5W TDP
- Delta – Intel Celeron N4100 quad core Gemini Lake processor @ 1.1/2.4 GHz with Intel UHD Graphics 600 @ 200/700 MHz; TBD TDP
- System Memory / Storage
- Alpha – 8GB LPDDR3-1866 dual-channel, 64GB eMMC 5.0 flash, 1x M.2 M-key slot for SATA or NVMe SSD, micro SD slot
- Delta – 4GB LPDDR4-2400 dual-channel, 32GB eMMC 5.0 flash, 1x M.2 B-key slot for SATA SSD, micro SD slot
- MCU – “Arduino Leonardo” compatible MCU, so it should be Microchip/Atmel ATmega32u4 AVR MCU
- Video Output & Display I/F – HDMI port, DisplayPort via USB-C port, eDP connector for external displays, touch panel
- Audio – Via HDMI, 3.5mm audio jack
- Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet,dual band 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2
- USB – 3x USB 3.0 type A port, 1x USB 3.0 type C port with support for PD (Power Delivery), DP (DisplayPort)
- Expansion
- 1x M.2 E-key slot with PCIe ×2, USB 2.0, I2C, SDIO, UART and PCM
- 2x 50-pin headers with I2C, I2S, USB, RS232, system control pin, Arduino pins, and EC (BIOS) pins
- Misc – RTC header, adjustable cooling fan header
- Power Supply – USB type C port or 12V DC via header
- Dimensions – 13.5mm thick
The design is similar to having a Windows 10 or Linux computer with an embedded Arduino board, so it might be convenient as an all-in-one Arduino development platform, or for project where you both need the processing power from an Intel processor, and the real-time and I/O capabilities of a micro-controller.
Both versions of the board are based on low power processors, but they still need to be cooled, so a large heatsink and/or a case with a fan can be provided.
Several variant of the boards will the available:
- Delta 432 with or without Windows 10 Pro, and optional 7″ touch display and “titan” case.
- Alpha 800 without eMMC flash
- Alpha 864 with 64GB eMMC flash, optional Windows 10 Pro, 7″ touch display and “titan” case
Just like the first boards, LattePanda Alpha & Delta have been launched on Kickstarter, with a funding target of 125,000 CAD (Canadian Dollars) equivalent to roughly $97,000 US. I’ll use the US dollar equivalent prices for the pledges which start at $129 for LattePanda Delta 432 board, and $269 for LattePanda Alpha 800 board. The complete Alpha 864 bundle with Windows 10 Pro and all accessories requires a $419 pledge. They also have rewards with 10 units. Shipping adds around $17 worldwide, and backers should expect to receive their rewards in May 2018.
LattePanda Alpha is the very first Gemini Lake hardware I’ve seen so far on Crowdfunding websites, and the price bodes well for upcoming Gemini Lake mini PCs which should not be that much more expensive than Apollo Lake ones.
Via Time4EE
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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In light of the handling of their other “maker” and embedded platform boards…PASS.
Speaking of Crowd funding, Indiegogo has had a few products burn fingers, allegedly, IMHO.
😮 so Gemini Lake will use Intel UHD 6xx variant? interesting…
And first I was thinking Gemini Lake will use same old HD 5xx graphics as Apollo Lake, well quite big boost to GPU side 😀
This is really great. You can finally do development using the same board. Windows 10, Eclipse / Netbeans / Atom IDE, continuous integration and testing containers, databases.. This also enables hardware oriented programming from the browser using normal React stack.
LattePanda Delta/Alpha are now up for pre-order on DFRobots website -> https://www.dfrobot.com/product-1719.html