Last year SinoVoIP introduced Banana BPI-P2 Zero board powered by Allwinner H2+ processor with 512MB, 10/100M Ethernet with Power-over-Ethernet, WiFi & Bluetooth, a mini HDMI port, and an 8 GB eMMC flash. They also launched a lower cost version without eMMC flash nor wireless module for $16, and the optional PoE module going for $6 extra.
The company is now selling the board at a promotional price of $13 without PoE, and $19 with RT9600 POE module. The shipping fee is not included in those prices however, and in my case, the prices end up at respectively about $25 and $31 with shipping.
Banana Pi BPI-P2 Maker specifications:
- SoC – Allwinner H2+ quad-core Arm Cortex A7 processor with Mali-400MP GPU.
- System Memory – 512MB DDR3 SDRAM.
- Storage – microSD card slot
- Video Output – mini HDMI port
- Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet with optional PoE support
- Camera I/F – Parallel CSI (Camera Sensor Interface) camera interface, aka DVP (Digital Video Port)
- USB – 1x USB OTG port
- Expansion – 40-pin GPIO header with UART, SPI, I2C, etc…
- Debugging – 3-pin UART header for serial console access
- Misc – Reset and power keys
- Power Supply
- 5V/2A via micro USB port
- Optional Power-over-Ethernet (PoE)
- Dimensions – 65 x 52.5mm
The board is suitable for projects where a single Ethernet cable is desirable for data and power, and the parallel CSI connector makes it ideal for surveillance cameras.
Documentation and software resources can be found in BPI-P2 Zero Wiki. Ubuntu 16.04 and Android 4.4 firmware images are provided for the board. SinoVoIP keeps with the time tested tradition of making IP cameras as insecure as possible, since the images are based on Linux 3.4, which should leave several years of security vulnerabilities allowing potential hackers easier access your device. In all fairness, Linux 4.14 is also being worked on for the Ubuntu 16.04 image, but camera support is still under development according to the features map, so if the information is correct you’d be stuck with Linux 3.14 for projects leveraging the CSI interface.
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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