DietPi 9.7 and Armbian 24.8 released with improved support for Rockchip, Amlogic, and Allwinner SBCs

DietPi 9.7 Orange Pi 5 Plus

Armbian and DietPi are two separate projects that provide Linux-based OS images optimized for Arm-based single board computers. The last time we had a look at both projects was in June with the release of Armbian 24.5.1 and DietPi 9.4, but there have been several updates since then including the releases of the latest DietPi 9.7 and Armbian 24.8 Yelt just a few days ago. So let’s check out the latest changes. DietPi 9.7 DietPi is a lightweight Debian-based Linux distribution for SBCs and server systems that ships as a minimal image but users can install any packages they want, including the ones required for desktop environment, to match the requirements of the applications. It’s notably used by the Linamp project – a Raspberry Pi 4-based project that brings WinAMP to real life – that we covered a few weeks ago. DietPi 9.7 was released on August 25, 2024 with […]

GAOMON PD2200 pen display review – A 21.5-inch drawing tablet tested with Windows 11, Ubuntu 24.04, Krita software

GAOMON PD2200 pen Display review

Today, we’ll review the GAOMON PD2200 pen display, a 21.5-inch drawing tablet with 1920 x 1080 resolution, and an AP32 stylus with 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity. It allows you to draw and write in the same way as you would with a pen and paper. It can also be used as a standard HDMI monitor and is similar to the smaller, but higher resolution (2560 x 1440) HUION Kamvas Pro 16 (2.5K) we reviewed last April. HUION and GAOMON are different brands, but based on the shipping information, they may be made by the same company… Guangdong Gaomon Technology sent us a sample of the GAOMON PD2200 drawing tablet for review. We will test the device as an external display in Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04 and as a drawing tablet using the stylus with Krita open-source software that works fine in both Windows and Linux. GAOMON PD2200 Pen […]

NanoPi R3S – A low-cost Rockchip RK3566 SBC and dual gigabit Ethernet router

NanoPi R3S

FriendlyELEC NanoPi R3S is a low-cost Rockchip RK3566 SBC and router with two gigabit Ethernet ports, a USB 3.0 host ports, a USB-C port for power and data, a microSD card slot, Reset and Mask buttons, and a few LEDs.  It also features a MIPI DSI connector for people wanting to connect a display. Its design and size are similar to the NanoPi R5C dual 2.5GbE SBC and router, so it could be viewed as a low-cost alternative with dual GbE, no M.2 socket for WiFi & Bluetooth, only one USB 3.0 port, and no HDMI video output.  The company promotes it as an inexpensive platform for IoT applications, basic NAS solutions, and so on. NanoPi R3S specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G52 MP2 GPU NPU – 0.8 TOPS AI accelerator VPU 4Kp60 H.265/H.264/VP9 video decoder 1080p60 […]

Raspberry Pi 5 PCIe HAT+ board features gigabit Ethernet, 4G LTE (mini PCIe), two USB 3.2 ports

Waveshare PCIe TO MiniPCIe GbE USB3.2 HAT+

Waveshare has recently introduced the PCIe to MiniPCIe GbE USB3.2 HAT+ for Raspberry Pi 5 adding gigabit Ethernet, a mini PCIe socket for 4G LTE, and two USB 3.2 Gen1 ports to the popular Arm single board computer. The HAT+ is compatible with IM7600G-H-PCIE/EG25-G-mPCIe series 4G LTE modules with 4G/3G/2G global band and GNSS positioning. Additionally, it has a gigabit Ethernet with an onboard RJ45 port, two USB 3.2 Gen1 ports, an onboard power monitoring chip, and EEPROM. All these features make this HAT useful for applications such as industrial routers, home gateways, set-top boxes, industrial laptops, industrial PDAs, and much more. We have previously written about many different types of HATs for the Raspberry Pi 5 designed by Waveshare including the Waveshare UPS HAT (E), the Waveshare PoE HAT (G), the Waveshare PCIe to USB 3.2 HAT+, and many other products. Feel free to check those out if you […]

DC-ROMA RISC-V Pad II octa-core RISC-V tablet can be pre-ordered for $149 and up

DC-ROMA RISC-V Pad II tablet

DeepComputing DC-ROMA RISC-V Pad II is a 10.1-inch tablet based on the same SpacemIT K1 octa-core 64-bit RISC-V processor found in the DC-ROMA RISC-V Laptop II introduced a few months ago, as well as in the MILK-V Jupiter mini-ITX motherboard. The RISC-V tablet features up to 16GB LPDDR4, 128GB eMMC flash, a 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen display with 1920×1200 resolution, a 5MP rear camera, a 2MP webcam, a USB-C port for peripherals and/or an external display, and a 6,000 mAh battery. DC-ROMA RISC-V Pad II specifications: SoC – SpacemiT K1 CPU – 8-core X60 RISC-V processor @ up to 2.0 GHz GPU – Imagination IMG BXE-2-32 with support for OpenCL 3.0, OpenGL ES3.2, Vulkan 1.2 VPU – H.265, H.264, VP9, VP8 4K encoding/encoding NPU – 2.0 TOPS AI accelerator RVA 22 Profile RVV 1.0 compliant System Memory – 4GB, 8GB or 16GB LPDDR4 Storage 64GB or 128GB eMMC 5.1 flash MicroSD […]

ODROID-M2 low-profile SBC features Rockchip RK3588S2 SoC, up to 16GB LPDDR5, 128GB eMMC flash

ODROID-M2 SBC

Hardkernel has just launched the ODROID-M2 low-profile SBC based on a Rockchip RK3588S2 octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 AI SoC with up to 16GB LPDDR5, 64GB eMMC flash, an M.2 PCIe socket, support for three displays through HDMI, USB-C, and MIPI DSI interfaces, gigabit Ethernet, and more. The ODROID-M2 follows the ODROID-M1 and ODROID-M1S single board computers based on respectively Rockchip RK3568 and RK3566 quad-core Cortex-A55 processors, but a significantly more powerful Rockchip RK3588S2 processor, and a larger 90x90mm form factor to accomodate for extra features and interfaces. ODROID-M2 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588S2 CPU – Octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.3 GHz (+/- 0.1Ghz), 4x Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU @ 1 GHz compatible with OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.2, and Vulkan 1.2 APIs VPU – 8Kp60 video decoder for H.265/AVS2/VP9/H.264/AV1 codecs, 8Kp30 H.265/H.264 video encoder AI accelerator – 6 […]

Mekotronics R58-4×4 3S Arm PC and digital signage player features 3-inch display, 8K HDMI output, 4x HDMI inputs

Mekotronics R58-4x4 3S Arm PC

Mekotronics R58-4×4 3S is another Rockchip RK3588-based Arm PC and digital signage player from the company with unusual features such as a 3-inch display on the front panel as well as four HDMI inputs supporting up to 4Kp60 sources. The embedded PC features up to 16GB RAM and 128GB eMMC flash, an M.2 PCIe socket for NVMe storage, an 8Kp60-capable HDMI 2.1 video output port, gigabit Ethernet and WiFi 6 connectivity, a mini PCIe socket and NanoSIM card slot for a 4G LTE/GPS module, and more. Mekotronics R58-4×4 3S specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588 octa-core processor with CPU – 4x CortexA76  cores @ up to 2.4 GHz, 4x CortexA55 core @ 1.8 GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G610 MP4 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.2, Vulkan 1.2 Video decoder – 8Kp60 H.265, VP9, AVS2, 8Kp30 H.264 AVC/MVC, 4Kp60 AV1, 1080p60 MPEG-2/-1, VC-1, VP8 Video encoder – 8Kp30 H.265/H.264 […]

UP Squared 7100 Alder Lake-N fanless SBC ships with up to 16GB LPDDR5 and 128GB eMMC flash

UP Squared 7100

AAEON has just introduced the UP Squared 7100 fanless single board computer powered by Intel Processor N-series CPUs (N97 or N100 by default) with up to 16GB LPDDR5 and 128GB eMMC flash in a compact 90 x 85.6mm form factor. The SBC can drive up to three independent 4K displays at 60 Hz, features two RS232/422/485 interfaces, gigabit Ethernet, three USB 3.2 ports, and expansion options that include a 40-pin GPIO header, and two M.2 sockets for NVMe storage and WiFi/Bluetooth connectivity. UP Squared 7100 specifications: Alder Lake-N SoC (one or the other) Default options Intel Processor N100 quad-core processor up to 3.4 GHz with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD Graphics Gen 12 @ 750 MHz; TDP: 6W Intel Processor N97 quad-core processor up to 3.6 GHz with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD Graphics Gen 12 @ 1.2 GHz; TDP: 12W Additional options upon request Intel Core i3-N305 octa-core processor […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC