The tiny SODIMM-factor TRITON-TX51 requires a baseboard to break out the connectivity, but this can be shrunk via a design service.
If you're always on the lookout for the smallest computing system possible - and the newly-unveiled
Mobile-ITX form factor is still a little bulky for your tastes - check out Direct Insight's TRITON-TX51.
As revealed over on
Linux for Devices - via
SlashGear - the TRITON-TX51 is a an entire computer crammed into a PCB the size of a stick of laptop RAM - just 6.85cm x 2.54cm.
In this SODIMM sized footprint you get an ARM Cortex A8 processor running at 800MHz, 128MB of DDR400 RAM with another 128MB of NAND flash memory, support for a pair of SDIO cards for additional hardware, a touchscreen controller which can output and drive displays of up to 1,280 x 768 at a 24-bit colour depth along with PAL and NTSC video output, a 10/100 Ethernet controller, USB 2.0 On-The-Go and host support, and I2C, SPI, I2S, 1-Wire, and PWM interfaces.
Video support isn't exactly lacking either, with the teeny-tiny system featuring a PowerVR graphics engine which supports both OpenGL ES 2.0 3D rendering and 720p MPEG-4/h.264 hardware accelerated playback - and even manages to cram in support for a CMOS camera device.
Of course, in order to use the functionality of the system a much larger daughterboard is required to hold the outputs in a similar manner to VIA's Mobile-ITX form factor, but Direct Insight promises to offer a baseboard design service that will allow OEMs to shrink the footprint to the smallest possible while still retaining the outputs required for their implementation.
Designed primarily for video processing systems, the TRITON-TX51 is expected to launch in January for €150 with full compatibility for Windows CE 6.0 and Linux kernel 2.6 and above.
Does the thought of such a tiny little system with so much power get your modding juices flowing, or is the lack of x86 compatibility a problem? Share your thoughts over
in the forums.
19 Comments
Discuss in the forums ReplyWhat can be done with this thing? It's too slow for a media center, can't run windows, etc.
@docodine
I don't know what you'd use it for. potentially something like an awesome phone of sorts?
If you read the text on this web page of text... you would have noticed the text which said this was revealed on 'Linux for devices'
The moral of the story is... you really should read text, when you are interacting with a medium which uses text to convey information.
seems to be a new "feature" since CPC is on board
i would love to see this board in a handset
so i could just swap my handsets cpu for a faster one after a year
i wait to see usb ports on handsets like the latest linux power n900
I'm thinking torrent box within an existing computer case :p
LOL... Demot please!!
According to the picture, it does actually seem to SO-DIMM based, for connection between the daughterboard and motherboard.
Yes,
How long before we see a computer running Fedora or CE built into an action man or a 1:43 scale model car ? ...that'd be a neat mutimedia presentation platform actually...
Yes but it also stated " full compatibility for Windows CE 6.0" Whether it was revealed on Linux for Devices or not, this product is NOT Linux exclusive. Which is a positive as it would be a shame to limit this device to just Linux.
I wonder if this will be the case...
Anyway, the design isn't new:
- http://www.emtrion.de/hicodimm7723_en.php
- http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/1667198-module-dimm-lpc3250-arm9-somdimm-lpc3250.html
- http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/1667196-module-dimm-lpc2478-arm7-somdimm-lpc2478.html
Perhaps the key is exposure, on websites like this. For UK buyers, availability is also relevant!
Doesn't say that either and your point is?