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allwinner A10 Cheaper Alternative to Raspberry Pi?

published December 17th, 2011 | categories: Hardware | all categories

allwinner A10 pcmcia module

The allwinner A10, produced by Rhombus Tech, aims to “serve Free Software Developers, entrepreneurs, enthusiasts and Engineers with access to affordable, modern and importantly GPL-compliant hardware.” The allwinner A10 has been developed and currently being sold in China at a cost of $7 (UPDATE: now $15 (May 2012)).

Features include:

1.5ghz Cortex A8 ARM Core
MALI400MP OpenGL ES 2.0 GPU
2160p Hardware-accelerated Video playback (4x the resolution of 1080p)
up to 1gb of DDR3 (800mhz) RAM
a NAND Flash Controller that is capable of 8-way concurrent DMA (8 NAND ICs) as well as supporting up to 500mhz DDR2 RAM
4 SDIO interfaces (SD 3.0, UHI class)
USB 2.0 Host as well as a 2nd USB-OTG Interface (USB-OTG can be reconfigured as USB 2.0 Host, automatically)
24-pin RGB/TTL as well as simultaneous HDMI out
SATA-II 3gb/sec
10/100 Ethernet (MII compatible)
a 2nd 24-pin RGB/TTL interface that is multiplexed (shared) on the same pins for a standard IDE (PATA) interface.
GPIO, I2C, PWM, Keyboard Matrix (8×8), built-in Resistive Touchscreen Controller, and much more.

While the allwinner A10 is certainly cheaper than the Raspberry Pi, I am uncertain whether the technology is as advanced. Maybe, I’ll pass this on to the Olympia Makers, Engineers, Geeks & Artists (OMEGA) Group and see if they have any input. When in doubt, refer to the experts!

You can read the latest news for the allwinner A10 at http://rhombus-tech.net/allwinner_a10/news/.

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allwinner A10 Cheaper Alternative to Raspberry Pi?

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