Microsoft now accepting pre-orders for Sharks Cove development board

Shawn Knight

Posts: 15,240   +192
Staff member

microsoft sharks cove windows arduino hobby board beaglebone black minnowboard rapsberry pi development board enthusiast board circuitco

Arduino, Raspberry Pi and similar hobby boards have proven incredibly successful among enthusiasts and educational institutions which is why Intel and Microsoft have joined forces to create a board of their own.

The two technology powerhouses collaborated with hardware maker CircuitCo (think MinnowBoard and BeagleBone Black) on a board called Sharks Cove. The board, compatible with both Android and Windows, is powered by an Intel Atom Z3735G quad-core processor clocked at 1.33GHz (up to 1.88GHz) with integrated graphics alongside 1GB of DDR3 memory and 16GB of onboard flash storage.

There's also a microSD card slot for expanded storage, HDMI, a MIPI connector, USB 2.0 and a micro-USB port for power. Ethernet and Wi-Fi are both missing so you'll need to add those yourself via USB if you desire.

While Microsoft's new board may be competitive in terms of performance, the same can't be said with regard to price. At $300 (which includes the hardware, a Windows 8.1 image and other utilities), it's far more expensive than the $35 Raspberry Pi B+.

Microsoft stands by the price, however, and claims it's best suited for the development of software and drivers for mobile devices that run Windows, such as phones, tablets and similar system on a chip (SoC) platforms. 

Those interested in Sharks Cove can pre-order the hardware as of writing through Mouser Electronics.

Permalink to story.

 
If you read the linked MS article you will find this isn't actually meant to compete with the Raspberry Pi or similar boards. It's meant to facilitate Windows driver develop and other things but it seems their intended audience is experienced developers not tinkerers or students.
 
Cool board I have wanted like a intel nuc with the quad core atoms from the tablets not the crap dual core celerons they have been putting in them, this is kinda close.
 
All I can say is for $300, I'm not interested. And the fact it comes with an image of Windows 8.1 makes it even less interesting for me. I'd rather spend the $300 on a Raspberry Pi out of spite.
 
All I can say is for $300, I'm not interested. And the fact it comes with an image of Windows 8.1 makes it even less interesting for me. I'd rather spend the $300 on a Raspberry Pi out of spite.

They have to be trolling to stick a 8.1 image on something like that.... and for $300... might as well get a decent system lol
 
Another product for no market - well done! :) Inventing one - I don't think so, not with this...
 
If you read the linked MS article you will find this isn't actually meant to compete with the Raspberry Pi or similar boards. It's meant to facilitate Windows driver develop and other things but it seems their intended audience is experienced developers not tinkerers or students.
experienced developers are using workstations and a wide variety of testing grounds not just one slow and small board...especially for DEVEOPMENT.
 
I dare say you can purchase a laptop with better specs for $300. Is this intended for commercial applications?
 
Back