PINE A64 is a 'high-performance' Raspberry Pi challenger that starts at $15

[Shawn Knight]

It's incredible to think that just 15 years ago, the cheapest PC you could purchase would set you back at least $500 or so. Today, you can buy a reasonably capable computer for less than you might spend on tonight's dinner.

The latest entry in the surprisingly popular sub-$20 computer category is the PINE 64, a new offering from a startup by the same name that aims to deliver the world's most affordable 64-bit single board computer.

One could think of the PINE A64 as a smartphone without the phone. It's powered by a quad-core ARM Cortex A53 SoC clocked at 1.2GHz alongside a dual-core Mali 400 MP2 GPU. The board can be equipped with your choice of 512MB, 1GB or 2GB of DDR3 memory while storage needs are taken care of via microSD card slot (supports capacities of up to 256GB).

Connectivity-wise, PINE 64 includes two USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet jack, a 4K HDMI output, a 3.5mm audio / mic output and two I/O expansion buses. The more expensive PINE A64+ adds three additional ports for optional accessories like a camera or touch panel module.

The best part about PINE 64 is the price - it starts at just $15.

If you're interested in checking out the PINE 64, you'll need to head over to Kickstarter and back the project. The Pine 64 campaign has already blown past its initial goal of $31,416 with more than $80,000 pledged and 44 days remaining.

PINE 64 is expected to ship in February 2016.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/63087-pine-a64-high-performance-raspberry-pi-challenger-starts.html

 

[oldikes]

The thing about this is that raspberry pi already has its cult following and its hard to encourage everyone to leave that ecosystem. If (when) I have a use for one of these, I'd get a pi, simply because of how much support you can find for it.

 

[trparky]

Now if I can get one of these and get a version of Windows installed on it I can offload some of my external USB hard drives off onto this and share them onto my Windows File & Printer Sharing network.

 

[Uncle Al]

Hmmmmmm ..... I'm thinking I'm going to just wait for the movie version ......

 

[Uncle Al]

But honestly and seriously .... this is EXACTLY the sort of thing we need to put the gadgeteer back to work on some serious play in building and playing with your own computer. If it catches on it's going to have many shades of the old APPLE 1 & 2 series and if some other companies support it with easily understandable "stuff" that is compatible with it, the only thing missing will be peeks & pokes! HEY WOZ, are you paying attention to this? I'm ready to start a PINEvention club!

 

[SlimJimmy]

But honestly and seriously .... this is EXACTLY the sort of thing we need to put the gadgeteer back to work on some serious play in building and playing with your own computer. If it catches on it's going to have many shades of the old APPLE 1 & 2 series and if some other companies support it with easily understandable "stuff" that is compatible with it, the only thing missing will be peeks & pokes! HEY WOZ, are you paying attention to this? I'm ready to start a PINEvention club!

This is true. The good ole days of the Apple IIe with add-on cards like the Quikloader wich had a bunch of Eproms on it that you burned in your programs to load instantly. Peeks and pokes were fun. I always like to peek before I poke.

 

[pmshah]

Now if I can get one of these and get a version of Windows installed on it I can offload some of my external USB hard drives off onto this and share them onto my Windows File & Printer Sharing network.

I second that. I don't even need windows on it so long as it can handle NTFS drvies and reliably remain connected unlike anything that Intel or AMD has to offer.

 

[treetops]

You can always put a light weight linux or windows xp on it.