FriendlyElec’s latest tiny computer is really tiny, measuring just about 1.6″ x 1.6″ (40mm x 40mm). The ZeroPi is also cheap, selling for just $13.
What you get for that price is a single-board computer with a 1.2 GHz Allwinner H3 quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 procesor, 512MB of RAM, Gigabit Ethernet, and a microSD card reader. It has a micro USB port for power and a USB 2.0 Type-A port for data.
What you don’t get is any sort of video output — the ZeroPi is meant to be used as a headless computer.
That means you can use it as a file server, or as the basis for other electronics projects.
FriendlyElec says the ZeroPi supports the Linux-based Ubuntu Core 16.04 and OpenWrt operating systems, and you can find more details about setting up the software at the ZeroPi Wiki.
As CNX-Software notes, this isn’t FriendlyElec’s first tiny computer in this form factor. The ZeroPi looks a lot like the NanoPi Neo, but the new model has faster Ethernet support, optional support for SPI flash, and lacks GPIO expansion headers.
While the ZeroPi is priced at $13, FriendlyElec also sells accessories including cases, heat sinks, power supplies, and microSD cards. There’s a $5 “metal combo” option that includes a heat sink and metal case, for example, or you can add a clear acrylic case to your order for just $1.
https://vocore.io/v2.html still better
meybe in future chinese create more open source (no blob security)
Might be a little TOO limited. No second network port so routing is out, no USB3 or PCIe so file serving is out, no GPIO so embedded control is limited to USB2 or the console port, no WiFi so no access point. No USB device or OTG mode on the MicroUSB port so can’t plug it to a PC as a dongle.
Good to see GigE as becoming the new baseline for these little boards.
Ever heard of a router on a stick?
There’s rpi zero if you need GPIO pins. Rpi also consumes less power as it is armv6 and clocked at slower speed. On top of that rpi zero costs only $5
Looks like an inexpensive pihole board. If it is fine with 500mA, it could be powered with one of the router’s usb ports.
If they can shrink the gigabit internet connectors like they did for usbC maybe they can get future versions down to compact flash form factor