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The company behind the Orange Pi range of devices have been cranking out Raspberry Pi alternatives for years, mostly focused on small, low-cost single-board computers. Now the company has unveiled its answer to the Raspberry Pi 400 computer-in-a-keyboard.

At first glance, the Orange Pi 800 looks like a wired keyboard. But it’s a full-fledged computer with a processor, memory, storage, wireless capabilities, and I/O ports. All you need to add is a display. First announced in June, the Orange Pi 800 is now available from AliExpress for $108 (plus an extra $20 for shipping to the US).

You can also save a few bucks by picking up a $99 model that ships without the 5V/4A power adapter if you already have your own compatible charger.

Under the hood, the Orange Pi 800 features a Rockchip RK3399 processor, which is a 6-core chip with two ARM Cortex-A72 CPU cores and four Cortex-A53 cores and Mali-T860 graphics. It’s a processor that’s been around for six years at this point, which is both a strength and weakness.

On the one hand there are certainly higher-performance processors available these days. On the other hand, companies have been using the RK3399 chip for low-cost Chromebooks and Linux laptops and phones for years, so there’s a pretty robust software ecosystem available.

Orange Pi says its upcoming computer-in-a-keyboard will support Chromium OS (the open source version of Google’s Chrome OS) as well as a new Orange Pi OS that’s based on Arch Linux.

Other features include:

  • 4GB LPDDR4 memory
  • 64GB eMMC flash storage
  • 1 x HDMI 2.0 port
  • 1 x VGA port
  • 1 x 3.5mm mic/headphone jack
  • 1 x Gigabit Ethernet port
  • 2 x USB 3.0 Type-A ports
  • 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A port
  • 1 x USB Type-C port (for power only)
  • 1 x microSD card reader
  • WiFi 5
  • Bluetooth 5.0 LTE
  • Built-in speaker
  • 26-pin GPIO header

The keyboard features 78 keys and has a few status indicator LED lights. The whole thing measures 286 x 122 x 22mm (11.3″ x 4.8″ x 0.9″) and weighs 385 grams (14 ounces).

Pricing and availability details haven’t been announced yet, but given the hardware, and that it’s meant to compete with a device that has a list price of $70, I wouldn’t expect the Orange Pi 800 to be particularly expensive.

via CNX Software (1)(2) and Orange Pi (English), (Chinese)

This article was first published June 4, 2022 and most recently updated September 24, 2022. 

 

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38 replies on “Orange Pi 800 is a computer-in-a-keyboard with an RK3399 processor”

  1. I like this idea. But is the WiFi 5 adapter compatible with my choice of Linux distros out of the box with no hassles? Plugging in the Gigabit Ethernet to search or missing Wifi drivers is not an option for me. I don’t want to be stuck only using the factory Linux distro.

    1. That’s a fair point. I suspect that any Linux distro that has support for the RK3399 is likely going to work, but you’d have to check.

  2. In UK I can buy a refurbished, 3 months warranty, chrome laptop for less.
    So not sold on these Orange Pi

    1. Yeah but that’s ChromeOS. Seriously? This OrangePi can run Linux, Android AND ChromeOS(but why would you want to?). Far more versatile and You have a choice of OS. Just throwing it out there..

      1. ” Run a full-fledged version of the Linux operating system on your Chromebook, opening up a whole world of possibilities on what is essentially a low-budget machine.

        Before installing Ubuntu on your Chromebook, you first need to enable Developer Mode. ”

        Chromebook can ru n Linux’s

        ” Install and use Android apps on your Chromebook
        You can download Android apps from the Google Play Store app and use them on your Chromebook.

        Currently, the Google Play Store is available for only some Chromebooks. Learn which Chromebooks support Android apps.

        Important: If you use your Chromebook at work or school, you might not be able to add the Google Play Store or download Android apps. For more information, contact your administrator. ”

        Chromebooks can run Android apps.

        The Chromebooks are faster and portable.

        1. You are not moving the goal posts here, nor are you understanding the context involved. You are comparing Chromebook portable devices to this system that is DESIGNED to be a desktop system. Additionally, ChromeOS can run SOME Android apps, not all. In fact the ratio is less than 50%. Android runs ALL of them. So no, ChromeOS is NOT an appealing option. It’s there, but not the preferred option.

      1. This device is not a laptop. It is an all-in-one desktop system designed for use on a desktop with a large display monitor or TV. Whether or not it will run Fedora is up for debate..

  3. finally, the foundation is opening up to other systems.
    we are waiting for the haiku 😉 hurd and OpenVMS

    hopefully, as it’s an old processor, there will be no blobs and the bios will also be open source

  4. All you need to add is a display.

    And a mouse.

    But the USB 2.0 port is on the left side 😀

    1. They could or should have placed a trackpad on the right side. Similar to the Logitech K400. And yes moved some ports around.

      Would make it a more interesting device to own and use. And perhaps they can upgrade the chipset later on to something like the RockChip R3588, and have the community play with various OS options (AndroidOS, ChromeOS, Debian, Fedora, Arch).

      1. Would it be that difficult to get Android running on this? And since it runs Chromium (open sources Chrome OS) wouldn’t it be able to run Android Apps like Chrome OS can? Forgive my ignorance, I’m not familiar with devices like this. Thought it might make a cool little computer to have hooked on the writing desk by the front door (probably connected to a small, slim-beveled monitor) as it would sip power compared to a cheap Optiplex or something.

      1. Yes, it’s a desktop. And if you have a computer that runs a full OS and runs for months on a battery, I’d like to know about it. We don’t have that level of efficiency in computers where I live.

  5. I like the form-factor and specs are good for the rumored target price, but the OS choices need serious improvement. Android and Ubuntu(or Mint) are excellent options, especially Android(WITH Google Services)!

    It otherwise looks solid and promising!

  6. Pi 400 has 4 GB RAM. I expected that the Pi 800 would have 8 GB RAM. And arch is not for everyone.

    1. 🙂 If this were from Raspberry Pi, that would even be technically feasible! Sadly, with Rockchip RK3399, 4GB RAM is the maximum that’s possible.

        1. I think you’re being way too overbearing calling that “spouting disinformation” with the vague implied threats that usually has these days. A mistake like that in this context isn’t a matter of life and death. No political or legal decision hangs on Peter saying the wrong figure for maximum supported RAM on a CPU.
          Just to be really sure of myself, since you’re overly concerned about people not saying things that are wrong, the word “disinformation” means something like deliberately and surreptitiously spread lies presented as facts. Who would be doing that about CPU memory capacity?
          Then I found this datasheet here which actually says that the rk3399 has a maximum address space of 4gB. So he’s not even wrong.

          1. You need to read a little closer. Page 9, section 1.2.4 clearly states that each memory channel can support 2 ranks and each rank has a 4GB physical address limit. Now let’s do the short math: 2 x 2 x 4 = 16. This means that the total PHYSICAL address space is 16GB. However, in that same section it also states that the 4GB address space per rank is “software configurable” which means that PAE can be used and configured in firmware and that the configurable memory space can exceed the physical limit. If you’re going to cite materials to support your argument, make you understand those materials and technical specifications they describe so you don’t disprove your own argument with said citation.

            Any questions?

          2. It also says right before that “Support up to 2 ranks (chip selects) for each channel; totally 4GB(max) address
            space”. I’m interpreting that to mean “you can use a single 4GB chip, but it’ll only use one rank in one channel and take up all available address space” so one could get better performance using 2 2GB chips or 4 1GB chips but that would take up more physical space on the board. This website, while not as authoritative, appears to agree with that idea.

            How about you try and find a product using an rk3399 using more than 4GB of memory. As far as I can tell, they don’t exist.

    1. I like that the keyboard you linked includes the German Eszett character. But what is the umbrella character for?

      1. please look at many services email have @ but twitter? mastodon
        many languages like c++ or rust is encrypted text because we have to small chars on keyboard

  7. This form factor is old school. I’d rather just keep the keyboard separate so you can have whatever keyboard you prefer.

  8. I’m actually surprised it took them this long to copy the Pi400. The headphone port is nice, that’s the only complaint I have with the 400. Kind of a missed opportunity for Orange Pi, I imagined they’d do a case that just lets you to hook up one of their already existing SBCs through the GPIO with a passthrough.

  9. Well, at least it has a proper HDMI port instead of the RPi 400’s obnoxious micro-HDMI (albeit two of them). But VGA in 2022?

    1. You’d be surprised how many people still need and/or use VGA.

    1. That’s the price for a kit that includes a mouse, sd card, and cables. The list price for the Raspberry Pi 400 itself is $70, it’s just not often I’m stock as a standalone device.

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