We featured quite a handful of Raspberry Pi-powered projects here and until now, it seems like the words “Raspberry Pi-powered” are going to be on the lips of many makers and hobbyists. Well, not quite, if ASUS can help it. ASUS has officially enter into the maker space, a lively community where tinkerers, hobbyists need the piece of electronics to get their projects going. Officially known as Tinker Board, this credit card-sized Raspberry Pi challenger features an ARM SoC boasting a quadcore 1.8 GHz processor with heatsink, a Mali T764 GPU that supports HD and UHD playback, 2GB Dual Channel LPDDR3 RAM, and a SD 3.0 microSD slot for OS/storage.
Other features include onboard 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0, Gigabit Ethernet port, four USB 2.0 ports, micro USB connection for power (supply not included), HDMI output, 3.5mm audio out and microphone, support for 192K/24-bit HD audio, and an onboard Ipex header for hooking to antenna, if required. And we almost forgot. It also comes with a 15-pin ZIF MIPI-CSI for cameras and a 15-pin ZIF MIPI-DSI header that supports display or touchscreen, and finally, there’s the color-coded 40-pin header for any sensors, switches, motors you may want to hook up.
Basically, ASUS has taken its know-how in making mainboard and applied it to this tiny board. Speaking of which, ASUS expertise can be seen in the attention to details like applying clear, silkscreened labelling on the board. It is nice touch, especially to those who are fairly new to tinkering with any board. ASUS Tinker Board is available as we speak, priced at $54.99.
Images: ASUS.
