14 DAY TRIAL // Some people think that HTPCs (home-theater personal computers) are small, and they are right from an objective point of view, but in comparison, there are some computers that put them to shame.
The Raspberry Pi ARM Linux computer, being as large as a credit card, is one example, perhaps the best if we were to think about it.
Now, Israeli company CompuLab has introduced another such miniature computer, although perhaps not quite as small.
Then again, given the fact that the newly Christened “Utilite” actually has a case, unlike the Raspberry Pi, that's understandable.
For those who want specifics, the Utilite measures 5.3 x 3.9 x 0.8 inches, or 134 x 99 x 20 mm.
A Freescale i.MX6 system-on-chip acts as a sort of heart for the PC, and this is where the first surprise shows up: user choice.
Unlike the Raspberry Pi, the new ARM-based Linux PC from CompuLab can have a single-core, dual-core or quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor with 3-8W TDP (thermal design power).
Regardless of the chosen SoC, 4 GB of DDR3 1066 MHz RAM (random access memory) are present, along with an SSD (solid-state drive) of 512 GB, plus a microSD card slot that allows for 128 GB more.
That's more NAND Flash storage than most normal desktops and laptops have, which is saying something.
Meanwhile, video capabilities are provided by a Graphics Processing Unit supporting OpenGL ES 1.1 and 2.0, OpenVG 1.1, and OpenCL EP. Multi-stream 1080p H.264, VC1, RV10, and DivX decoding is supported as well.
Links to monitors and TVs are established via HDMI 1.4 (1920 x 1200 at 60 Hz) and DVI-D (same).
Finally, the CompuLab Utilite boasts Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports, and Stereo audio jacks (line-out and line-in), plus four USB 2.0 ports, a USB OTG connector, two RS232 serial ports, and an ultra mini serial connector.