14 DAY TRIAL // UP Core is a Raspberry Pi rival that has already been funded on Kickstarter, and the parent company is planning to start selling the device in August for only $89.
The single board computer was developed from the very beginning to support the majority of popular operating systems out there, so it can run not only the full version of Windows 10 (with Win32 software support) but also Android, Ubuntu, and other Linux distros.
The board measures only 56.5 x 66 mm, so it’s extremely small, but still features hardware that’s even more powerful than on the Raspberry Pi.
Hardware specifications
For example, it runs on an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 processor that can reach 1.84 GHz in turbo mode. The CPU is paired with a maximum of 4GB DDR3L-1600 RAM and uses an Intel HD 400 Graphics GPU chip.
Buyers can get up to 64GB eMMC storage, as well as a series of connectors, including 1x HDMI, 1x full eDP, Audio via HDMI and I2S, 1x USB 3.0 Host, and 2x USB 2.0. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are also available.
There are also two expansion boards, namely Expansion board A [BRKH01] and Expansion board B [BRKL01], with the parent company explaining how they are going to work:
“Expansion board A carries high-speed signals such as PCI-express, GbLAN and USB3.0 whereas expansion board B exposes low-speed signals such as RS-232/422/484, I2C, I2S, and GPIO. You may choose either one of the two boards or stack both of them beneath UP Core. The high speed signal expansion board shall always be the first layer beneath UP Core if you intend to use up to 3 expansion boards.”
The board will go on sale in August and it can be used for a wide variety of activities, as the Kickstarter page states, including for rugged systems that can be used in any conditions. And given its small dimensions, the device can be carried around easily straight in a pocket.
