14 DAY TRIAL // It really seems that single-board computers designed for specific, niche applications are getting more and more popular these days, since we've just come across yet another product of this type, the Nitrogen53, developed by Boundary Devices.
What makes this system so interesting is the fact that's been built around the Freescale Semiconductor i.MX535 processor, which makes it fairly low power, but also strong enough to carry out some rather OK computing tasks.
And that's because the ARM Cortex-A8 i.MX535 has a 2D/3D graphics accelerator, that, coupled with the 2GB of DDR2 RAM memory, helps the tiny computing solution attain a pretty good level of performance even when faced with some serious multimedia content.
And since we're on the topic of the system's hardware configuration, it's also interesting to note that the Nitrogen53 system also offers SATA support and two microSD card slots, for extra storage space, but also plenty of connectivity options, including here RS232 serial ports, I2C, four USB ports, as well as 10/100 Ethernet with Power over Ethernet option.
A 5 megapixel camera interface, as well as speaker and a microphone, plus a resistive touch controller have also been added to the mix, not to mention HDMI, LVDS, and TTL display solution interfaces.
Given its specific configuration (ARM-based platform), it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that this thing runs either the Android 2.3 or Linux operating systems, while WindowsCE 7.0 support is also expected to arrive soon.
"The i.MX53 delivers a high level of performance, flexibility and multimedia capabilities which makes it a perfect fit for the Nitrogen family of solutions," said Ken Obuszewski, director of i.MX product management, Freescale, adding that “we are proud to be working with innovators like Boundary Devices who continue to meet their customer's evolving requirements in the embedded and consumer space."
Sadly, no pricing details for this thing have been provided thus far, so if you're interested in a quotation, you'll most likely have to contact the company directly.