New ARM-based ODROID-X microPC development board inbound
updated 06:51 am EDT, Fri July 13, 2012
Quad-core ODROID-X offers hackers new microPC toy
Following in the footsteps of the popular $35 Raspberry Pi ARM-based Linux hacker home theatre microPC, Hardkernel is about to ship the ODROID-X for $129 at the end of July. For the price differential, users will get access to substantially more powerful hardware, not least of which is the 1.4GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos 4412 processor featured in the Galaxy S III. As the video embedded below shows, the it will also offer users a solid gaming experience in the vein of the OUYA Android gaming console that recently took Kickstarter by storm.
The un-encased development board also packs in a microHDMI port (1080p-capable), an SD card slot, 6x USB 2.0 ports, a LAN 10/100 port, a UART Console Port, and a microUSB port. Although hackable, it also runs Android 4.04 Ice Cream Sandwich straight out of the box with the source code made available for download following the first shipment. Available memory is 1GB, which should give users plenty of headroom to run Ubuntu 12.04 among other distros.
The OUYA gaming console, by comparison, will ship with a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM as well as 8GB of internal storage and a game controller. Both promise to be hackable and both have their respective advantages and disadvantages - the main difference is that the ODROID-X is going to be shipping very soon. [via Geek]
