Ntablet: A tablet that comes with an interchangeable processor and that should also appeal to Raspberry Pi hobbyists

Single-board computers (SBCs) like the Raspberry Pi appeal to people of all technical expertise, whether that be developers or hobbyists. However, most SBCs require an external display of some kind to perform or set up many tasks, which makes them difficult to tinker with while travelling, for example.

Ntablet has sought to change that by introducing its eponymous tablet, an open-source project that combines an SBC, battery, camera, display and speakers into one unit. The Ntablet has a 7.-inch IPS touchscreen display that has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200, but you can output to an external display via the unit's built-in micro HDMI port.

At the heart of the Ntablet is a Rockchip RK3288. The SoC integrates four ARM Cortex-A17 cores that clock up to 1.8 GHz, along with an ARM Mali-T760 GPU. The company has complemented the SoC with 2 GB of LPDDR3 RAM too.

Moreover, there is 16 GB of built-in storage, but this can be expanded via a microSD card should you need more. Additionally, there is a USB 2.0 Type-A port and a micro USB port that also supports OTG. There is 802.11 ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 onboard too.

There is also a front-facing camera, as is the case with most tablets, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Distinguishing it from other tablets is its 20 GPIO pins, which allows the Ntablet to be connected to I2C, UART and SPI connections, among others. Finally, a 4,800 mAh battery powers the tablet.

The Ntablet supports Linux and Android are supported. The device is currently available to order on Kickstarter for CA$299. Ntablet estimates that it will start delivering units to backers from next month, but it has not indicated any general availability and retail pricing.