Single-Board Computer (SBC)

A new project turns the Raspberry Pi into a completely portable PC with a display and a slide-out keyboard. Reminiscent of the HTC Dream, Sony VAIO UX or T-Mobile Sidekick, the MutantC_V2 also incorporates a built-in battery.

A community project has turned the Raspberry Pi into a surprisingly practical mini PC. Called the Piputer, the project integrates a battery, keyboard and display.

The Pimoroni PIM486 Enviro is an expansion board for the Raspberry Pi, which has numerous sensors and its own LCD monitor. The HAT ships worldwide.

Fancy turning your Raspberry Pi into an air quality detector with a GUI? Well, now you can with a new project. Utilising an MQ-135 air quality sensor, the project promises to deliver accurate readings, which can be interpreted with an onscreen GUI.

The Raspberry Pi 4 is a powerful SBC, but now you can add an NVMe drive to the Pi Foundation's latest device. Using the Realtek RTL9210 controller, an M.2 NVMe drive can be connected to a Raspberry Pi 4 via one of its USB 3.1 Type-A ports. Better yet, it costs less than US$25 to do.

A new project transforms the Raspberry Pi a doorbell with video functionality. The doorbell can be used as an intercom too. You can then use your phone to communicate with whoever is at your door.

Radxa has introduced new accessories for the Raspberry Pi and the Rock Pi. Designed for those looking to build a NAS on a budget, the Radxa SAT HAT allows you to connect up to four 3.5-inch drives to a Raspberry Pi simultaneously.

The Raspberry Pi 4 is the most powerful Raspberry Pi to date, with it packing enough reserves to be used for machine learning. Now, you can put the popular SBC to use for automatically detected objects using TensorFlow Lite.

With the Wio Terminal, Seeedstudio has created a particularly inexpensive single-board computer that is Arduino, MicroPython and Raspberry Pi-compatible. The Wio Terminal comes with a dedicated display, Bluetooth 5.0 LE and 5G Wi-Fi among other components.

The GHF51 from DFI is a new single-board computer powered by a Ryzen Embedded R1000 APU. Boasting a 12 Watt TDP and integrated Vega graphics, the GHF51 will likely be scores more powerful than the similarly-sized Raspberry Pi. All that power will likely come at a cost, though.

The extremely versatile Raspberry Pi can also serve as the basis for an inexpensive VR headset. The project actually put antiquated technology to good use, too.

The Raspberry Pi Camera Module is a popular accessory not only for the Raspberry Pi, but also for other single-board computers (SBCs). While the IMX219 is only capable of up to 8 MP, one person has found a way to use it to shoot in up to 1,000 FPS.

The French manufacturer Linutop has presented several new PC systems. Based on a Raspberry Pi 4 or an Intel Atom x5-Z8350, the Linutop XS3 and Linutop 6 should suit those looking for a new all-in-one mini PC. All run Linutop OS, a Xubuntu or Raspbian-based OS.

Billed as a simpler way to image your microSD card with Raspbian, the Raspberry Pi Imager is the Pi Foundation's new imaging utility. The Raspberry Pi Imager is available to download now for free on macOS, Windows and Ubuntu.

The Raspberry Pi 4 is pretty powerful by single-board computer (SBC) standards, but what if you could combine up to four of them into one super SBC? Well, IPTerra seems to think that is a good idea and has created the CloverPI for that purpose. Theoretically, the CloverPI is compatible with any SBC that has a 40-pin GPIO.

The Pimoroni Picade Console turns the Raspberry Pi into a particularly convincing retro console. The assembly should be particularly easy and is pretty inexpensive, too.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has decided to permanently drop the price of the 2 GB RAM version of the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B single-board computer to US$35. This means the board is now the same price as the 1 GB RAM variant, while the Raspberry Pi with 4 GB RAM costs US$55. The permanent price cut is apparently part of a birthday celebration.

EINK-DISP-103 is a new E-ink display that is not only suitable for single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi or NVIDIA Jetson Nano but also general computers too. The 10.3-inch display can be used in a variety of projects and is ideal for reading long texts with minimal eye fatigue.

The Odyssey X86 is a new single-board computer (SBC) that supports Windows 10 and is compatible with Grove. The SBC even accepts M.2 drives.

Compatible with several version of the Raspberry Pi, a project can transform the versatile single-board computer (SBC) into a 3D laser scanner. Better still, the project is fairly cheap to build.

With the Pimoroni Pirate Audio, you can now transform a Raspberry Pi into a media player with Spotify integration. The Pirate Audio integrates a headphone amplifier, a DAC, a 3.5 mm jack, a 1.3-inch IPS colour display and four physical buttons.

According to consistent reports, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has released a new version of the Raspberry Pi 4. The charity has tweaked the design of the board slightly, which should eliminate the problems that affected the original version.

Fancy making your Raspberry Pi into a NAS? Well, how about giving it a unique design too? If both tickle your fancy, then a new project posted on Hackaday.io is worth checking out. The flying saucer design event features a "cow abduction beam".

With the HyperPixel 4.0 Square, Pimoroni has developed a comparatively high-resolution display, especially for single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi. The model supports capacitive input too has a resolution of 720 x 720 pixels with a pixel density of 254 PPI.

With the PiNAS, you can put a Raspberry Pi to use as an inexpensive network-attached storage (NAS). The PiNAS can accommodate at least two drives and should be easy to configure.

With the Color TFT Bonnet, Adafruit has created an expansion board that can make a Raspberry Pi into a miniature handheld games console. The Bonnet features a 1.3-inch colour IPS panel, a joystick and two pushbuttons.

While porting Windows 10 to the Raspberry Pi 3 has proven troublesome, the situation with its successor is much better. There is still little productive use for Microsoft's latest OS on the Raspberry Pi 4 yet, though.

Two new accessories for the Raspberry Pi are providing even possibilities for the already popular single-board computer. The Gumstix Raspberry Pi Battery Pack, as its name implies, allows a Raspberry Pi to be run off two AA batteries, for example, while the MKR Module makes the board's GPIO ports safer to use.

With the HardROCK64, Pine64 has brought a new single-board computer (SBC) to the table to take on the Raspberry Pi. The new SBC features a 6-core processor, numerous connections, up to 4 GB of RAM and all for the princely sum of US$35.

The Sania Box is an embedded computer kit designed for the Raspberry Pi 3 and Raspberry Pi 4, specifically to develop STEM skills for children. The box comes with numerous components and is intended to make it easier for children to get into making projects with single-board computers.

Ntablet has announced its eponymous open-source tablet, a device that supports Android and Linux. The Ntablet can be connected to external sensors and actuators, while it even has a replaceable processor.

The LibreRouter is a new router based on OpenWrt and LibreMesh. The device should offer better configuration options than its peers, in part because it is an open-source project.

ASUS has officially unveiled its next single-board computer (SBC), the Tinker Edge T. The new model should convince SBC fans with its Google Edge TPU and could be used as an alternative to a Raspberry Pi.

NexDock has started shipping its NexDock 2 to Kickstarter backers. The device is a ‘dumb’ terminal for connecting to, and working, off the brains of smartphones and micro PCs like the Raspberry Pi.

NVIDIA has released a new version of the Jetson Nano, its powerful developer board. The new model variant comes with an additional connection, with NVIDIA making software improvements for the board too.

With the NanoPi R2S, FriendlyElec is building on the successes of its burgeoning NanoPi brand. The new single-board computer has two Ethernet ports and is based on a Rockchip SoC.

The 8-inch Raspberry Pi and Raspbian tablet is almost ready for mass production, according to its creators. The CutiePi project has not only finalised the board design, giving it a massive overhaul from initial designs, but also has published design files for the tablet should you wish to build the tablet yourself.

The LattePanda is now available to purchase worldwide. The powerful single-board computer (SBC) incorporates an Intel Celeron N4100 processor, 4 GB of LPDRR4 RAM and 32 GB of eMMC 5.0 flash storage. The SBC supports USB Power Delivery via Type-C, has two M.2 PCIe slots and has an Arduino co-processor on board, along with two 50-pin headers and three USB 3.0 ports. The LattePanda Delta 432 is compatible with Windows, Linux and other OSes and retails for US$188.00.

The Rock Pi X is like a cross between an Atomic Pi and a Raspberry Pi, but even more affordable. Radxa equips the 85 x 52 mm developer board with an Intel Atom x5-Z8300 processor, up to 4 GB of LPDDR3 RAM, along with a host of ports and connections including an HDMI 1.4 that can output in up to 4K. The Rock Pi X has a 40-pin Raspberry Pi compatible header too and supports several OSs including Android, Windows 10, Ubuntu 18.04 and other Linux distributions. The Rock Pi X will start at US$39 and rise to US$75 for the most expensive model.

The NanoPi M4V2, as its name suggests, is a new revision of the NanoPi M4, which FriendlyElec launched last year. The Rockchip RK3399 powered single-board computer (SBC) includes 4 GB of dual-channel LPDDR4 RAM, four USB 3.0 Type-A ports, one USB 2.0 Type-C ports and a 40-pin GPIO header. The board also supports Gigabit Ethernet and up to 802.11 ac Wi-Fi. The M4V2 includes power and recovery buttons too. The NanoPi M4V2 is available to order now for US$70.00 from FriendlyARM, which ships worldwide.

A dedicated modder has managed to create a working portable game console by utilizing the motherboard from a slimline PlayStation 2 in conjunction with the capabilities of a Raspberry Pi 2 single-board computer. Although it has taken a long time to build the device, the end product has been shown offering impressive results in a video shared on YouTube.

The tablet integrates an 8-inch touchscreen and is powered by a Compute Model 3 Lite carrier board coupled with 1 GB of RAM. It runs on a version of Raspbian specifically customized for touchscreen use and supports PIXEL apps through XWayland. There is support for USB-A and HDMI ports, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.

Shenzhen Xunlong Software is bringing a new, compact SBC to market. The Orange Pi Zero2 is slightly larger than its predecessor and more powerful to boot. The board comes with an Allwinner H6 SoC that integrates four ARM Cortex-A53 cores, 512 MB of LPDDR3 RAM, 4 GB of eMMC flash storage and a host of interfaces, while still weighing just 34 g. Pricing and availability are still unconfirmed but expect it to cost around US$20.

The Allwinner H2+ powered SBC runs Armbian's Debian and Ubuntu images and measures just 52 x 46 mm. The tiny board features 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Ethernet, up to 512 MB of RAM, USB 2.0 Type-A and a microSD card slot. There is a 26-pin unpopulated GPIO header too, along with a 13-pin header for headphone, USB 2.0, TV-out, microphone and IR signals. The Orange Pi Zero LTS currently costs between US$8.49 and US$10.49 depending on the version you buy and is available to order on AliExpress now.

Think of the Creoqode LYRA as a more affordable version of a Smach Z, GPD Win or GPD Win 2. The 5-inch handheld packs a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 Lite that integrates a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU and 1 GB of LPDDR2 SDRAM, giving it the power to emulate practically any retro games console. The Creoqode LYRA costs £149 (~US$186) and has already reached its funding goal on Kickstarter, with Creoqode aiming to ship to backers in December.

The internet celebrated the arrival of the Raspberry Pi 4 last month, with its more powerful SoC, USB Type-C port, dual 4K HDMI and up to 4 GB of RAM. However, a few issues are rearing their head, with the Pi Foundation being quick to shut one of the more concerning down.

The PanGu is an STMicroelectronics STM32MP1 powered single-board computer (SBC), which should offer good value for money for some developers. The board runs Debian Jesse and Yocto Linux and is available to order from Taobao for 499 RMB (~US$72.50).

The pi-top [4] allows you to code and program on the move thanks to its 5-hour internal battery life. The device comes with 14 electronic components including LEDs, buttons and programmable sensors, while it even works with an optional 2-in-1 screen and keyboard or an Advanced Vehicle Kit (AVK). The pi-top [4] is available to order on Kickstarter now for US$199 and will shop in November having already reached its US$100,000 funding goal.

Kali Linux is now compatible with the Raspberry Pi 4. Currently, the distro is only available as a 32-bit OS, but Offensive Security is planning on releasing a 64-bit version soon. In the meantime, security aficionados who have a spare Raspberry Pi 4 lying around can head over to the Kali Linux site and download the distro image.

Seeedstudio claims that the ICE Tower CPU Cooling Fan can reduce Raspberry Pi 4 core temperatures from 80 °C to 40 °C under load, which should eliminate thermal throttling. The ICE Tower is compatible with all previous RPi boards too and just requires 5 V power via a 40-pin GPIO. The ICE Tower is available to order now from Seeedstudio for US$19.90, which ships worldwide from July 19.