Utilite concept render. Micro-PC set to fill a niche void..Ubuntu on the big screen. (via Compulab)
Micro-PCs have flooded the market as of late and include offerings from Raspberry Pi, FXI Technologies Cotton Candy (PC-on-a-stick) and Texas Instrument’s BeagleBoard, among a host of others. Those boards are great for all intents and purposes but they do not really offer a ‘desk top’ like experience of their distant relatives. This is not the case when it comes to Compulab’s upcoming release of their new Utilite series of desktop PCs. The difference between Compulab’s offerings and other single-board computers is the upgrade availability the company offers through its product line-up. Typical microcomputers usually come with one option only and relatively no upgrade path whatsoever, not to mention they often use a scaled down version of an operating system normally found on mobile devices or PCs. These include Windows 8, iOS, Android and Linux (to name a few), which can all be found on SBCs either natively or through modding the SDK, but on a reduced level without all the bells and whistles. This is because most of those boards do not have the required hardware specs to run a full-on OS, which is usually dependent on a certain amount of RAM and a dedicated amount of storage for the OS itself.
Compulab is able to get around that issue to run either the Ubuntu or Android operating systems as it packs an impressive array of hardware. Housed inside of Utilite’s 5.3 X 3.9 X 0.8-inch case is the option to run a Freescale i.MX6 Cortex-A9 MPCore processor (available in single, double or quad-core depending on the model) running up to 1.2GHz. Users can have up to 4 GB of DDR3 RAM to help run any application/s they may need as well as up to 512MB of mSATA SSD storage to house them on with ultra-quick access when needed. Those needing additional storage can take advantage of the box’s Micro SD SDXC slot with up to an additional 128 GB of removable storage. The onboard GPU (unknown as to which manufacturer) supports multiple OpenGL APIs and is capable of pumping out various video options including 1080p H.264, VC1, RV10 and DivX HW. It has two video out ports with the main port using HDMI 1.4 for the primary and DVI-D for the secondary with both capable of resolutions of up to 1920 X 1080, which is great considering processing is done with an onboard GPU instead of a discrete card. Utilite is outfitted with a host of additional ports including two Ethernet ports, Audio line in/out, 4 USB 2.0 and 1 micro-USB ports and even 2 serial ports for connecting a wide range of devices.. The best part about Compulab’s Utilite desktop PC is that the price starts out at only $99 US, which may seem a little high when compared to other micro-PCs on the market but few pack the hardware housed in the tiny box. The Utilite is set to be released in August at some point, so those looking to grab one can follow Utilite on Twitter or Google+ for more information.
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