BeagleBone Black, the next-generation offering from BeagleBoard.org, is a low-cost ($45), community-supported development platform for ARM Cortex-A8 processor developers and hobbyists. Its Sitara AM335x processor (from TI) enhances the user experience by enabling an advanced graphical user interface and more than 2x higher performance than ARM11-based solutions.
BeagleBone Black includes all the necessary components in the box to connect a display, keyboard and network. It boots Linux in under 10-seconds and according to its proponents you can get started on Sitara AM335x ARM Cortex-A8 processor development in less than 5 minutes with just a single USB cable.
BeagleBone Black ships with the Ångström Linux distribution in onboard FLASH to start evaluation and development. Other Linux distributions and operating systems are also supported on BeagleBone Black including: Ubuntu, Android and Fedora.
BeagleBone Black's capabilities can be extended using plug-in boards called “capes” that can be plugged into BeagleBone Black's two 46-pin dual-row expansion headers. Capes are available for, VGA, LCD, motor control, prototyping, battery power and other functionality.