There is a reason why Raspberry Pi computers became so popular. They’re single-board computers that are inexpensive, low-power, and (mostly) easy to use. While many have sought to imitate the Pi model, none have come quite as close. Now, though, ASUS is launching a new single-board computer that, while not really a consumer product, is still evoking strong Raspberry Pi vibes nonetheless.
ASUS has just introduced the Tinker Board 3N, an ARM-based single board computer that, while not quite as small as a Raspberry Pi (which is roughly the size of a credit card), is still pretty small and has many connectivity options and ports to choose from. It comes with a respectable quad-core Rockchip RK3568 CPU and up to 8GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage — you also have the option to get one without storage. Despite being an ARM device, it’s surprisingly expandable, with two m.2 slots with different keying for Wi-Fi modules and SSDs, as well as a microSD card slot. Things like the RAM are soldered, but that’s basically commonplace with this kind of hardware. Upgradability isn’t really a big priority with these kinds of devices, and it’s harder to pull off with a single-board ARM architecture.
We mentioned that it’s bigger than a Raspberry Pi — it’s roughly 100mm by 100mm. It’s a fair bit smaller than Mini ITX motherboards, which are 170mm by 170mm, and doesn’t really fit into any ATX size standard. A Raspberry Pi will still be smaller and will therefore be more flexible for certain projects, but if you were to get one of these, you’d enjoy things such as the flexibility of having more I/O options, including an HDMI port, a USB-C port, and two Ethernet ports. As far as software does, ASUS says you’ll be able to load up Android 12 and Debian 11 on this board, and other Linux distributions might be installable as well.
ASUS has not confirmed pricing or availability for the new board in the United States. The company already sells the Tinker Edge T board on Amazon for $130, a much smaller model, so hopefully the new model will show up for sale sometime soon.
Source: ASUS
Via: Liliputing
