Computers

Asus muscles in on DIY computing space with the Tinker Board

Asus muscles in on DIY computing space with the Tinker Board
The Asus Tinker Board offers more processing grunt than the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and includes more system memory
The Asus Tinker Board offers more processing grunt than the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and includes more system memory
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The Asus Tinker Board retails for $54.99
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The Asus Tinker Board retails for $54.99
The Asus Tinker Board offers more processing grunt than the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and includes more system memory
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The Asus Tinker Board offers more processing grunt than the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and includes more system memory
Asus is aiming its Tinker Board squarely at the maker, hobbyist, educator or circuit board scientist
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Asus is aiming its Tinker Board squarely at the maker, hobbyist, educator or circuit board scientist
The Asus Tinker Board features a 40-pin GPIO interface header for sensors, switches motors and so on, a 15-pin MIPI DSI for connecting a small display or touchscreen and a 15-pin MIPI CSI for cameras
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The Asus Tinker Board features a 40-pin GPIO interface header for sensors, switches motors and so on, a 15-pin MIPI DSI for connecting a small display or touchscreen and a 15-pin MIPI CSI for cameras
Top down view of the Asus Tinker Board
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Top down view of the Asus Tinker Board
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Originally leaked in January, Asus has announced US availability for its Raspberry Pi challenger – the Tinker Board. The single board computer boasts a quad-core processor supported by 2 GB of system memory, UHD video playback and Hi-Res audio support, and a Bluetooth/Wi-Fi double act. It does cost slightly more than a Pi though.

Asus has been churning out top notch motherboards for desktop computers and laptops for many years now, so it's hardly a shock to find the company taking aim at the maker, hobbyist, educator or circuit board scientist with the Tinker Board.

The roughly credit card-sized mini computer starts the gauntlet throwing with a 1.8 GHz RK3288 quad-core system-on-a-chip processor and 2 GB of LPDDR3 system memory, which bests the Pi 3 Model B in both spec for spec comparisons. The Asus board also rocks a Mali-T764 GPU and promises 4K video playback support at up to 30 Hz (including H.264/H.265 decoding).

And, where you will likely have to attach a separate audio module to the Pi in order to enjoy high quality audio, Asus says that its 85.6 x 56 x 21 mm (3.37 x 2.2 x 0.8 in) Tinker Board is capable of supporting files up to 24-bit/192 kHz resolution out of the box.

Asus is aiming its Tinker Board squarely at the maker, hobbyist, educator or circuit board scientist
Asus is aiming its Tinker Board squarely at the maker, hobbyist, educator or circuit board scientist

Elsewhere it appears to be much of a muchness. The Tinker Board offers four USB 2.0 ports, a HDMI 1.4 port and 3.5 mm audio jack. It has a 40-pin GPIO interface header for sensors, switches motors and so on, a 15-pin MIPI DSI for connecting a small display or touchscreen and a 15-pin MIPI CSI for cameras. The board is powered via micro-USB, though Asus doesn't provide an adapter so makers will need to source their own 5 V/2.5 A supply.

There's Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, plus gigabit Ethernet and a microSD slot for the OS and storage. The board runs on a Linux-based TinkerOS and, which is based on the latest Debian 9 core and includes an optimized Chromium web browser and TinkerOS media player. Android support is also on the to-do list (currently in beta).

The Tinker Board is available in the US from today for a suggested retail price of US$54.99. The video below shows what's on offer.

Source: Asus

ASUS Tinkerboard Component Overview

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