Orange Pi Zero single-board computer ships
The developer board includes a quad-core ARM processor and Wi-Fi, reveals Agam Shah
A new Raspberry Pi competitor called Orange Pi Zero has been launched. It can be used to make electronics or robots, or it can fill in as a file or media server. Such developer boards are also used to create and test industrial devices.
The computer is a competitor to the minuscule Raspberry Pi Zero, a stripped down version that sells for £4. However, the Orange Pi Zero has better hardware with a faster processor and Wi-Fi capabilities.
Don’t expect it to deliver booming performance or be a full-fledged PC replacement. If you’re looking for a powerful board computer, consider buying the £40 Raspberry Pi 3.
The Orange Pi Zero has a quad-core Allwinner ARM Cortex-A7 processor, which in recent years has been used to power low-end and mid-range smartphones and tablets. It also uses ARM’s Mali 400 MP2 graphics processor, which is capable of processing high-definition video. Shenzhen Xunlong, the developer of the board, claims it can handle H.265 4K video, but the board isn’t built for that. The Orange Pi Zero also doesn’t have a display out port. The tiny computer includes an SD card slot and 256MB of memory. A model with 512MB of memory ships for $8.99 (£TBC). In addition, it includes 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and ethernet networking capabilities. It also has expansion slots and pins to attach other boards and a USB 2.0 host port.