If you’re looking to put together an IoT device, or an electronics home project for cheap then you can get a souped-up 64-bit computer called ‘Orange Pi 2′ for as low as $2o. This is the first-ever 64-bit ARM model computer board that also packs in one of the cheapest and powerful quad-core processors on the market.
This single-board computer(SBC) comes packed with a quad-core A53 Allwinner H5 SoC, which features four 64-bit Cortex A53 cores and a powerful hexacore Mali-450 GPU for your graphic needs. This is coupled with 1 Gb of DDR3 RAM and onboard microSD slot which can be accessed using a TF card(up to 64GB) or a NOR flash(up to 128 GB).
The board is also lined with a handful of necessary ports, including an HDMI port, three USB 2.0 ports, a Gigabit ethernet port and a micro-USB OTG port on the coastlines. The board isn’t moving ahead of its time – unlike Apple, though it’s due — and also sports a 3.5mm headphone jack. The design and dimensions(85 x 55mm) of this Orange Pi PC 2 is very much similar to the first generation one. It weighs only a meager 70 gm.
In addition to the basics, Orange Pi 2 has an MIPI-CSI camera interface defines the basic connection between the camera and processor. It provides you with support for imaging solution for mobile devices. This compact but robust computer board also includes a physical power switch, an IR blaster and the 40-pin header compatible with the Raspberry Pi.
On the software front, this open-source SBC supports Android 4.4, Ubuntu, Debian, Rasberry Pi Image. You can even run the banana pi image on the same. This powerful mini computer is currently available for purchase via Chinese e-commerce website Aliexpress at $19.98.
The original Orange Pi board is also retailing for its usual $15 but if you’re looking for an even affordable option then you can pick up the Orange Pi Zero for as low as $7 only. The open-source Zero board also packs in quite similar specs along with a Wi-Fi module and Ethernet port.
