From media streaming centers to touch screen ‘magic’ mirrors, there are seemingly few things that the Raspberry Pi cannot do when put in capable hands. But in the case that you find yourself needing more power for all your DIY hacking sessions, look no further than….Asus?
Yes – the same Taiwanese makers of the ZenBook, the ZenPad, and the ZenFone have taken the rocky bush plane into hobbyist territory with the release of the Tinker Board; a direct albeit more powerful competitor to the latest top-of-the-line Raspberry Pi.
Featuring a quad-core 1.8GHz ARM Cortex-A17 CPU, 2GB LPDDR3 RAM, four USB 2.0 ports, support for gigabit LAN and Bluetooth 4.0, a 3.5mm audio jack, microSD slot, microUSB for power, swappable 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi antennas, and a HDMI 2.0 port with support for 4K video, the $68 Tinker Board is just about ready for anything you could throw at it – including a 4K streaming media center for all those HD episodes of Gilmore Girls you’ve been dying to check off your watchlist.
In comparison, the latest Raspberry Pi 3 Model B runs a 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A53, 1GB RAM, and HDMI 1.3. With this in mind, it’s clear that Asus has their targets set on hobbyists looking to set up their own smart home streaming media centers…or at least know that they have the capability to create one without making sacrifices.
To each their own! Stay updated on Tinker Board availability over at CPC UK.
