VIA announces 2 new Nano based EPIA boards

VIA has announced two new EPIA branded boards which will feature VIA Nano processors. The boards are designed for commerical multimedia applications like digital signage, ticketing and information kiosks.

The VIA EPIA-M800 is a Mini-ITX board and it's available with a 1.6GHz Nano processor or a fanless 1.2GHz version.

"The latest display technologies are supported via a front panel DVI port with pin-headers for an additional DVI or HDMI port through a daughterboard. Support for 18-bit TTL signal output as well as a digital video input is available through pin headers supporting CCIR–656/601/ transport stream video. An S/PDIF connector is also supported.

Storage includes both an IDE port with a shared Compact Flash port, 2 SATA II ports and up to 6 USB 2.0 ports, two through onboard connectors. Connectivity comes in the form of dual Gigabit LAN ports on the high speed PCI-Express bus. The VIA EPIA-M800 can withstand a wide temperature range from 0-60°C. "

The VIA EPIA-N800 is the smaller Nano-ITX, with a 1.3GHz Nano processor. All models use the VIA VX800 media system processor.

"Aimed at compact digital display and signage applications the VIA EPIA-N800 offers VGA and a multi-configuration, 24-bit, dual channel LVDS transmitter, enabling display connection to embedded panels. As well as two onboard SATA connectors, expansion options include a Mini-PCI slot, with additional COM and USB ports and PS/2 support available through pin-headers. The DRAM slot has been relocated to the bottom side of the board for easy access and maintenance from system design perspective."

VIA announces VN1000 - news south bridge creeps in as well

All the focus was on the the north bridge of the new VN1000 chipset, even though it features a new VIA south bridge as well, the VT8261. VIA hasn't launched a new south bridge for four years. But it's true to say that the north bridge is more exciting anyway.

The VN1000 features DirectX 10.1 support which means that it can have a swanky new Windows 7 drivers called a Windows Desktop Drivers Model 1.1, instead of the older type of WDDM driver. So things will look really pretty in Windows 7 with the VN1000. Are you already getting a desktop theme? Unlike most other chipsets and single chip solutions that VIA has released over the last few years, the VN1000 is a return to old stomping ground for VIA, as it's targetted at desktops - and more specifically, a new wave of all-in-one desktops. The specs sound nice for a notebook but VIA's suggestion is to pair the chipset with a VIA Nano 3000 series processor for a desktop solution.

"Offering a feature-rich specification with significant emphasis on graphics and HD video playback, the VIA VN1000 features the VIA Chrome 520 IGP, combining a DirectX 10.1 graphics engine, with support for Shader Model 4, OpenGL 3.0 graphics and OpenCL 1.0 for next-generation GPGPU applications."

VIA's characteristic power angle is still there, "Paired with the new VIA VT8261 south bridge, the VIA VN1000 represents the most power-efficient DX10.1 compliant digital media chipset on the market, consuming up to 12 watts for both north and south bridges, making it a perfect choice for Windows 7 based mini desktop and all-in-one desktop PCs designs. "

The VN1000 also offers "DDR3 system memory at speeds of up to 1066MHz, one x8 lane and four x1 lane PCI Express II expansion slots, up to five PCI slots and a VIA Vinyl HD 8 channel audio codec. An IDE controller, support for up to four S-ATA II drives, SD/MMS/MMC card reader support and 12 USB 2.0 ports are supplemented with support for PS/2, SPI, GPIO and LPC technologies."

Now, what about that new south bridge? Compared to the older VT8251 it offers 12 instead of 8 USB 2.0 ports; the Ultra V-link is increased from 16Bits to 1GB/s, memory card reader is built in and so is gigabit Ethernet.

Lovely tiny wooden PC with built in LCD

Jeffrey Stephenson has been making wooden mods with VIA integrated boards for almost a decade. I've seen designs from him using humidors, clocks and old radios. Often times his designs are inspired by old devices but not actually made out of them. Instead he crafts the wood himself - and that's what he's done here. This one is "inspired from the mantle clock design of Bayard, a French clockmaker."

The Pico Bayard looks like a fancy digital photo frame but it is in fact a complete PC. The article doesn't say what type of board it is but I'm betting on a Pico-ITX model.

"It is a shade taller than your can of coca cola, and houses a 1GHz VIA C7 processor, along with 1GB DDR2 memory."

Now tell me, what other type of hardware can be used for this type of mod other than VIA's?!

Mobile-ITX for embedded use

VIA has announced a new integrated form factor and you guessed it, it's smaller than the last. Mini-ITX was the first VIA embedded platform, launched in 2001. Then came Nano-ITX, perhaps the least sucessful. This was then followed by Pico-ITX which has enjoyed a lot of success in the embedded market. The new Mobile-ITX is half the size of Pico-ITX.

Mobile-ITX first surfaced during the Computex trade show in June 2007. Back then it was not the 6 x 6cm square that was launched yesterday. It was literally about the same size as a business card. It was also being pitched as a future platform for ultra-mobile devices where as now the Mobile-ITX, despite still having "Mobile" in its name, is being pitched for embedded applications, espcially medical and military applications.

The Mobile-ITX design as it stands now is actually quite different from the original. It has two parts instead of one, but it offers more features.

"Mobile-ITX employs a modularized design that includes a CPU module card and an I/O carrier board. This offers greater flexibility for developers who can simply drop in the CPU module to a custom designed, application specific carrier board, negating lengthy developmental design and testing phases.

CPU modules based on the Mobile-ITX form factor integrate core CPU, chipset and memory functionality and I/O that includes the CRT, DVP and TTL display support, HD Audio, IDE, USB 2.0, as well as PCI Express, SMBus, GPIO, LPC, SDIO and PS2 signals, through customizable baseboards. In keeping with VIA’s signature low power philosophy, Mobile-ITX-based modules consume as little as 5 watts, ideal for always-on, mission critical systems.

This comprehensive range of advanced technologies can be implemented on a variety of Mobile-ITX compatible carrier board designs that can be adapted to suit almost any environment, or application specific criteria. The CPU module I/O signals are mapped to two unique high density, low profile connectors on the under side of the module, with a distance between the CPU module and the baseboard of only 3mm, making it ideal for ultra-slim system designs. The connectors can also withstand vibrations of up to 5Gs making Mobile-ITX systems suitable for in-vehicle and industrial machining applications."

Other platforms that VIA has launched in the past held some allure for most tech-heads who could imagine using the small boards in cool designs. The Mobile-ITX is more complex to use than simply being a small integrated motherboard. This product will excite embedded developers, however, who now suddenly have the features they are accustomed to working with, but using half the real estate they've had to deal with in the past.