VIA ARMTiGO may be appealing to home enthusiasts but the market is in automation

The VIA ARMTiGO A800 is the world's smallest ARM based computer and although it has obvious appeal for HTPCs and having a small PC in the kitchen or kid's room, the real market is in embedded applications, argues Softpedia.

"Small really does mean small when it comes to health care technology, digital signage, surveillance and other embedded applications.

Client organizations can hide the system anywhere they wish, even behind a monitor, or just leave it on the wall for everyone to see, provided they have a VESA mount (7.5 cm x 7.5 cm / 2.95 x 2.95 inches)." 

A Paper PC - sort of

APC, a subsidiary so far as I know of VIA's, has released a complete little PC that is reminiscent of the first case mods done by enthusiasts with Mini-ITX boards. The tiny PC, measuring 204 x 98 x 28mm (W x H x D), looks like a book but inside is actually a VIA WonderMedia board loaded with Android 4.0. Dubbed the Paper PC, it will cost you $99 and can be pre-ordered in March.

Which one is the Paper PC?

This is a classy and clever way to present this pocket rocket to enthusiasts. It's a design that sleek and able to be customized by creating your own book cover.

"Documents or books can be piled up on top of the computer, or it can be placed on a bookshelf. It’s a computer that you could sandwich between a variety of objects."

Item	Description
Model	Paper
Software	Android 4.0 (PC System)
Chip	VIA ARM Cortex-A9 @800Mhz Processor
Memory	DDR3 512MB Memory 4GB NAND Flash
Graphics	Built-in 2D/3D Graphic Resolution up to 1080p
Input and Output	HDMI USB 2.0 (x2) microUSB (OTG) Audio out / Mic in microSD Slot
Network	10/100 Ethernet
Debug	20-pin ARM-JTAG header
Expansion	Extra GPIO, SPI and I2C busses on a header
Size	204 x 98 x 28mm (W x H x D)
Case	Recycled pressed cardboard with high-grade aluminum

VIA's latest EPIA board offers Quad core & 3D

VIA last week launched a new Pico-ITX board which features two stand-out features that have not been seen before in this form factor:

1) The VIA QuadCore E-Series processor
2) DirectX 11 support, for richer textures as well as 3D stereoscopic display

Here's some more information about the specs of this little powder keg known as the EPIA-P910:

• Compact 10cm x 7.2cm Pico-ITX form factor
• High-performance 64-bit VIA QuadCore E-Series processor
• Latest VIA VX11H media system processor with DirectX11 support
• Flawless 3D and HD video performance up to 1080p
• Supports 2 USB 3.0 and 6 USB 2.0 ports
• HDMI, VGA and one single-channel 24-bit LVDS support
• Supports high-bandwidth DDR3 1333MHz memory, up to 8GB
• Support for two SATA
• HD audio support
• Supports digital I/O

VIA APC gets unboxed

Wondering what it would be like to get a VIA APC in the mail? Take a look:

The story behind the APC

Richard Brown, VP of Marketing at VIA, talks on TED TV about the development of computing and computer manufacturing in Greater China, and how 'the bicycle for your mind' came to be:

VIA based HP thin client "intuitive"

The HP t510 is set up to be an umanaged thin client .... so reliable that it doesn't need to be maintained.
Featuring a "duo-core VIA Eden 1Ghz processor, 2GB memory, Via ChromotionHD 2.0 graphics adapter, gigabit LAN and optional 802.11/a/b/g/n WiFi adapter" it takes only 22 seconds to boot and 2 to shut down.

"Overall the HP Smart Zero operating system looks very good, its intuitive and well designed. Being “HDX Ready” and capable of client-side rendering of multimedia content makes it an interesting thin client. The out-of-the-box experience (OOBE) is very good and is similar to what the unmanaged HP Zero Clients can expect." - Source

DIY computer enthusiasts will flock to APC

When VIA's $49 APC went on sale for pre-orders, it sold out in less than 24 hours. Indicating that supply is not that far away, VIA have launched technical documentation and a forum where hobbyists and developers can discuss their APC projects.

This is like a tailor-made computing DIY platform. VIA is not new to this game, with the Mini-ITX having been adopted by case modders as the platform of choice some 10 years ago. Perhaps by setting up their own forum and website, VIA hopes to retain the development to their own site, and I must say, they have done a cracking job on their presentation and the enthusiast language used.

Here's what has been added to the APC Library:

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Kernel and Bootloader
• Board 2D/3D (DXF and STP)
• APC System Software (firmware image for re-installing)

VIA's Android trend continues with display system

VIA's APC, the $49 little pocket rocket which sold out last week, was the company's first foray into the Android space. Now they're taking the OS to a new segment with the VIA ARM DS, an all-in-one display system.

The ARM Cortex A9 SoC system is 18cm x 12cm x 2.5cm and it's adaptable for use as kiosks, POS systems, video walls, and menu boards to TVOIP, cloud streaming, and Out of Home Advertising. Like many of VIA's products it's set up as a development kit, with software development and support being provided by VIA. That makes it highly customisable.

More information here.

Just add RAM, storage and power

At USD$89 the new VIA VE-900 Mini-ITX board is an alluringly inexpensive way to build a PC that is well set up for multimedia use. BIOSLEVEL.com have reviewed the new board with pleasing results.

"I'm not sure I've ever seen a Via chip outperform a competitor from Intel, but the VE-900's 1.4GHz Nano X2 processor accomplishes this without breaking a sweat or needing overclocked. Paired with 8GB of RAM, I found the performance from the VE-900 to rival that of desktop systems from only a few years ago, all while using a fraction of the power."

With the right packaging and marketing an astute start-up could revitalise the desktop market with and affordable small form factor PC based on the VE-900.

A long time coming. HP finally endorses low power CPUs for datacenters

The benefits of low power processors has been a story that VIA has been promoting for at least a decade. If you're running a gaming rig then sure, invest in the fastest processor you can afford, but it's long been the case that business have been forking out money on processors that exceed the speed requirements of the user. This is particularly true when it comes to hosting, servers and data centers.

HP have now gone so far as to endorse ARM processors for hyper-scale datacenters. I wonder if VIA's Wondermedia can get on board with these projects? [Source: FT.com]

VIA appoints Simmtronics as distributor/manufacturer

VIA is teaming up with Simmtronics who will "assemble a full range of low-power, highly-integrated pc-1 motherboards in its advanced manufacturing facility in Roorkee, Uttaranchal, India, and distribute the products through its channel partners in India and other markets, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Dubai, UAE, Turkey, Iraq, Algeria, and Ghana."

This is therefore much more than a simple distributor agreement, with Simmtronics actually manufacturing VIA products in India, rather than shipping completed systems into the country.

VIA to release quad core Nanos by the end of next year

VIA's Nano processors are single core at the moment, they should be dual core by the end of the year and apparently they'll be quad core by the end of next year. When VIA released its monthly sales figures for August, the Press Release unsually included a few tid bits about future plans.
A VN11 chipset with DirectX support with support the new quad cores, providing more juice to the embedded computing space than ever before.
VIA's focus will still be on low power and I'd suggest the new chips will be aimed at enterprise level storage and server solutions and not at your next desktop.
Source: Thing.co.uk

Logitec and VIA team up on NAS security

VIA's processors have had integrated security encryption at a hardware level for many years. The technology really is industry leading. Dell has taken advantage of it before in some cloud server products but it's good to see a consumer level product being launched that brings data encrytion to NAS.

Logitec will launch some NAS products that use VIA's in-built security, including AES disk encryption. VIA's Press Release highlights how closely Logitec and VIA's ACE-CNX team have been working together to build the new NAS designs.

“At Logitec we strive to employ the very latest security features across our range of data storage products,” said Tsugio Shimizu, General Manager, Business Solution Department, Logitec Corp. “Through working closely with the VIA ACE-CNX team we can now unlock the potential of VIA’s unique processor platforms, bringing seamless data encryption to our advanced NAS products.”

The new designs are being shown off at ESEC in Japan this week. There is no word on when they'll hit the market.

EPIA-M830: Getting to the specifics

VIA's EPIA range of motherboards are getting more and more targetted lately. Embedded computing is such a speciality field and VIA are pumping out Mini-ITX boards that meet the criteria for explicit uses, in this case POS, kiosk and POI applications.

"The VIA EPIA-M830 is designed to take the kiosk to this next phase, providing the backbone of devices that offer cashless purchasing and self service infrastructures in supermarkets and gas stations as well as more secure and interactive, multimedia-rich POI, lotto and gaming machines."

VIA are clearly thinking about the future here, although they must also be responding to demand. Somewhere out there are embedded developers dreaming up designs for embedded computers that will enhance our visit to the zoo, or streamline the process of getting a ticket for the train. I just hope they're a little bit smarter than the auto-checkout at Woolworths! - VIA

New VIPRO are HMI app ready

VIA, as you probably know, put their embedded motherboards into products, not only for sale under their own brands but also as an example to others to show what they can be used for. The VIPRO series of panel PCs have been around for a while now. I think I even saw one in a display at Computex with water gushing down it once!
This latest series are being pitched as future-proofed products. They are fanless and touchscreen - nothing new there, but they also have "an integrated two megapixel autofocus IP camera, microphone and speakers. These features make the VIA VIPRO series perfectly placed for next generation panel applications that include hospital patient terminals, home and building automation and advanced multimedia-rich security ecosystems."
I suppose that panel PCs with touch panel interfaces that control access to information and control over building functions like heating, lighting and security, are inevitable. I hadn't heard the term HMI or Human Machine Interface before this Press Release but a quick Google check shows that I am behind the times. HMI is a term used to define human and machine interface but according to Wikipedia it's "The user interface of a mechanical system, a vehicle or an industrial installation is sometimes referred to as the human-machine interface (HMI)."