New Development Board: Pandaboard ES with TI OMAP4460
Somehow I’ve missed the announcement of the Pandaboard ES – a new version of the Pandaboard low cost development board – last month.
The Pandaboard ES is built around OMAP4460 processor running at 1.2 GHz with 1GB RAM and an SD/MMC card slot. It features onboard 10/100MBit Ethernet, Wifi, Bluetooth, several video output ports (HDMI, DVI-D, LCD Expansion and DSI), audio input/audio, several expansion ports (USB 2.0 OTG, USB 2.0 host, GPIO header, camera header..) and debug ports (JTAG, UART, 2 status LEDs, 1 GPIO button and sysboot switch).
Pandaboard ES
It has the same form factor as the original Pandaboard (114.3mm x 101.6mm) and weights 81.5g instead of 74g for the Pandaboard.
The cost is however slightly higher at 182 USD (recommended price) vs. 174 USD for the Pandaboard.
To help you choose which board is best for you, I’ve created a table comparing Pandaboard and Pandaboard ES specifications and features. The differences are highlighted in green.
| PandaBoard | PandaBoard ES | |
| Processor | OMAP4430 – 1GHz | OMAP4460 – 1.2GHz |
| Memory | 1 GB low power DDR2 RAM | 1 GB low power DDR2 RAM |
| Full size SD/MMC card cage with support for High-Speed & High-Capacity SD cards | Full size SD/MMC card cage with support for High-Speed & High-Capacity SD cards | |
| Display | HDMI v1.3 Connector (Type A) to drive HD displays | HDMI v1.3 Connector (Type A) to drive HD displays |
| DVI-D Connector (can drive a 2nd display, simultaneous display; requires HDMI to DVI-D adapter) | DVI-D Connector (can drive a 2nd display, simultaneous display; requires HDMI to DVI-D adapter) | |
| LCD expansion header | LCD expansion header | |
| DSI Support | ||
| Audio | 3.5″ Audio in/out | 3.5″ Audio in/out |
| HDMI Audio out | HDMI Audio out | |
| Stereo audio input support | ||
| Connectivity | Onboard 10/100 Ethernet | Onboard 10/100 Ethernet |
| 802.11 b/g/n (based on WiLink™ 6.0) | 802.11 b/g/n (based on WiLink™ 6.0) | |
| Bluetooth® v2.1 + EDR (based on WiLink™ 6.0). | Bluetooth® v2.1 + EDR (based on WiLink™ 6.0). | |
| Bluetooth Low Energy Capable. | ||
| Expansion | 1x USB 2.0 High-Speed On-the-go port | 1x USB 2.0 High-Speed On-the-go port |
| 2x USB 2.0 High-Speed host ports | 2x USB 2.0 High-Speed host ports | |
| General purpose expansion header (I2C, GPMC, USB, MMC, DSS, ETM) | General purpose expansion header (I2C, GPMC, USB, MMC, DSS, ETM) | |
| Camera expansion header | Camera expansion header | |
| LCD signal expansion using a single set of resistor banks | ||
| Debug | JTAG | JTAG |
| UART/RS-232 | UART/RS-232 | |
| 2 status LEDs (configurable) | 2 status LEDs (configurable) | |
| 1 GPIO Button | 1 GPIO Button | |
| Sysboot switch available on board | ||
| Dimensions | 114.3 mm x 101.6mm | 114.3 mm x 101.6mm |
| Weight | 74 grams | 81.5 grams |
| Price | 174 USD | 182 USD |
As with the Beagleboard (and Beaglebone), the hardware and mechanical designs files are available:
- Board user manual
- Schematics: PDF, DSN
- Gerbers
- Bill of Material (BOM)
- Stackup file
- Autocad DXF
- Board FAB files
For more information and learn how you can buy it, visit the official Pandaboard ES page.
