LILYGO T-Deck

ESP32-S3 board features 2.8-inch display, Blackberry-like keyboard, and optional LoRaWAN connectivity

LILYGO T-Deck is a development kit with an ESP32-S3 WiFi and BLE module, a 2.8-inch display with touchscreen support, a Blackberry-like keyboard based on ESP32-S3, and optional LoRaWAN connectivity through an SX1262 LoRa module. It looks ideal for text-based messaging, but the devkit also includes two microphones and a speaker so audio communication must be possible. Other features include a MicroSD card slot, a Grove connector (UART) for expansion, and support for a LiPo battery with USB charging. LILYGO T-Deck specifications: ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 wireless module SoC –  ESP32-S3FN16R8 dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ up to 240 MHz with 2.4 GHz 802.11n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB SPI flash PCB antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot Display – 2.8-inch IPS display with 320×240 resolution; ST7789 SPI display controller Audio – Built-in speaker using MAX98357A amplifier, 2x MEMS microphones Wireless 2.4 GHz 802.11n WiFi […]

Banana Pi BPI WiFi 6 board

$26 WiFi 6 router board features Triductor TR6560 & TR5220 chips

Banana Pi BPI-Wifi 6 is an ultra-low-cost WiFi 6 router board with five Gigabit Ethernet ports based on Triductor Technology TR6560 dual-core Cortex-A9 router SoC and TR5220 WiFi 6 chipset and that sells for just $26.32 plus shipping on Aliexpress, or $39.99 as part of a kit with the board, four antennas, and a 12V power supply. The board is equipped with 512MB RAM and a 128MB SPI flash for OpenWrt, comes with four antenna connectors for WiFi, and can also take an optional 12V PoE module for power instead of relying on a 12V power adapter via a DC jack. Banana Pi BPI-WiFi 6 board specifications: SoC – Triductor TR6560 dual-core Arm Cortex-A9 processor @ 1.2 GHz with LSW (Line-Card Switching) and hardware NAT up to 5 Gbps WiFi chipset – Triductor TR5220 WiFi 6 chipset System Memory – 512 MB DDR3 Storage – 128MB SPI NAND flash Networking […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM
64-core RISC-V motherboard

64-core RISC-V motherboard and workstation enable native RISC-V development (Crowdfunding)

There’s now a microATX motherboard and workstation for native RISC-V development based on the SOPHON SG2042 64-core RISC-V C920 processor with up to 128GB DDR4 memory, various SATA and M.2 NVMe interfaces for storage, three PCIe x16 slot for expansion and more. I remember a few years ago, there was a lot of talk about making a workstation for native Arm development instead of relying on x86 machines, cross-compilation, and emulation. So we got hardware like the HoneyComb LX2K, Ampere eMAG, and more recently the ADLINK Ampere Altra Dev Kit to achieve this goal. The RISC-V ecosystem is now getting something similar thanks to the Milk-V Pioneer microATX motherboard and the Pioneer Box that provides a complete 64-core RISC-V workstation with DIMM memory, SATA and NVMe storage, a graphics card, 10GbE networking, a 350W power supply, and more. Pioneer board specifications: SoC – Sophgo SOPHON SG2042 64-core RISC-V processor (T-Head […]

ANAVI Arrows ANAVI Macro Pad 12

ANAVI launches CircuitPython-programmable Macro Pad 12 & Arrows mechanical keyboards (Crowdfunding)

ANAVI Technology has launched two more open-source hardware mechanical keyboards based on the Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller, equipped with an OLED display, and programmable with CircuitPython: the ANAVI Macro Pad 12 with 12 keys and the ANAVI Arrows with four keys and a rotatory encoder. The new mechanical keyboards follow ANAVI Macro Pad 10 & Knobs input devices equipped with the same Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 MCU module running the KMK firmware written with CircuitPython, but with different form factors and features. ANAVI Macro Pad 12 specifications: MCU module – Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 with Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ up to 133 Mhz with 264KB SRAM, 2MB SPI flash, USB Type-C port Keys – 12x Gateron red, linear, non-clicky mechanical switches and transparent keycaps with yellow LED backlighting Display – OLED display connected to I2C slot (can be replaced with another I2C module) Host interface – USB […]

Toshiba MH3 Group 2 microcontroller

Toshiba “MH3 Group (2)” Arm Cortex-M3 MCU supports firmware updates without interrupting operation

Toshiba “MH3 Group (2)” Arm Cortex-M3 microcontrollers come with a 1MB flash memory partitioned into two 512KB partitions to enable firmware updates without interrupting microcontroller operation using an area swap function to rotate to the new firmware seamlessly. The new M3H Group (2) builds upon the M3H Group(1) by expanding the code flash memory up to 1MB, and the RAM capacity from 66KB to 130KB. Both are part of the “TXZ+ Family Advanced Class” manufactured with a 40nm process, and equipped with a 120 MHz Arm Cortex-M3 core as well as various interface and motor control options such as UART, I2C, Advanced Encoder Input Circuit, and Advanced Programmable Motor Control Circuit. Toshiba MH3 Group 2 key features and specifications: CPU core – Arm Cortex-M3  @ 120 MHz with memory protection unit (MPU) Internal oscillator – 10MHz (+/-1%) Internal memory Code flash memory – 512KB to 1024KB (program/erase cycles: up to […]

Arduino UNO R4 WiFi

Arduino UNO R4 Minima and WiFi boards launched for $20 and $27.50

Arduino UNO R4 Minima and WiFi boards powered by a Renesas RA4M1 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller and equipped with an optional ESP32-S3 WiFI & BLE module are now available for respectively $20 (18 Euros) and $27.50 (25 Euros) on the Arduino store. The Arduino UNO R4 Renesas RA4M1 board was initially unveiled during Arduino Day with most details, but not everything as the company had hidden one part of the board which we now know is for a 12×8 LED matrix and a Qwiic connector for expansion present on the UNO R4 WiFi only. Arduino UNO R4 specifications: Microcontroller – Renesas RA4M1 Arm Cortex-M4F MCU @ 48 MHz with 32KB SRAM, 256KB flash Wireless (Arduino UNO R4 WiFi only) – ESP32-S3-MINI-1 module based on ESP32-S3 dual-core Xtensa LX7 microcontroller with 512KB SRAM, 384KB ROM, WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, PCB antenna Display (UNO R4 WiFi only) –  12×8 LED […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
Olimex ESP32-C6-EVB

Olimex ESP32-C6-EVB supports WiFi 6, BLE, Zigbee, comes with four relays, four opto-isolated inputs

Olimex ESP32-C6-EVB is an open-source hardware board based on an ESP32-C6 wireless module with 2.4 GHz WiFi 6, Bluetooth LE, and Zigbee connectivity, and offering four relays and four opto-isolated inputs, as well as further expansion via two UEXT connector. So far we had a limited amount of third-party ESP32-C6 boards, with Espressif making their own module and development board available in January, and 01Space launching a tiny ESP32-C6 board in April, a time when a lot of software work was still needed.  But the ESP-IDF v5.1 with ESP32-C6 support is nearing release (now RC2), and the Olimex board may mark the start of greater availability of ESP32-C6 hardware with stable/usable firmware. ESP32-C6-EVB specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-C6-WROOM-1-N4 module with Espressif Systems ESP32-C6 single core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ 160 MHz with 2.4 GHz WiFi 6 1T1R with Target Wake Time (TWT) support, Bluetooth LE 5.0, and 802.15.4 radio for […]

ASUS ExpertCenter PN42

ASUS ExpertCenter PN42 mini PC with Intel Processor N100 launched for $220 and up

We’ve covered several Intel Processor N100 mini PC, mostly from smaller Chinese companies with models such as the Morefine M9, the ZX01 Plus/Topton M6S, or the Beelink EQ12 which we reviewed with Windows 11, TrueNAS, pfSense, Ubuntu, etc… But if you prefer to rely on more established brands, the MSI Cubi N ADL is an option for $289 on Amazon with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage, or the ASUS ExpertCenter PN42 fanless Intel N100 mini PC which is now listed for pre-order on B&H for $220 and up. ASUS ExperCenter PN42 specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics; TDP: 6W System Memory – Up to 16GB single-channel DDR4 3200MHz memory via one SO-DIMM socket Storage – 1x M.2 22080 PCIe 3.0 x4 socket for NVMe SSD Video Output HDMI DisplayPort 1.4 up to 4Kp60 […]

Boardcon LGA3576 Rockchip RK3576 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications