PocketBeagle is based on Octavo Systems OSD3358-SM 21mm x 21mm system-in-package, which gives it 512MB DDR3 RAM, 1-GHz ARM Cortex-A8 CPU, and 2x 200-MHz PRUs. It comes with integrated power/battery management as well.
Talking about the dimensions, PocketBeagle measures 56x35x5mm. This small size makes it flexible enough for electronic projects like gaming, drones, 3D printing, robotics, etc.
PocketBeagle comes with 72 expansion pin headers with power and battery I/Os, USB, 8 analog inputs, 44 digital I/Os and digital interface peripherals.
You don’t get onboard WiFi or Ethernet port, but you can plug the board into a PC as a USB key-fold, according to Linuxgizmos. The board runs Debian GNU/Linux, and it can run any BeagleBone Black software that doesn’t need any unavailable expansion pins.
If you’re an educator, PocketBeagle can turn out to a good investment as it doesn’t need the installation of tools to get started. One can simply develop right from the browser, where a Linux terminal and the text editor can be accessed. In case something goes wrong, one can easily reset to factory settings.
This development board uses a simple and open source hardware design, thanks to a well-documented processor. The board ships with EAGLE and KiCAD files.
Available for $25, PocketBeagle can be bought via this link.
