Bangalore-based Mistral Software has started shipping a Linux-based development kit for TI's ARM11-based SoC (system-on-chip). The OMAP2430 Starter Kit (OSK) targets wireless application development, and includes a 2.6.19 Linux kernel, open-source bootloader, JFFS2… filesystem, and NFS-mounted root filesystem.

Mistral announced the OSK at the Embedded Systems Conference trade show in San Jose, Calif. earlier this year. The company completed production of the first set of boards in August, it says, and has now commenced shipping to customers.

The OSK is built on a 4.25 x 7-inch SBC (single-board computer) powered by an OMAP2430 application processor — one of the first shipping chips to use TI's ARM11-based OMAP-2 architecture. Target applications include wired and wireless devices, including biometric gear, feature-phones, smartphones, PDAs, gaming devices, VoIP terminals, video conferencing terminals, security devices, and portable medical equipment.

The SBC contains 64 MB of DDR SDRAM, and 128 MB of flash memory. It also integrates a 3.7-inch, 640 x 480-pixel (VGA) LCD monitor with touchscreen, TI's TWL4030 power supply module, and a battery charger. I/O interfaces include USB 2.0, DVI, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, stereo audio I/O, and TV out, and it provides a multipurpose expansion connector for such functions as video input, IRDA, camera input, memory cards, I2C, and others, Mistral said.

Mistral OSK function block diagram
(Click to enlarge)
Mistral calls the OSK “ideal” for multimedia software development and wireless device prototyping. The board comes preinstalled with a Linux BSP supporting a display module, touchscreen, keypad, NAND flash, audio, Ethernet, and serial UART. Also included is Mistral's proprietary ITBOK (“is the board okay?”), described as a Windows-based diagnostic and peripheral boot utility aimed at helping programmers who lack an expensive JTAG tool to bootstrap hardware.

Samyeer Metrani, VP of product development, stated, “Our Starter Kit and BSP for the OMAP2430 is helping developers prototype and test their application well before their hardware is ready. Along with the OSK, we have also released the Linux kernel patch that is available to kernel hackers who would like to put our board through its paces.”

Availability

The OSK is available direct from Mistral, priced at $1,800.

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