Mini-ITX board targets multi-function kiosks
May 4, 2010 — by Eric Brown — from the LinuxDevices Archive — 10 viewsVia is shipping a Mini-ITX board with 1GHz or 1.3GHz versions of its embedded-oriented Nano E-Series processor. The Via Epia-M830 offers a VX800 northbridge/southbridge, up to 2GB of DDR2 memory, plus real-world ports including gigabit Ethernet, USB, and serial, the company says.
The Epia-M830 is targeted at emerging kiosk and POS (point-of-sale) systems, says Via. Potential applications include cashless purchasing and self service infrastructures in supermarkets and gas stations, as well as advanced POI (point of interest), lotto, and gaming machines, says the company.
Via Epia-M830
(Click to enlarge)
Epia-M830 detail
(Click to enlarge)
As a result of these enhancements, the Nano E-Series can deliver up to 20 percent greater performance than previous Nanos, while using up to 20 percent less power, claims Via.
Epia-M830, front and back
(Click on either to enlarge)
Epia-M830 ports
An additional USB port and three more serial ports are offered via pin headers, says the company. While the Epia-M830 omits some industrial-focused I/O found on the Epia-M800, such as SPI and IrDA, and it lacks its predecessor's DVI port, it offers additional peripherals including LPT, LPC, and FIR headers (see spec list below).
Epia-M830 block diagram
(Click to enlarge)
The Via Epia-M830 is said to be available in both active and passive cooling configurations. Via also offers a number of expansion modules, as listed in the graphic below, including a WiFi USB module, a DC-DC power board, and additional sets of serial ports.
Epia-M830 accessories
(Click to enlarge)
- Processor — Via Nano E-Series clocked at 1GHz (fanless) or 1.2GHz
- Chipset — Via VX800
- Memory — up to 2GB of 533/667MHz DDR2 RAM
- Expansion — 1 x PCIe (x4); 1 x Mini-PCIe
- Networking — 1 x gigabit Ethernet (rear panel)
- Other I/O:
- Rear panel:
- 1 x serial
- 4 x USB 2.0
- Audio — line out, mic in
- 1 x VGA
- Onboard headers:
- 1 x USB 2.0
- 3 x serial
- 2 x SATA
- 1 x IDE
- Audio header for front-panel headphone out, mic in, or amplifier module
- S/PDIF output
- Digital input/output, including GPI and GPO options
- PS/2 keyboard/mouse interface
- 1 x LPT
- 1 x LPC
- 1 x SMBUS
- 1 x FIR
- 1 x front-panel pin header
- 2 x fan connectors
- 1 x 18-bit TTL, reserved 1 x LVDS for 24-bit, dual-channel panel
- Rear panel:
- Operating temperature — 32 to 122 deg. F (0 to 50 deg. C)
- Dimensions — 6.7 x 6.7 inches (17 x 17cm); Mini-ITX
- Operating system — Linux, Windows CE, Windows XP/XPe
Stated Daniel Wu, VP, Via Embedded Platform Division, Via Technologies, "The VIA EPIA-M830 board represents a mile-stone in kiosk device design, packing a wealth of kiosk-oriented features and enhancements into a high performance, 64-bit platform. This highly focused platform arms developers with the tools to build the next phase of interactive kiosks."
Availability
The Via Epia-M830 is available now "to project customers," says Via, which did not list pricing. More information may be found here.
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.