[Arm-netbook] OLIMEX A10 board

[Gordan Bobic]

On 05/26/2012 10:56 AM, Tsvetan Usunov - OLIMEX Ltd wrote:
>     an A10 board with 512M is imnsho *useless*, just get a A13 instead.
>
>
> useles for whom ;)

For most people we are targetting. There are many devices with 512MB 
already available and several devices with 1GB already available. Those 
that can make do with 512MB are not going to be waiting for the EOMA. 
They will get the SheevaPlug or DreamPlug, or get the Via based APC when 
it ships in a month or two. Or maybe just bite the bullet for an extra 
for $ and just get the CuBox (probably the best value device currently 
available). Probably not as good on the CPU as the A10, but it is close 
enough.

Do not underestimate the right vs. right now.

If you are late to the party (and EOMA is 6-12 months late in terms of 
other similar products appearing), the risk of coming up with something 
that is too little too late rises exponentially, and distinguishing 
yourself among the competition becomes harder and harder. With 512MB/RAM 
per board, your only hope is in competing on price, and that is never 
the optimal strategy.

With 1GB of RAM per board, at least you have a product that is actually 
better and more versatile than most, and at least no worse than some.

> A10 will be more productive than A13 because use 32 bit data bus, also
> will have HDMI, which we still plan just as option on A13 where VGA will
> be the standard
>
> just look what people do with 128MB and BeagleBone, A1x OLinuXino will
> offer x4 more memory

I would argue that the low end of the market is already very well 
served. EOMA needs to aim a lot higher.

> I'm sure if we build board with 1GB there will be someone to rant for
>   2,4 or 8GB of RAM for apps they have in mind :)))

Probably not 8GB on the current generation of ARMs. 4GB would be awesome 
with room to spare. 2GB would be good enough to displace Intel Atom 
systems (which max out at 2GB) with something that fits into a power 
envelope of between 1/3 and 1/2. 1GB is livable with as a compromise 
when displacing Atom, but it isn't exactly ideal - it's a case of just 
about being able to make do - and because of the limitations of the A10, 
we will have to make do for the 1st gen cards.

> but I though this very carefully and 512MB is the optimal as size /
> price / performance I'm looking for and not going to change it

And you think the extra cost of 1GB vs. 512MB of RAM is going to be that 
great?

> do not forget we do not target desktop but embedded device, running some
> web service, Lua, Python, PHP, JS etc scripting, GPIO control, LCD/Video
> graphics interface, G-code interpreting, etc. this is what I want to
> build, no machine to run OpenOffice

So just get the Via APC. Or an R-Pi. By the time EOMA starts shifting in 
sufficient volume to challenge those two on price, the 1GB vs. 512MB 
issue isn't really going to matter any more because there will be 
another dozen off the shelf products that are shipping with 1GB. IMO 
EOMA shouldn't be aiming for the bottom.

Gordan