15 Upcoming Linux-Friendly Single Board Computers Of 2015

Number of SBCs (Single Board Computers) were introduced in 2014. Some new open-spec, community-backed SBC gained lot of popularity last year. Most of these SBCs were powered by Linux or Android. Raspberry Pi was hit the market for a while.

Single Board Computers with high specs are available in the market. Some SBCs come with new quad and octa core CPU boards with more memory, built-in WiFi and extra features. The most growth was under $50 segment. Developers prefer open-source boards for prototyping. Today we have listed top fifteen hacker-friendly SBCs that you should look forward to in 2015.

1. A20-OLinuXino-Micro:

This is a dual-core OLinuXino model, and it is powered by 1 GHz A20 processor coupled with 1GB DDR3 RAM and Mali-400 GPU. The board comes with pre-loaded Android and it supports optional flash drive of 4GB which comes at extra cost of $14. The board supports 1080p video output. A20-OLinuXino-Micro is priced at $67.

2. Arduino TRE:

Arduino has gained tremendous popularity last year. Arduino TRE features full version of Linux. It comes with 8-bit Atmel ATmega microcontroller for AVR compatible shield module. The board is powered by 1 GHz Ti Sitara AM335x processor and 512MB of RAM. The commercial version of the board is not available yet but it will be launched for $39.

3. Banana Pi:

Banana Pi is a clone of Raspberry Pi model B, it has the same port positions and 24-pin header layout. Banana Pi is powered by 1GHz A10 processor coupled with 1GB DDR3 RAM and Mali-400 GPU. The board features all I/O including a SATA support and micro-USB port. It is priced at $50

4. Banana Pi Pro:

This is an updated version of Banana Pi. It features 40 pin connector and microSD support. It has WiFi module and micro-USB OTG port. Banana Pi Pro is powered by 1GHz A20 processor, 1GB DDR3 RAM and Mali-400 GPU. Banana Pi Pro is priced at $62.

5. Creator CI20:

This board by Imagination Technologies runs on Android 4.4 or Debian 7. It is powered by 1.2 GHz Igenic JZ4780 processor coupled with 1 GB RAM and PowerVR SGX540 GPU. Creator CI20 features on-board WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI, camera and other digital I/O. The board is available for $65.

6. Cutieboard 2:

This is an upgraded version of original cutieboard. It is powered by 1 GHz A20 processor, 1 GB DDR3 Ram and Mali-400 GPU. The device also comes with 4GB NAND flash storage. Cutieboard2 supports both Android and Linux. It comes with SATA, microSD, Ethernet, HDMI and dual USB ports. It is priced at $59.

7. Gizmo 2:

Gizmo 2 is the upgraded version of original Gizmo board. It features G-series SoC. The device is powered by 1GHz AMD G-series GX210HA and 1 GHZ DDR3 SDRAM. It has HDMI, microSD, mSATA and USB 3.0 ports. It supports Linux, Windows and Minoca OS. Gizmo 2 is available for $199.

8. HummingBoard:

This sandwich style board comes with several MicroSOM modules. You can switch between dual-core and single-core. HummingBoard is powered by Freescale i.MX6 Dual, DualLite and solo SoCs. It comes with either 512 MB or 1 GB DDR3 RAM. The price of HummingBoard varies from version of version. It starts at $50 and the high-end version is available at $120

9. Odroid-C1:

Odroid-C1 runs Android or Ubuntu. It is powered by 1.5 GHz Amlogic S805 processor coupled with 1GB DDR3 Ram and Mali-450 GPU. The device is similar to Raspberry Pi compatible 40-pin connector. Odroid-C1 offers microSD or eMMC storage expansion as well as HDMI out, gigabit Ethernet and USB ports.

10. Odroid-U3:

This is another board by Hardkernel. It sports 1.7 GHz Samsung Exynos 4412 Prime processor coupled by 2GB DDR2 SDRAM and Mali-400 GPU. This is an upgraded model of Odroid-U2. It features microSD, eMMC expansion and micro-HDMI, Ethernet and USB ports. The board supports Linux and Android 4.4. It is priced at $65.

11. Parallela:

Parallela is designed to be power-efficient and parallel programming research. It is powered by Xiling Zynq 7020 SoC and 1GB DDR3 RAM. The board offers microSD, gigabit Ethernet, micro-HDMI and dual USB ports. It comes with 60-pin connector for Epiphany and FPGA extensions. The board is priced at $99.

12. Radxa Rock:

Radxa Rock is a tiny SBC that can run Android or Linux. Two models of the board are available based on memory option. It is powered by 1.6 GHz Rockchip RK3188 processor coupled with 2GB DDR3 RAM. The board offers WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI, Ethernet, USB and S/PDIF ports. The expansion header support many interfaces. The lite version of board is available for $59 while, the Pro version is available for $99.

13. Raspberry Pi A+:

A+ is an upgraded version of A. Raspberry Pi A+ is very tiny in size. It weights just 23 grams. It is powered by 700 MHz Broadcom BCM2835 processor coupled with 256MB SDRAM and Broadcom Videocore IV GPU. It offers 40-pin connector and audio circuit. It doesn't come with Ethernet port. It has one USB port. Raspberry Pi A+ is priced at $20.

14. Raspberry Pi B+:

Raspberry Pi B+ is an updated version of B. It is powered by 700MHz Broadcom BCM2835 processor coupled with 512MB RAM and Broadcom VideoCore IV GPU. The board comes with 40-pin GPIO connector and four USB ports. It offers microSD card slot also. The board is available for $35.

15. Warpboard:

This single board computer by Freescale was launched an year ago at CES2014. The board is available for pre-order at $149. It runs Android or generic Linux. The board is powered by 1GHz Freescale i.MX6 SoloLite. It doesn't come with any internal memory. The board offers KL16 daughter card and dual Freescale Xtrinsic sensor modules.

Top 10 Reasons Why Java Programming Language Is A Must!

Java, considered one of the best programming languages ever, has so many reasons to become the favourite among developers. Java's popularity has been growing immensely and with new versions, performance has kept improving and Android app development has been made easier. In terms of job opportunities too, Java is the best language to learn. So here we will discuss the top ten reasons why Java language should be learnt anyhow, without any miss.

Reason #1:

Java is the programming language which can be learnt in the easiest way possible. Java's syntax is fluent and it makes it easy to read Java programme and learn it faster than other languages. If the learner gets familiar with installing JDK and setting up PATH, then it's easy to write programme in Java.

Reason #2:

Java is an Object Oriented Programming language and it also helps to keep system modular and flexible. If the key concept of OOPS is clear to you, then Java can help with its best practices and design patterns. Java promotes use of SOLID and Object oriented design principles in form of open source projects.

Reason #3:

Java has rich API and it's highly visible with Java installation. Java programming beginners usually code applets which provide animation capability. It also provides API for I/O, networking, utilities, xml parsing, database connection and more.

Reason #4:

Java has huge contribution by Eclipse and Netbeans and coding in IDE is a huge pleasure. DOS Editor and Notepad help in code completion and they also provide powerful debugging capability. Java development is made easier by IDE as IDEs make it easy to search, refactor and read codes too. Java platform has several tools for building Java applications too.

Reason #5:

Java can be used anywhere, thanks to open source libraries. Great libraries have come from Apache, Google and other similar organisations and Java development is made easier, faster and cost effective too.

Reason #6:


Java gets huge strength from communities as communities contribute a lot to share knowledge. Java has many active forums and these forums help Java beginners a lot.

Reason #7:


Cost is always an important factor for learning any language and as Java is a free language, you don't need to pay anything to create any Java application. Java is mostly popular for this reason and Java programmers are easily available for any enterprise too.

Reason #8:

Java has some great piece of documentation which discusses Java API and the method of coding with Java. With IDE, Javadoc doesn't require any browser now as it can be opened in an IDE window only.

Reason #9:

Java complies with every platform and this is one of the main reasons behind its popularity. Java's tagline itself proves how much exciting it can prove for any programmer - "write once run anywhere".

Reason #10:

Java is prevalent everywhere – on desktops, on mobiles and across every platform. Java programmers are highly available and that's why every organisation prefers Java to develop any new programme.