New PandaBoard ES arms open source mobile developers with TI's OMAP4460 processor

DALLAS, Dec. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pandaboard.org today announced the general availability of PandaBoard ES, the next-generation open mobile software development platform based on OMAP™ 4 technology from Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI). Priced at a low USD $182, PandaBoard ES is the industry's first board to rely on TI's OMAP4460 processor. The OMAP4460 processor's smart multicore architecture includes two ARM® Cortex™-A9 cores running at up to 1.2 GHz each, and excels at offloading tasks from the CPU and GPU to free them for more intensive applications. Pandaboard.org also announced that the original PandaBoard is the first and today's only open source development tool to be supported in the Android Open Source project running Android 4.0 ("Ice Cream Sandwich"), giving developers a jumpstart on related software development.

PandaBoard ES is software compatible with PandaBoard, easing project migration from the original board to the next-generation version. Pandaboard.org will continue to support both boards via its fully-established community of Linux experts. Current and new developers designing on mobile open source software distributions such as Android, Linaro and Ubuntu can register projects and access support information at www.pandaboard.org.

PandaBoard's next-generation advancements
At the center of PandaBoard ES sits the OMAP4460 processor, delivering a 20 percent increase in overall performance and a 25 percent increase in graphics when compared to the original board's OMAP4430 processor. The OMAP4460 processor is complemented by TI's latest power management technology and dual-channel LPDDR2 memory for faster processing. Also new to PandaBoard ES is the introduction of a SysBoot switch, allowing for the manual switch of boot order depending on the application's need.

Courtesy of TI's WiLink™ 6.0 combo connectivity solution, PandaBoard ES is one of the only open mobile development platforms offering Bluetooth® low energy technology hardware support, giving developers the opportunity to craft new applications on this emerging technology. PandaBoard ES also supports Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth technologies.

For mobile multimedia developers seeking external display flexibility, the next-generation board offers Display Serial Interface (DSI) support along with the original PandaBoard's HDMI, Digital Video Interface (DVI) and DPI support.

PandaBoard ES key features

Pricing, availability, and more

PandaBoard ES is available today at: http://pandaboard.org/content/buy. Further details and helpful links:

• PandaBoard ES cost: USD $182
• Regions shipped to: Worldwide
• Where to buy: http://pandaboard.org/content/buy  
• Community access: http://pandaboard.org/content/community/home
• Mailing list: [email protected]
• IRC chat: http://pandaboard.org/irc
• Project review and submission: http://pandaboard.org/content/projects
• Other portals showcasing PandaBoard: http://designsomething.org

The pandaboard.org community will continue to support the OMAP4430 processor-based PandaBoard and all related projects, which remain available for purchase today.

About pandaboard.org
pandaboard.org is an online resource and collaboration site for the growing, active community supporting PandaBoard, the low-cost, open OMAP™ 4 processor-based mobile software development platform. Mobile application developers designing on Linux-based distributions are encouraged to engage with community experts and source technical materials. The site is managed by volunteers who are committed to open source development. For more information, visit http://pandaboard.org.

Please note: PandaBoard is intended to be used as a platform for mobile software development and OMAP 4 processors are intended for manufacturers of Smartphones and other mobile devices. 

Trademarks
OMAP™ and WiLink™ are trademarks of Texas Instruments. All other trademarks and registered trademarks belong to their respective owners.

SOURCE PandaBoard.org