Meet Lime – the newest member of OLinuXino family. (Credits for the name go to Mr. Palavrov who gave us this idea at FOSDEM 2013).
A10 was missing from our OLinuXino range, but we are going to correct this soon.
We prepare our new pocket Linux computer with A10 Cortex-A8 which for a first time will come with elegant plastic enclosure for it’s 83×60 mm PCB.
Here is sneak preview of the board layout:
and here is how the plastic enclosure will look like:
These are the LIME features:
- A10, Cortex-A8, 1Ghz, NEON, VPU, GPU
- DDR3 512MB
- microSD card
- optional 4GB NAND Flash
- SATA + power supply
- HDMI 1080p
- USB-OTG
- Ethernet 100Mbit
- 2x USB hosts
- Lipo battery managment and connector
- 200 GPIOs on 0.05″ connectors
- PWR jack +5V only
We will prototype this board in October and if everything is OK the production will follow in December.
The software will be standard as other OLinuXino boards: Android 4.2.2 and Debian Linux with support of all board hardware features.
A10 support is most mature for Allwinner chips, beside Debian almost all popular Linux distributions run on A10: Arch, Fedora, Ubuntu, Slack, Mint..
The price? it will be nice surprise! Our target is to get as close as we can to one other popular fruit computer 😉 but to offer additionally SATA and LiPo as UPS backup (USB will keep working when on LiPo battery power supply)
LIME will be perfect for home automation, small home media server, NAS etc.
olimex 
Sep 19, 2013 @ 16:47:18
Can we have a sneek preview of the casing? 🙂
Sep 19, 2013 @ 17:24:02
done 🙂
Sep 19, 2013 @ 17:44:38
A10 does not include UARTs? I would like to use it for a data collection system but That would need at least 2 serial pots (and I think usb adapters won’t work due to weird protocol implementations on the sensor side).
I’m starting to prototype on your A10s mini 🙂
Anyway excellent product! can’t wait to see that board produced and populated (electronics pr0n ftw!) 😛
Sep 19, 2013 @ 18:15:02
How to attach the screen?
Sep 19, 2013 @ 18:37:36
Great!
I am already looking forward to adding it to – with that additional checkmark for casing, you will then be leading the pack (assuming no similarly great news emerge elsewhere before then)!
Sep 19, 2013 @ 18:47:55
This would be a perfect thin client using ltsp or x2to or remmina or the like (not so “thin”, as it needs its own OS, but not a big deal), but it needs VGA output because there are so many VGA monitors out there.
I know the VGA connector is bulky, but can you include on the PCB the few components (resistors and TVS) required to have a working VGA output so that only an external connector is needed?
Sep 19, 2013 @ 19:17:39
Good luck!
Hope to see you again at FOSDEM 2014 🙂
Sep 19, 2013 @ 20:12:54
What about RTC?
And are you really going to make Android 4.2.2 for A10 ?
Sep 19, 2013 @ 20:31:09
Oh this is cool, you could also do a pro version using an A20?
regards
Al
Sep 19, 2013 @ 22:49:39
The A20-OLinuXino-MICRO and A20-OLinuXino-MICRO-4GB are already in the development pipeline, and for all intents and purposes are the “pro versions” of this cute LIME. 🙂 Minus case though.
https://www.olimex.com/Products/OLinuXino/A20/A20-OLinuXino-MICRO/open-source-hardware
https://www.olimex.com/Products/OLinuXino/A20/A20-OLinuXino-MICRO-4GB/open-source-hardware
Sep 19, 2013 @ 21:41:22
Now we’re talking seriously 😉
Sep 19, 2013 @ 21:50:46
looks great!
is it possible to change the cutouts for the case, so that you have holes for screw mounting and when you want to place the pcb in the case, break the part with the hole out, to make the pcb look like on your layout above?
Sep 19, 2013 @ 22:40:29
Take my money! 😀
Seriously, this is a great announcement. As long as the product gets wide distribution through Farnell etc, I expect you’ll have serious success on your hands since it leapfrogs not only “that fruit” but also the BBB.
Sep 19, 2013 @ 23:35:51
Maybe a peli case micro or otterbox could serve as a case.
Sep 20, 2013 @ 05:47:47
Will you use eSATA connectors for proper shielding? Maybe (better even) use an eSATAp connector instead of internal SATA + power jack, since you could always use corresponding cables if you need SATA + power jack for your external HDD drive case (e. g. http://www.delock.de/produkte/F_4_SATA—eSATA_82467/merkmale.html?setLanguage=en) or if you want to connect a naked HDD (e. g. http://www.delock.de/produkte/G_84403/merkmale.html?setLanguage=en). There should be cables for even the most exotic use cases (many at http://www.delock.de/produkte/F_466_eKabel_140_eSATAp–Power-over-eSATA-.html?setLanguage=en).
Also, some laptops and mainboards have combined eSATA and USB connectors, so people are flexible in what they can connect to it. Maybe this would also be an idea for such a space constrained board to make it more flexible?
Sep 22, 2013 @ 20:51:46
Yes, please !!! UART, CAN Bus and VGA !!!
Sep 22, 2013 @ 20:52:50
Your projects are REALLY COOL, why don’t you take advantage of Kickstarter platform?
Sep 23, 2013 @ 03:31:13
Kickstarter is probably not available to creators in Bulgaria. Indiegogo might be. Not of these platforms have trustworthy websites, though, using unnecessary JavaScript and inline framing third party tracking sites like Facebook an Google. IIRC, one of them even loads some JavaScript library directly from external servers and becomes unusable otherwise. Recognizing the problem caused me some headache. It is really a shame, that the two biggest platforms for crowdfunding are run by these carefree people who most certainly make a good buck with their hacked together pages. It is astructural problem.
Sep 24, 2013 @ 15:21:46
That external Javascript library is probably JQuery. Microsoft and Google are providing it for free on a public CDN to cut down on redundant downloads.
Sep 23, 2013 @ 15:01:45
Single RAM chip?
If you want to pre-fund use http://selfstarter.us/ and skip the 15% Kickstarter takes. You self host selfstarter.
Sep 23, 2013 @ 15:08:24
yes, one chip
we try hard to make it with 1/2 chip but without success 🙂
for the kickstarter I think the major advantage is that many people visit this site and can see the project there, not the technology behind it, as everyone who have web shop can start taking pre-orders on some products
Sep 23, 2013 @ 15:18:18
Indiegogo is better for you. Indiegogo works when you are located in any country. For Kickstarter you have to have at least one person in one of their countries – US, UK, CA. Indiegogo is a little cheaper too.
Sep 23, 2013 @ 18:18:02
Will be possible UART and VGA from GPIOs.
Sep 23, 2013 @ 23:49:27
Are you designing this board to take either A10 or A20?
Are there pin compatible PHY chips between GbE and 100Mb?
HDMI TVS – You are using three RCLAMP0524P at around $0.45 each. How about one CM2020 at about $0.55 instead?
Click to access CM2020-00TR-D.PDF
Sep 23, 2013 @ 23:54:24
Are those three pads below the Ethernet jack the boot console?
Sep 29, 2013 @ 16:53:09
+1 Vote for the VGA connector . For thinclients we need VGA , 2xUSB and 1 RJ45
at the very least . Without VGA , we need to add HDMI2VGA adapters which costs 20-25$ a piece.
Sep 30, 2013 @ 17:34:40
Judging by the announcement, I think the main design goal for LIME is to offer a board in the same price niche as “the other fruit” but with far better functionality — that’s the sales pitch. If people keep asking for upgrade requests, the price will rise above that price niche, and the main goal is no longer achieved.
I’m always eager for higher specs as well, but in this case it would be strategic to first establish a large enthusiastic customer base by offering a very low-priced device with a basic spec, and then build up the specs on future boards in the range. There’s good precedent for this.
Sep 30, 2013 @ 17:51:02
correct! it’s normal observation
every time we post for new board, there are number of posts which request features which are not listed 🙂 when we announced A13 with VGA people were asking for HDMI, when we announced A10S with HDMI people were asking for VGA etc etc so this do not surprises me anymore, the good thing is that we already have boards with VGA, boards with HDMI and boards which have both VGA and HDMI
OLinuXino family have already 12 different boards which cover many different segments, so if you miss this or that feature you can always look at the other members of OLinuXino family and pick the one which match your requirements 🙂
Sep 30, 2013 @ 18:28:38
What’s still missing in your portfolio is a platform that connects to electronic paper displays (EPD). Since you seem to work on Rockchip boards, how about one with RK2918/2906, which seem to have EPD controller. I found RK2906 in one of my ebook readers but there is no documentation, so cannot be used for development. We’d then also need some EPDs, maybe those from Pervasive Displays (http://www.pervasivedisplays.com/products/panels) could be used? The latest 10.2 inch one seems to be especially interesting, though doesn’t seem to be generally available yet. A touchscreen would also be necessary.
In other news, Allwinner announced an octa-core chip (http://www.pervasivedisplays.com/products/panels) but wouldn’t share with the press, which GPU they’re going to use. Maybe they have more info for you? Also, did they manage to give you some more info about the upcoming A23?
Sep 30, 2013 @ 18:40:28
Wrong link to the octa-core chip news. Should be this one: http://liliputing.com/2013/09/allwinner-unveils-allwinner-a80-octa-processor.html
Oct 07, 2013 @ 11:31:39
Dear Olimex – Do you have a matrix of what board has what feature in your Linux capable product line?
Sep 30, 2013 @ 17:59:58
You could make everyone happy by using a DVI connector with the VGA pins hooked up.
Did you notice my note above about the TVS protectors?
Sep 30, 2013 @ 18:20:44
DVI connector do not solve issues, I’m sure then somebody will request composite video BNC connector 🙂
I read about the TVS thanks!
Sep 30, 2013 @ 23:14:47
Will be possible to install the OS on a USB as you can do with RPi? P.S. RPi does not allow you to boot directly to the USB. You should use the SD to mount the USB.
Oct 01, 2013 @ 07:59:43
what is the benefit of this? LIME have SATA and you will be able to boot from SATA HDD 300-500GB
Oct 02, 2013 @ 18:15:45
Basically it’s a Beaglebone or is there some enhancement over it?
Oct 02, 2013 @ 18:23:34
beaglebone have no native HDMI and no SATA
also I’m not sure BB have two USB hosts and one USB-OTG
BB do not have LiPo charger nor can work from LiPo battery
Oct 11, 2013 @ 23:05:10
I have both the original BeagleBone (BB, also known as “BB white” because the PCB is white) and the newer BeagleBone Black (BBB), and the answer is different depending on the model.
Neither of these two BeagleBones has SATA, but the BBB does have HDMI on the board. The latter is normally limited to a resolution of 1280×1024@75Hz, but it has been pushed to 1080p by sacrificing the audio channel to make more bandwidth available for video information.
The BBB is not intended as an HDMI media centre nor as a full-blown desktop with media capabilities, so deploying it in that role is likely to be quite unsatisfactory.
Oct 12, 2013 @ 02:20:49
Regarding USB, both BB white and BBB are the same: they each have only one Type-A USB host connector and one mini-USB type-A OTG client connector. The latter can also power the board if the barrel connector is not doing so.
Regarding LiPo functionality, both BeagleBones provide the circuitry but neither of them make it available at a socket. The BB white provides a header for this, whereas the BBB omits the header and its PCB tracks and requires direct connection to solder pads for LiPo interfacing. Voltage boost is not available on either BeagleBone, so when working off a 3.7V LiPo cell, the 5V-powered USB is unavailable.
There’s an excellent blog article over at Element14 on getting LiPo working with BBB, and the comments section is full of technical detail, very worth a read:
– http://www.element14.com/community/community/knode/single-board_computers/next-gen_beaglebone/blog/2013/08/10/bbb–rechargeable-on-board-battery-system
I love the LiPo socket on my Olimexino-SMT32, and am really happy to see this feature becoming standard on the OLinuXino series.
Oct 03, 2013 @ 01:09:49
They say it has HDMI:
http://beagleboard.org/Products/BeagleBone%20Black
Yes, lipos are nice. Will Lime be powerful enough to work as a websurf-station?
Oct 11, 2013 @ 23:09:21
Any news?
Will be available on December?
It isn’t clear from description, inside the case is enough space to put a 2.5″ hdd?
Oct 29, 2013 @ 19:40:44
There is something better for beginners like me (with Grove Sockets):
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/iteaduino-plus-arm-cortex-a8-dev-platform?c=gallery
Oct 29, 2013 @ 19:50:04
define better – these guys were selling Cubie boards then copy their design but they have zero software support and were relying on Tom Cubie to solve their software issues, now when they are competitor guess how software support Tom will assist in 🙂 so good luck with them
Oct 29, 2013 @ 23:02:41
But the grove sockets are a very good idea for newbees like me. I only know a bit of python.
Nov 21, 2013 @ 14:25:39
This is a working prototype with operating system? Where can i see?
Jan 07, 2014 @ 15:09:56
Still, a Lime with 4Gb NAND memory would be nice to boot from (=system software), and leave sata disk for other purposes (backup, data). What would be the pricetag ? + 5 euro?
Jan 07, 2014 @ 15:22:32
it would be + 5 euro if we were selling NAND chips 🙂
if we have to program image for 20 minutes with Phoenix Suite and test the price will be + 10 euro as in other boards
Apr 22, 2014 @ 04:09:32
hi,
and if someone make the flasher…via operating system 🙂
in that way you could sell the flash for less and the people make the job 😉
drop me a line.
regards
tuxd3v
Jan 11, 2014 @ 14:31:38
to things…
1) Where is the documentation (board pin outs etc) for Lime?
2) Whilst I like the name Lime. Your Forum search facility makes it difficult to find Lime postings as Lime is embedded in Olimex. You cannot even enter Lime + space as a workaround as spaces are (sensibly) stripped. For the same reason do not consider products like Oli or mex… 😉
Jan 23, 2014 @ 20:37:30
How many UART ports ????