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Imagination Technologies has unveiled a high-performance micro-computer set to take on the likes of the Raspberry Pi.
The MIPS Creator CI20 is a development board that runs Linux and Android. After the success of a limited edition giveaway to students, developers, and partners in August, the mini PC will officially launch in January 2015.
“The board community is not so much about competition. Raspberry Pi isn’t just a company going out to make money, it’s a foundation and it’s trying to drive STEM. Imagination also wants to stimulate that,” said Tony King-Smith, executive vice-president, marketing, Imagination, at the MIPS Creator CI20 launch.
Despite this, he revealed to PCR how the new mini PC compares with the Pi.
“It’s got more horse power, it’s got a dual-core 1.2GHz MIPS processor, which has a lot of welly. It also has a PowerVR GPU – known as the world’s best GPU for mobile.”
With features such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the firm believes the Creator CI20 will be of interest to those looking to create ‘Internet of Things’ devices.
“It’s got rich connectivity, ideal of IoT projects. It works straight out of the box and it has 1GB DDR3 and 4GB of flash memory,” added King-Smith.
The PC also includes an SD card expansion slot and dedicated video hardware for low power 1080p decoding for 30fps.
Imagination is taking pre-orders for the MIPS Creator CI20 development board, with the first orders shipping in January 2015. It comes with a £50 price tag.
