Open OMAP 4 mobile s/w development platform debuts

PandaBoard is an open source development tool based on the OMAP 4 applications processor platform from Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) that offers a platform for mobile software development.

The OMAP 4 platform is power- and performance-optimised for Smartphones and other mobile devices. A growing online community of Linux experts supports PandaBoard developers designing on mobile open source software distributions such as Android, Angstrom, Chrome, MeeGo and Ubuntu.

The PandaBoard includes an OMAP4430 processor with two ARM Cortex-A9 processors running at 1GHz each, delivering symmetric multi-processing (SMP) performance as well as multimedia and 3D graphics support. The board also includes WLAN and Bluetooth connectivity technologies. PandaBoard is designed to support projects within tight mobile power budgets.

The board includes a dual core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore running at 1GHz each; ample MIPS for rich applications; full 1080p30 multi-standard HD record and playback; and 1GB LPDDR2 (DRAM). Wireless connectivity is enabled through WiLink 6.0 (802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth v2.1 +EDR). Display connectors include HDMI v1.3 for HD display and a DVI-D connector for simultaneous dual display. The board also includes an OpenGL ES v2.0 graphics engine.

The Pandaboard is available now for Rs.8,125.11 ($174).