VIA Sells Android PC In Book-Shaped Cardboard Case

The Via Paper Android PC is a $99 (£62) single board computer, which comes in a book-shaped case made of aluminium and recycled cardboard.

The machine pitches into the same general area as the Raspberry Pi, hooking up to a TV or monitor to provide a computer for cloud computing applications, education or novel applications. It uses the $79 (£50) Rock board, which is based on VIA’s 800MHz  Cortex A9 processor, and comes with Android 4.0.

Paperback Android

Single board systems have long been important for embedded computers, but have become more fashionable since the Raspberry Pi popularised their role as a learning tool and multi-purpose device. This update to Via’s Android based APC range is more pricey than the Raspberry Pi, but has a higher specification and is more productised.

The machine has 512 Mbyte of flash memory, and 4Gbyte of on-board storage, as well as a micro-SD slot for more storage. There is graphic acceleration, supporting 1080p HD resolution over HDMI. There’s 10/100 Ethernet, and two USB 2.0 ports, as well as a mico-USB port for on-the-go USB connections. There are also the usual audio ports. Via has put all the details here, for Rock and Paper.

The Rock board uses both use the Neo-ITX form factor, for those who want to slip it into a case of their own.

Rock is available now, and Paper will be shipping in March. There’s no indication whether Via plans to run with Scissors.

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