VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient ARM and x86 computing and embedded platforms, announced its new VIA VAB-1000 Pico-ITX board.

Powered by a 1.0GHz dual core VIA Elite E1000 Cortex-A9 SoC, the VIA VAB-1000 features a high-performance graphics and video engine optimized to deliver richer multimedia capabilities and a more immersive user experience in a wide variety of interactive kiosk, digital signage and HMI (Human Machine Interface) applications. To enable developers to leverage the capabilities of Android for embedded applications, VIA provides a SMART ETK (Embedded Tool Kit) and a full set of software customization services that speeds up time to market and minimizes development costs.

“As a result of the growing popularity of Android smart phones and tablets, we are seeing a surge in interest among developers for platforms that enable them to create innovative new industrial and touch-based interactive multimedia devices that leverage the familiar user interface and advanced capabilities of the operating system, said Epan Wu, Head of the VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. “With the launch of the VAB-1000, we offer the most comprehensive portfolio of application-specific ARM platforms for embedded Android systems on the market – backed up by the richest development tool kit and customization services.”

VIA VAB-1000 Pico-ITX
The VIA VAB-1000 is based on the ultra-compact Pico-ITX form factor, measuring 10 cm x 7.2 cm, and is powered by a 1.0GHz VIA Elite Cortex-A9 dual core processor with a Unified Shader Architecture featuring 64 stream processors that provides support for dual independent displays along with the smoothest 3D/2D graphics acceleration and full HD playback support for the most demanding video formats in resolutions up to 1080p.

Back panel I/O includes two HDMI connectors for HDMI-in and HDMI-out, one mini-USB 2.0 port, one MicroSD slot, one Gigabit Ethernet port, and one DC-in Jack. Front panel I/O features one pin header for two additional USB ports, one pin header for SPI1 and 8-pin GPIO, one pin header for three I2C and two COM ports, and one pin-header for front audio (Line-in/Line-Out/Mic-In). Other on-board features include 4GB eMMC Flash memory, 2GB DDR3 SDRAM, one dual channel LVDS connector, one S-video pin header and one Mini-PCIe connector.