Banana Pi

Banana Pi

Banana Pi is a low-cost, open source single-board computer similar to Raspberry Pi. It can run various Linux distributions and supports applications like web servers, media centers, and gaming emulators. Banana Pi boards feature faster processors, more RAM, and better connectivit
Banana Pi screenshot

Banana Pi: Low-Cost Single-Board Computer

Banana Pi is a low-cost, open source single-board computer similar to Raspberry Pi. It can run various Linux distributions and supports applications like web servers, media centers, and gaming emulators. Banana Pi boards feature faster processors, more RAM, and better connectivity than Raspberry Pi.

What is Banana Pi?

The Banana Pi is a series of low-cost credit card-sized single-board computers produced by the Chinese company SinoVoip. It is an open-source hardware platform that is intended as an alternative to the popular Raspberry Pi.

Some key features of the Banana Pi include:

  • Allwinner quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 or dual-core Cortex-A53 processors, which are typically faster than the ARM11 processors used in the Raspberry Pi.
  • 1GB or 2GB of DDR3 SDRAM, compared to 512MB or 1GB in the Pi.
  • Better network connectivity with onboard gigabit ethernet and SATA ports.
  • MIPI DSI display interface and CSI camera interface for connecting displays and camera modules.

The Banana Pi runs various Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Debian, and Android. It can be used for applications such as web servers, media centers, network storage devices, and gaming emulators. The extra computing power makes it suitable for tasks like video processing, which might be too demanding for a Raspberry Pi.

There are several different models of Banana Pi boards available. The Banana Pi M2 Ultra is one of the latest, using a quad-core Cortex-A53 processor up to 1.8GHz. Overall, the Banana Pi provides Raspberry Pi capabilities and compatibility in a more powerful package.

Banana Pi Features

Features

  1. Allwinner A20 dual-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor
  2. Mali400 MP2 GPU
  3. 1GB DDR3 SDRAM
  4. Gigabit Ethernet
  5. SATA port
  6. IR receiver
  7. Runs various Linux distros like Debian, Ubuntu, Raspbian
  8. Supports Kodi, RetroPie gaming emulators

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

More powerful than Raspberry Pi

Lower cost than Raspberry Pi

Gigabit Ethernet for faster networking

SATA port for connecting storage drives

IR receiver for remote control

Cons

Limited community and documentation compared to Raspberry Pi

Fewer compatible add-on boards and accessories

Allwinner A20 is now quite old

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