What Is ODROID? (Odroid review)

ODROID means open + Android. Sold as a development board, ODROID isn’t designed to compete with Raspberry Pi, but to complement it! Many different models are available, and have been produced throughout the history of ODROID, which first appeared in 2009.

Despite its preference for Android software, ODROID devices can run other flavors of Linux. Models range in price from $30 to $80, and can even be purchased in a mini cluster of machines with up to 32 cores!

ODROID projects range from simple home automation and basic desktop usage, through to cluster-based academic research and multimedia file storage. Check out this nifty example:

The best part is, as there is so much variety available with ODROID, there’s something to suit every project.

Want a small, low power device? Sure. Want to perform some beefy calculations? No problem! Yes, a Raspberry Pi is very good at general purpose computing, but as most Pi models are very similar in specifications, you may need the variety offered by ODROID boards.

If you’re curious as to why you hear about the Raspberry Pi all the time but hear very little about ODROID, then we recommend reading our article on why Raspberry Pi is more successful than ODROID.

ODROID C0

The ODROID C0 is designed for small and reduced power projects. You can easily embed this board into clothing.

It features a battery power circuit, and comes with many of its USB, Infrared, and general purpose input output (GPIO) interfaces as unpopulated connectors. This significantly saves space, but does mean you’ll need to perform a bit of soldering for anything more than basic hardware projects.

The C0 has a 1.5GHz quad-core CPU (ARM Cortex-A5), and one gigabyte of

DDR3 SDRAM.

ODROID C1+

The ODROID C1+ is slightly older and more expensive than the C0, but it still offers some distinct advantages. If you’ve ever seen a Raspberry Pi before, then you’ll not be surprised by the credit card sized form factor offered here.

The C1+ features the same processor and RAM as the C0, only this time it also utilizes

a gigabit Ethernet port, and several full size USB ports.

The C1+ can be considered functionally identical to the C0, only without the power circuitry or space saving reductions.

ODROID C2

The ODROID C2 is an incremental improvement on the C1+. Like the Raspberry 3, the C2 uses an ARM Cortex-A53, quad-core processor. Unlike the Raspberry Pi, the ODROID C2 comes with 2GBs of RAM, and HDMI 2.0, which supports 4k videos at 60Hz.

This device is perfect running as a media center, and the beefy heatsink ensures an adequate heat dissipation, even under the most demanding of workloads.

ODROID HC1

The ODROID HC1 represents a significant step away from simply copying the Raspberry Pi. The name stands for “Home Cloud One”, and the enlarged case is designed to be stackable, with room for a 2.5 inch HDD or SSD.

The HC1 is perfect as a home cloud media server, and the clever case design also acts as a giant heatsink.

Processing power is provided by the ARM Cortex-A7 octa-core processor, complimented by 2GB RAM. This model certainly has the horsepower to handle your media needs.

ODROID HC2

The ODROID HC2 (“Home Cloud Two”) is a minor improvement on the HC1. Costing approximately 40% more than the HC1, you may be disappointed if you’re expecting 40% more performance.

The HC2’s heat-dissipating chassis is larger than that of the HC1, and is enlarged to accommodate a 3.5 inch HDD, and not just a 2.5 inch HDD or SSD (although these smaller drives still fit perfectly).

The HC2 is perfectly suited for running small software development stacks such as Docker, WordPress, or Apache. It’s also equally useful for running a file server.

ODROID-XU4 Review

SPECS

• Size:83 x 58 x 22 mm approx.(including cooling fan)

• RAM:2Gbyte LPDDR3 RAM PoP stacked

• CPU:Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5422 (4x up to 2.1 GHz + 4x up to 1.4 GHz)

• Storage:Supports eMMC5.0 HS400 and/orMicro SD

• GPU:Mali-T628 MP6

• Video:Full HD

• USB:2xUSB3 1xUSB2

• Power source:5V/4A

• Storage types:Micro SD EMMc Sata(optional)

• Network Connectivity:Gigabit Ethernet

• CPU Instruction set:ARMv7-A

• GPIO:24 Pins

• Display Port:HDMI 1.4a