Omega2 (computer)

The Onion Omega series of personal single-board computer created by a startup company called Onion that is based in Boston, Toronto and Shenzhen. It is advertised as "the world's smallest Linux Server".[1] The system combines a tiny form factor and power-efficiency with the power of a general purpose Operating System. They ship with a Linux kernel based lightweight operating system for embedded systems called OpenWRT, but is capable of running other lightweight Unix-based operating systems.

Omega2
Omega2
Release date20 November 2016 (2016-11-20)
Introductory priceUS$5
Operating systemFreeBSD
Linux
OpenWrt
System on a chipMediaTek MT7688
CPU580 MHz 32-bit computing Single-core MIPS 24KEc
Memory64 MB (128 MB for Omega2 Plus)
Storage16 MB (32 MB and a MicroSDHC slot for Omega2 Plus)
GraphicsNo graphic
Power0.6 Watts

The first shipments of the Onion Omega went out in October, 2015.[2]

History

Omega2 is the next generation of the old product Onion makes, Omega.[3] The original Omega was based on the Qualcomm Atheros AR9331 (MIPS architecture)[4] SoC which runs a full Linux operating system designed for embedded system and sold for $19.99. The company has discontinued development of the Omega, and replaced it with the successor, Omega2, using another SoC chip - Mediatek MT7688[5] which also has a metal cover over the chip. They have also drastically cut the price to $5 (but later increased it to $7.5).

As of the beginning of 2017, Onion has already attracted crowdfunding of more than $850,000 for the Omega2, which has greatly exceeded their initial goal of $440,000.

Omega 2+ with its Expansion Dock

Hardware Features

Omega2 comes in two versions, the basic Omega2 and Omega2 Plus. Omega2 CPU is based on MIPS architecture[6] running at 580 MHz clock speed, equipped with 64 MB of RAM and 16 MB of flash memory. Omega2 Plus is similar to Omega2, except it has 128 MB RAM and 32 MB memory and a MicroSD slot, sold for $9 USD. The system comes in a small PCB footprint with dual-in-line 16x2mm pins. The board runs at 3.3 volts with an average power consumption of 0.6W.[7] The devices are intended for as headless computers with no graphical interfaces in Embedded systems.

Omega2+
Specifications
FeatureOmega2Omega2 Plus
CPUMIPS32 24KcMIPS32 24Kc
Clock580 MHz580 MHz
RAM64 MB128 MB
Storage16 MB32 MB
USBOne USB 2.0One USB 2.0
SD Slot-One MicroSD slot
WiFib/g/nb/g/n
GPIO1515
PWM22
UART22
I2C11
SPI11
I2S11

References
  1. "Omega2: $5 Linux Computer with Wi-Fi, Made for IoT". Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  2. "Shipping Update".
  3. "Omega". Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  4. "MT7688 | MediaTek Labs". MediaTek Labs. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
  5. Onion Omega2 Documentatation
  6. "Can the Omega 2 Replace Raspberry Pi? The $5 Linux IoT Module". Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  7. "Omega2 Plus". Retrieved November 1, 2016.
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