OLIMEX© 2015
A20-SOM user's manual
1.2 Target market of the board
Using the A20-SOM as a stand-alone development board would be more suitable for users with
some hardware experience or people already familiar with other single-board Linux boards and
designs. As mentioned in the previous chapter the board is meant to be implemented in a hardware
design.
In which cases a stand-alone A20-SOM (without A20-SOM-EVB) board might not be suitable for
you:
1. If you are a beginner with single-board Linux computers
2. If you are an OSHW purist
3. If you are looking for more straight-forward software development and you are not going to
implement the A20-SOM in own hardware products
In the cases above, it might be a better idea to take a look at the OLinuXino boards (like A20-
OLinuXino-MICRO).
It is highly recommended to use A20-SOM with A20-SOM-EVB initially, unless you have previous
experience with SOM or OLinuXino boards manufactured by OLIMEX.
A20-SOM might be is used altogether with A20-SOM-EVB. In that case, the board's target market
widens drastically – the combination is suitable for embedded programming enthusiasts, Linux and
Android gadget fans (they can just use the board as a media center or fully functional Linux-PC, for
instance) and also professionals (since its low cost makes it very good solution for application-
orientated embedded systems). The reason for this alteration is the additional hardware that A20-
SOM-EVB – it provides direct HDMI output and easier ways to connect peripherals to the board.
Generally, the processors features are much easier to access.
1.3 Features of A20-SOM
The A20-SOM board has the following set of features:
•
Allwinner A20 dual core Cortex-A7 processor, each core typically running at 1GHz
•
1GB DDR3 memory
•
AXP209 PMU IC
•
4GB NAND FLASH memory (available only on the 4GB version of the board)
•
Android already loaded on the NAND (available only on the 4GB version of the board)
•
MicroSD card
•
UART console
•
Status LEDs
•
RESET, RECOVERY buttons
•
6 connectors x 40 pin each x 0.05" step
•
PCB dimensions: (3200×2200)mil ~ (81×56)mm
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