Pine64

Pine Store Limited, known by its trade name Pine64 (styled as PINE64), is a Hong Kong-based organization that designs, manufactures, and sells single-board computers, notebook computers, as well as smartwatch/smartphones. Its name was inspired by the mathematical constants pi and e with a reference to 64-bit computing power.[1]

Pine Store Limited
Pine64
FormerlyPine Microsystems Inc.
TypePrivate
Industry
FoundedOctober 2015 (2015-10) in Fremont, California, United States
Founder
  • TL Lim
  • Johnson Jeng
Headquarters
Hong Kong
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
TL Lim (CEO)
Products
Websitepine64.org

History

Pine64 initially operated as Pine Microsystems Inc. (Fremont, California), founded by TL Lim, the inventor of the PopBox and Popcorn Hour series of media players sold under the Syabas and Cloud Media brands.[2]

In 2015, Pine Microsystems offered its first product, the Pine A64, a single-board computer designed to compete with the popular Raspberry Pi in both power and price. The A64 was first funded through a Kickstarter crowdfunding drive in December 2015 which raised over US$1.7 million.[3] The Kickstarter project was overshadowed by delays and shipping problems.[4] The original Kickstarter page referred to Pine64 Inc. based in Delaware,[5] but all devices for the Kickstarter campaign were manufactured and sold by Pine Microsystems Inc. based in Fremont, California.[6]

In January 2020, Pine Microsystems Inc. was dissolved[7] while Pine Store Limited was incorporated on December 5, 2019, in Hong Kong.[8] As of late 2020, the standard form contract of pine64.com binds all orders to the laws of Malaysia,[9] while the products are shipped from warehouses in Shenzhen, China and Hong Kong.[9]

Devices

After the initial Kickstarter orders for the Pine A64 single-board computers, the company went on to make more devices.

Single-board computers
Pine A64+

The original Pine A64 boards released in 2016 are powered by the Allwinner A64 system-on-chip. It features a 1.2 GHz Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A53 64-Bit Processor, an ARM Mali 400 MP2 graphics processor unit, one HDMI 1.4a port, one MicroSD slot, two USB 2.0 ports and a 100 Megabit Ethernet port. The A64 board has only 512 megabytes of RAM, the 1 GB and 2 GB versions are labeled "Pine A64+".[10] While the 512 MB model only works with Arch Linux and Debian GNU/Linux distributions, such as Armbian or DietPi,[11] the A64+ with more memory can also run other operating systems including Android, Remix OS, Windows 10,[12] FreeBSD,[13] and Ubuntu.[14] Optional eMMC storage modules can be plugged into special headers on the board.

A compute module called SOPINE A64 was introduced in January 2017. It features the same system-on-chip as the Pine A64, but mounted on a DDR3 SODIMM form factor board without the USB, HDMI, and Ethernet connectors.[15] It competes with the Raspberry Pi Compute Modules. Pine64 sells a "Clusterboard" with an inbuilt eight-port Gigabit Ethernet switch, which can be used to build a cluster system out of up to seven SOPINE modules.[16] A review by Hackaday noted problems with production quality, software, and user support.[17]

2017 also saw the addition of a "Long Term Supply" (LTS) version of the Pine A64/A64+ boards, called "Pine A64/A64(+)- LTS". The LTS versions are identical to the A64/A64+, but are guaranteed to be available until the year 2022 at a slightly higher cost.[18]

In July 2017, the company added a new line of single-board computers based on Rockchip SoCs. The ROCK64 features a Rockchip RK3328 quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 64-bit processor; a Mali-450MP2 GPU capable of playing 4K HDR videos; one, two, or four gigabytes of RAM; two USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0 ports; one HDMI 2.0 port; a Gigabit Ethernet port; a microSD slot and several other peripheral ports.[19]

Its larger brother, the ROCKPro64, is based on a Rockchip RK3399 Hexa-Core (dual ARM Cortex-A72 and quad ARM Cortex A53) 64-Bit Processor instead. It features a Mali T-860 Quad-Core GPU and, in addition to the standard USB, Ethernet, HDMI, and MicroSD ports, also has an eDP interface and an open-ended PCI Express x4 slot. An optional PCI Express to Dual SATA-II adapter and an optional Wi-Fi module are offered by Pine64[20]

In 2019, a new Allwinner-based board was added as a direct competitor to the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+. The Pine H64 is based on the Allwinner H6 quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 64-bit processor. It features a Mali T-722 GPU, two or three gigabytes of RAM, two USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI 2.0 port, onboard 802.11n Wi-Fi, a Gigabit Ethernet port, a microSD slot and several other peripheral ports.[21]

Notebook computers
Main article: Pinebook
Pinebook Pro

In November 2016, the Pinebook, a netbook built around an Allwinner A64 SoC with 2 GB of RAM and a 16 GB eMMC module, was announced. Pre-release comments in Make wrote that the A64's closest analog was two to three times the A64's price,[22] and that the A64 continued the Raspberry Pi's trend of breaking barriers for engineers.[23] Production started in April 2017. The Pinebook can only be obtained via a build-to-order system, potential buyers have to wait weeks or even months for an order code which then has to be redeemed within 72 hours. The hardware is priced at $99, but due to a $30 shipping fee and country-dependent import duties and taxes, the final price is higher.

The Pinebook was notably used by the KDE team to improve Plasma on ARM desktops.[24] In a review of the final hardware by Linux.com, the reviewer was surprised at his ability to have the full, albeit slow, Mate desktop environment at the A64's price.[14] Phoronix's benchmarks indicated similar CPU performance to a Raspberry Pi 3.[25]

In July 2019, the company announced the PineBook Pro, a netbook based around the Rockchip RK3399 SoC which is also used in the ROCKPro64. The preorder system went live on July 25, 2019. The device is priced at $199, though the final price after shipping and import duties and taxes is higher.[26] On March 15, 2020, it was announced that the PineBook Pro will ship with Arch Linux based Manjaro Linux as the default operating system.[27][28]

Smartphone
Main article: PinePhone
See also: List of open-source mobile phones

As of 2019, Pine64 is working on a Linux smartphone, PinePhone, using a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 64-Bit System on a chip (SoC). The aim is for the phone to be compatible with any mainline Linux kernel and to "support existing and well established Linux-on-Phone projects", as a community-developed smartphone.[29] After an initial BraveHeart release for early adopters in February 2020, the company continued releasing Community Editions that incrementally improve the design. The community support has been excellent, with 17 different OSes released for the device.[30]

In October 2021, the company announced the PinePhone Pro based on a binned RK3399 SoC with additional RAM and MMC storage, as well as higher resolution cameras.[31]

Tablets

In May 2020, Pine64 announced the PineTab tablet, with an optional detachable backlit keyboard.[32] It is a 10" tablet based on the same technology as the PinePhone, but without the modem and kill switches of that model.

In August 2021, the company announced the PineNote. The PineNote is a 10" tablet with a Rockchip RK3566 and 4 GB RAM, the same configuration used for the new Quartz64 SBCs. The tablet features a 227 DPI touchscreen Eink display panel that also includes a Wacom digitizer layer for stylus support.[33]

In December 2022, Pine64 announced the PineTab 2,[34] intended to be a successor to the original PineTab, which was heavily impacted by shipping delays and component shortages.[35]

Wearables

In 2019, Pine64 announced that it was working on a smartwatch. Only being available for developers initially, Pine64 released the PineTime in 2021, aimed at the consumer market.[36] The PineTime has a resolution of 240x240 with 65,000 colors, using an OLED display. The device features 64 KB of RAM, 512 KB of flash storage, and 4 MB of additional flash storage with Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy for connectivity. The watch is powered by the Nordic Semiconductor nRF52832 SoC, with a 64MHz ARM Cortex-M4F processor.[37]

In early 2022, the company announced that it was working on a set of wireless earbuds.[38] Pine64 later revealed the PineBuds, true wireless earbuds intended to run open-source firmware.[39]

References
  1. Brian, M. (December 9, 2015). "PINE A64 is a $15, 'high-performance' take on the Raspberry Pi". Engadget. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  2. "About Us – Cloud Media". Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  3. Matney, Lucas (January 21, 2016). "The Pine A64 Is A $15 PC With Endless Possibilities". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  4. Shah, Agam (March 15, 2016). "Meet the Raspberry Pi's new rival: The $15 Pine 64 finally ships with 4K video support". PCWorld. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  5. "PINE 64 INC., file number 5854755". Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  6. "Filing for Pine Microsystems, State of California". Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  7. "Certificate of Dissolution". Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  8. "Pine Store Limited, filing number 2899554" (PDF) (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  9. Terms of Use
  10. "PINE A64 512MB BOARD – PINE Store". Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  11. "Supported Hardware - DietPi.com Docs". Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  12. "Microsoft Azure IoT Device Catalog". Microsoft Azure. October 16, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  13. Obuch, Milan (February 20, 2017). "FreeBSD on Pine64 experience". Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  14. Bhartiya, Swapnil (August 9, 2016). "Build a $20 Computer with PINE64". Linux.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  15. "SOPINE A64 COMPUTE MODULE – PINE Store". Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  16. "CLUSTERBOARD with 7 SOPine compute module slots – PINE Store". Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  17. Benchoff, Brian (April 21, 2016). "PINE64: THE UN-REVIEW". Hackaday. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  18. "PINE A64-LTS – PINE Store". Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  19. "ROCK64 SINGLE BOARD COMPUTER – PINE Store". Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  20. "ROCKPro64 2GB Single Board Computer – PINE Store". Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  21. "PINE H64 "Model B"-2GB Single Board Computer – PINE Store". Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  22. Scheltema, David (December 9, 2015). "The $15 PINE64 Just Launched on Kickstarter, and it's Already Funded". Make. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  23. Epstein, Zach (December 9, 2015). "Meet Pine A64, a 64-bit quad-core supercomputer that costs just $15". BGR. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  24. Riddell, Jonathan (August 22, 2018). "KDE Plasma on ARM Laptop Pinebook". dot.kde.org.
  25. Larabel, Michael (December 26, 2016). "Benchmarking The Low-Cost PINE 64+ ARM Single Board Computer". Phoronix. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  26. "PINEBOOK Pro". Pine64. April 5, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  27. "Manjaro to be the Pinebook Pro's default OS". DistroWatch.com. March 16, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  28. "March Update: Manjaro on Pinebook Pro & PinePhone Software". Pine64. March 15, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  29. "An Open Source Smart Phone Supported by All Major Linux Phone Projects". Pine64. 2019. Archived from the original on June 16, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  30. "PinePhone_Software_Releases". Pine64 Wiki. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  31. "PinePhone Pro". PINE64. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  32. "May Update: PineTab pre-orders, PinePhone Qi charging & more". Pine64.
  33. "PineNote". PINE64. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  34. Nestor, Marius (December 15, 2022). "PINE64 Announces the PineTab2 Linux Tablet with Up to 8GB RAM and RK3566 SoC". 9to5Linux. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  35. Proven, Liam. "Pine64 takes another shot at an open tablet after chip shortages killed first PineTab". www.theregister.com. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  36. "Pine64's $30 Linux Smartwatch Launches". PCMAG. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  37. By (October 7, 2019). "Ask Hackaday: What's The Perfect Hacker Smart Watch?". Hackaday. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  38. Sneddon, Joey (April 29, 2022). "PineBuds: Wireless Ear Buds Powered by Open Source". OMG! Ubuntu!. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  39. "Upcoming PineSound Offers an Open Bluetooth Audio Dev Experience — Exemplified in the PineBuds". Hackster.io. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
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