The Linux/Android-ready Inforce 6309L is a cheaper version of the DragonBoard 410c-like Inforce 6309. It sacrifices GbE and LVDS, but has 10-year support.

Inforce Computing has released a more affordable and slightly less feature rich version of its commercial-oriented, circa-2015 Inforce 6309 SBC. Like the Inforce 6309, the new Inforce 6309L has the same 85 x 54mm footprint and much the same feature set as Arrow’s Qualcomm-backed, community-backed DragonBoard 410c SBC. It also offers the same Linux and Android BSPs used by the DragonBoard 410c, one of the first SBCs to adopt Linaro’s 96Boards form-factor.

Inforce 6309L
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Even more than the earlier Inforce board, the 6309L is aimed at commercial vendors who need volume manufacturing or custom designs. The SBC will be available in large production quantities, and is available at a minimum order of 100, at $85 each. Thanks to a switch to the Snapdragon 410E variant of the quad-core Cortex-A53 Snapdragon 410, it ships with a 10-year supply commitment.

The lower price, down from $126 for the 6309, came with a few sacrifices. The Gigabit Ethernet port, which was missing from the DragonBoard 410c, has been removed here as well. The new version also loses the LVDS interface and JTAG connector. Instead of offering -30 to 85°C support, you get a commercial 0 to 70°C range. However, special order customizations will be available that return it to the same extended temperature, and you can also special order a version with an RTC.

Simplified Inforce 6309L block diagram
(click image to enlarge)

The Inforce 6309L continues to have a 26-pin expansion connector instead of the DragonBoard 410c’s 96Boards.org-compliant 40- and 60-pin connectors. Like the Inforce 6309, the new version has 1GB LPDDR3, 8GB eMMC, and a microSD slot.

Other continuing features include WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1 with BLE, GPS, a micro-HDMI 1.3a port, and dual CSI camera ports. The SBC is further equipped with dual USB 2.0 host ports, a micro-USB OTG port, and an audio jack.

Like both of its forebears, the Inforce 6309L offers a choice of preloaded Android Lollipop or Ubuntu BSPs, with the latter based on Linaro’s upstream version. Windows 10 IoT is also supported. Software that has been developed on the DragonBoard 410c can be reused, says Inforce. Optional tech support and design assistance plans are available along with various long-term maintenance contracts.

Specifications listed for the Inforce 6309L SBC include:

• Processor — Qualcomm Snapdragon 410E (4x Cortex-A53 cores @ up to 1.2GHz); Qualcomm Adreno 306 GPU @ 400MHz; Hexagon QDSP6 DSP
• Memory/storage:
  • 1GB LPDDR3 533MHz RAM
  • 8GB eMMC
  • MicroSD slot
• Multimedia I/O:
  • μHDMI 1.3a port with HD audio for up to 1080p HD playback and capture with H.264 (AVC), HD playback with H.265
  • 2x MIPI-CSI2 (4/2-lanes) Support for dual cameras (13-megapixel total)
• Wireless:
  • 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz WiFi with support for 720p Miracast
  • Bluetooth 4.1 LE
  • GPS
  • External antenna connectors
• Other I/O:
  • 2x USB 2.0 host ports
  • Micro-USB 2.0 OTG port
  • Headphone/mic jack
  • 26-pin expansion connector (2x UART, SPI, I2S, I2C, 20x GPIO)
• Power — +12V DC input (1.5A typ.) with 7-24V supply
• Operating temperature — 0 to 70°C
• Dimensions — 85 x 54mm
• Operating system — Android Lollipop or Linaro Ubuntu Linux preloaded; supports Windows IoT

 
Further information

The Inforce 6309L is available for $85 apiece with a minimum order of 100. More information may be found at Inforce Computing’s Inforce 6309L product page.