Intrinsyc’s 50 x 25mm “Open-Q 820 µSOM” expands upon the Snapdragon 820 with Android 7.0, 3GB LPDDR4, 32GB UFS storage, WiFi, BT, and extended temps.

Intrinsyc has launched the smallest Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 based computer-on-module to date for $239, as well as an Open-Q µ820 Development Kit selling for $579. The Open-Q 820 µSOM module measures 50 x 25mm compared to Intrinsyc’s year-old, 82 x 42mm Open-Q 820 module. It also edges out other contenders we’ve seen in the Snapdragon 820 COM market, at least as far as size is concerned. These include the 53 x 25mm eInfochips Eragon 820 SOM and 50 x 28mm Inforce 6601 Micro SOM.

Open-Q 820 µSOM, front and back
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While the Inforce and eInfochips modules support Ubuntu and Android, the two Intrinsyc modules offer only Android. However, the Open-Q 820 µSOM supplies an up to date Android 7.0 “Nougat” release, marking the first time we’ve seen Nougat appear on an embedded board. The Open-Q 820 µSOM is designed for applications including robotics, cameras, set-top-boxes, medical devices, augmented and immersive virtual reality, digital signage, advanced 4K HEVC video conferencing, and other IoT products, says Intrinsyc.

The Snapdragon 820 has four 14nm FinFET fabricated “Kyro” cores that roughly mimic the ARMv8 Cortex-A72 design. The Kryo cores — two at 2.GHz, and two at 1.6GHz — offer up to twice the performance and twice the power efficiency of the Cortex-A57 cores on the Snapdragon 810. There’s also a 624MHz Adreno 530 GPU with up to 40 percent improvement in graphics over the previous Adreno 430, according to Qualcomm. An upgraded Hexagon 680 DSP and a 14-bit Spectra image signal processor (ISP) are also onboard.

Side view of the Open-Q 820 µSOM
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The Open-Q 820 µSOM supplies almost all the features of the Open-Q 820, but in a smaller package. Like the earlier module, the Open-Q 820 µSOM ships with 3GB LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB of speedy UFS 2.0 flash. There is no longer a microSD slot, although an SDIO interface is onboard for adding one on a carrier board.

Other shared features on the two Open-Q modules include dual-channel 802.11b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, and a Qualcomm IZat Gen 8C GNSS location module. For displays, you get an HDMI port and dual MIPI-DSI ports for up to 4K @ 60fps video. There’s no longer an optional 4.5-inch FWVGA touchscreen, however.

Three MIPI-CSI can now drive cameras at up to 28 megapixels, but there’s no longer an optional camera module listed. The Open-Q 820 µSOM is further equipped with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 client and host ports, dual PCIe expansion interfaces, and an 8x BLSP 4-pin port configurable as I2C, SPI, UART, or GPIO.

Audio gets a lot of attention here with Slimbus, 3x I2S, 6x analog in, 6x analog out, and 3x digital mic interfaces helping to bring your multimedia engine or voice interface come to life. The module runs on 3.6V to 4.2V power, and supports extended temperatures of -10 to 70°C.

Open-Q µ820 Development Kit
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There were no details on the Open-Q µ820 Development Kit. However, based on the photo, it appears to be similar in functionality, but slightly different in design than the Open-Q 820 Development Kit, which we covered in detail in our Dec. 2015 Open-Q report.

 
Further information

The Open-Q 820 µSOM is available for order at $239, or as part of a $579 Open-Q µ820 Development Kit, with shipments due in late February to early March. More information may be found on Intrinsyc’s Open-Q 820 µSOM product page and Open-Q µ820 Development Kit shopping page.