Hi all ... couple of questions....
We're getting closer and closer to having to actually pick a board / mfg. and I'm just not 100% happy with my pick right now.
At the moment, what we need is the following:
- Serial port to attach a modem
- GPIO lines for a keypad
- GPIO lines for a character LCD
- Serial port for a printer
- Serial port for a data-logger
- 64MB or 128MB of NAND flash memory (OS and User Data)
- 32MB or 64MB of RAM
- USB port for plugging in a "keychain" storage device
- Ethernet port (10 or 10/100)
- Generic power requirements (integrated UPS is a NICE feature)
- Should support a custom linux distro, and have a Java JVM available
- Processor speed not really important, but should probably be at least as fast as a 200Mhz ARM.
I've currently settled on the ARMCORE and ARMBASE from CompuLab, but don't know if that's really the route I want to go. It seems a bit over-kill. However, I can get the above configuration for $162 in qty. of 1000, and a development board for under $1600.
Anyone else have any other suggestions? Formfactor is not extremely important -- although finding a case with space for a LCD and a keypad to stick in seems to be a bit entertaining.
Also -- we've been having a debate as to whether or not writing to a
4x40 LCD is "easier" with a serial port vs. GPIO lines. If it IS easier, is it more cost-effective to not have to purchase a serial LCD / extra serial port header?
Thanks so much.
--Anthony