Skip to main content

Chip Pro sequel to crowdsourced $9 computer sets its sights on gadget makers

chip pro system on a board devices
The Next Thing Co.
Last year, the $9 Chip computer made waves on Kickstarter, raising more than $2 million beyond its pledge goal of $50,000. Now, the company behind the device has unveiled its successor, a single-board computer aimed at engineers, start-ups, and manufacturers looking to develop a smart gadget.

The Chip Pro is built around the GR8, a 32-bit 1GHz system-on-a-chip that’s manufactured by Allwinner. It’s fitted with an ARM Mali-400 GPU with RAM included in the processor package, according to a report from The Register.

The device is intended to simplify the process of selecting and implementing a system-on-a-chip solution. At present, there are a wide array of different choices, some of which, however, don’t have accurate technical documentation, or an easy method of sourcing large orders.

The Next Thing Co. wants to offer an alternative in the form of the Chip Pro. The device’s hardware designs are open-source, and there’s plenty of information available pertaining to all aspects of its usage. There’s also a simplified pricing structure to keep things straightforward.

The 14mm x 14mm GR8 chip itself costs $6, while the Chip Pro with storage and support for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections costs $16.

This release will appeal to companies and individuals developing their own gadgets thanks to the flash programming services being offered up by The Next Thing Co. The laborious process of flashing and testing individual units can be avoided, as the company has established contracts with factories in China and Taiwan that will take care of these tasks before orders are delivered to the buyer.

The Next Thing Co. expects to ship the Chip Pro in early 2017. The company is now accepting orders for development kits, which will ship in December 2016. A package containing two units costs $49, and is available from the Get Chip website.

Editors' Recommendations

Brad Jones
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…
The HP Victus gaming PC with RTX 3060 has a $550 discount
The HP Victus 15L gaming PC in white.

Gamers don't need to spend more than $1,000 if they want to buy a new gaming PC because there are affordable options like the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop. From its original price of $1,400, you can get it for just $850 as HP has applied a $550 discount on this machine. However, you shouldn't delay your purchase because there's no assurance that the gaming PC will still be 39% off tomorrow. If you want to make sure that you get it for less than $1,000, you're going to have to complete the transaction for it within the day.

Why you should buy the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop
You shouldn't expect the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop to match the performance of the top-of-the-line models of the best gaming PCs, but it's surprisingly powerful for its cost. Inside it are the 13th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, with 16GB of RAM that our guide on how much RAM do you need says is the best place to start for gaming. It's enough to play today's best PC games without any issues, and it may even be capable of running the upcoming PC games of the next few years if you're willing to dial down the settings for the more demanding titles.

Read more
This 17-inch HP laptop is on sale for just $300 — but hurry!
The HP 17t-cn300 17.3-inch laptop against a white background.

If you want to buy a laptop with a relatively large screen, the good news is that you don't have to break the bank with your purchase because you can get the HP Laptop 17t for a very affordable $300. It's on sale from HP with a $200 discount on its original price of $500, but there's no telling how much time is remaining before this offer expires. We don't think it will stay available for long because laptop deals like this almost always get sold out quickly, so complete the transaction as soon as possible to make sure that you don't miss out on the savings.

Why you should buy the HP Laptop 17t
With the 17.3-inch display of the HP Laptop 17t, you'll have a lot of screen real estate to work on your projects and watch streaming shows. It's pretty affordable for a laptop with this large screen, which offers HD+ resolution for sharp details and vibrant colors. However, despite its big display, the HP Laptop 17t maintains portability because it's only 0.78 of an inch thick, which makes it easy to slide into your bag when you're on the go, and it won't be too heavy to carry around because it only weighs about 4.6 pounds.

Read more
What to do if your Intel CPU keeps crashing
Pins on Core i9-12900K.

Despite being among the best processors you can buy, some high-end Intel CPUs have faced a wave of instability over the past few months. Intel is investigating the problem, but the company and its motherboard partners have already worked toward some temporary fixes to improve stability on high-end Intel CPUs -- even if it comes at a performance cost.

Before getting into the fixes, keep in mind that they are temporary. Intel will release a statement on the instability soon, likely with more direct guidance on what affected users should do. In addition, the scope of the problem isn't clear -- if you're not experiencing issues, you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
Who's affected

Read more