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August 27th, 2024

RISC-V CPU arrives on a tablet starting at $149

DeepComputing launched the DC-ROMA RISC-V Pad II tablet for mobile app development, featuring a RISC-V octa-core CPU, Ubuntu Desktop 24.04, and starting at $149 for 4GB RAM.

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RISC-V CPU arrives on a tablet starting at $149

DeepComputing has launched the DC-ROMA RISC-V Pad II tablet, featuring a RISC-V octa-core CPU, specifically designed for mobile app development. The tablet is powered by the SpacemiT Key Stone K1 SoC, the same processor used in the DC-ROMA Laptop II, making it familiar for developers. It runs on Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 and supports touch inputs, with the option for external keyboard connectivity. The base model starts at $149 for 4GB of RAM, with higher configurations available, including a 16GB RAM version that is compatible with Android 15. The tablet's specifications include a 10.1-inch IPS display, 128GB eMMC storage, and a 6000mAh battery. The Premium variant is expected to be available by mid-September 2024. This development is significant for the RISC-V ecosystem, particularly in China, where the open-standard nature of RISC-V allows companies to circumvent U.S. sanctions on proprietary technologies. RISC-V International emphasizes that the standard is globally accessible, promoting competition in processor architectures. As DeepComputing and others invest in RISC-V technology, it is anticipated that this will lead to a broader range of options for consumers.

- The DC-ROMA RISC-V Pad II tablet is designed for mobile app development.

- It features an octa-core RISC-V CPU and runs Ubuntu Desktop 24.04.

- The tablet starts at $149 for the base model with 4GB RAM.

- Higher configurations include options for Android 15 compatibility.

- RISC-V's open-standard nature allows global access, benefiting competition in technology.

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Link Icon 11 comments
By @daniel_iversen - 5 months
Wonder if any of the RISC-V cpus are fast enough as a daily driver running Linux? (Or maybe in phones or servers one day I’d that’s the intention) - I was trying to read about it and saw that people’s analysis show some of them are 28% slower than a raspberry pi 4[1] and “the RISC-V U74 core had roughly 1.8 times lower performance per clock compared to the ARM Cortex-A53”[2]. I guess if the gap between non-open cpus and risc-v is too large and you can’t have the same OS experience or battery experience etc then it might be hard to be successful in mainstream devices? I have no idea how it works but would love to hear what people think; and it’s cool that we have an open processor architecture that seems relatively capable and that’s making its way into different devices!

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/RISCV/comments/1c1ikfp/eswin_eic770...

[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/RISCV/comments/1coxdwm/whats_the_cu...

By @loongloong - 5 months
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxtFctEsHy0

IMHO Jeff Geerling's recent video on RISC-V is a good update for those not tracking RISC-V closely, the links in the description are also useful.

By @jimis - 5 months

  > The DC-ROMA RISC-V Pad II starts at $149 for the 4GB RAM version and is already available for pre-order on the DeepComputing store. 
  > If you get the 16GB RAM variant, the tab is compatible with the Android Open-Source Project (AOSP) Android 15 operating system.
Weird, isn't 4GB RAM enough for Android 15? Or is AOSP compatibility completely separate from Android compatibility?
By @andai - 5 months
Is it cheaper / faster to emulate RISC-V in ARM? I know that would be defeating the purpose of having open hardware, but it might be a useful stopgap measure (until hardware catches up) if it lets us instantly create a economically viable market of devices that run RISC-V software.
By @rjsw - 5 months
It isn't the first RISC-V tablet, there is also the Pine64 PineTab-V.
By @nirui - 5 months
Isn't DeepComputing also announced a RISC-V based mainboard for Framework Laptop? See: https://x.com/DeepComputingio/status/1826582426807927121. I was hoping this would enable me to get a Framework in China, since DeepComputing is a HongKong based company. Plus, a RISC-V based product-grade project is nice to try out, maybe.
By @fsflover - 5 months
> This RISC-V-powered tablet is helping developers build more mobile apps for the open standard

Could you run something like Mobian (https://mobian.org/) or PureOS on it with convergent desktop apps?

By @weatherlight - 5 months
Other than it being open source, what are the advantages of RISC-V over ARM?
By @solarkraft - 5 months
It‘s really cool that RISC-V is becoming so real (with even Android and Ubuntu already being compatible), but it shifting processor production to chinese companies feels ... weird.
By @fithisux - 5 months
For RISC-V to succeed it needs open drivers, open specs. They can hide their IPs in the hardware and document the interface.

I'm ok with slower hardware if it is totally open. Blob free.