VIA Announces Teeny-Tiny Embedded PC Platform

How small can the familiar x86 PC architecture get? VIA Technologies has unveiled Mobile-ITX, an open form factor specification 50 percent smaller than the company's already puny Pico-ITX -- 6 by 6 cm (2.4 by 2.4 inches) for a fully functional embedded system motherboard.

The Mobile-ITX spec dictates a CPU module card, incorporating one of VIA's low-power x86 processors plus chipset and memory, atop a customizable, application-specific I/O carrier board. Connectivity includes CRT and LCD display, HD audio, IDE, USB 2.0, SMBus, SDIO, GPIO, and PCI Express support. Modules can consume as little as 5 watts; the spec includes a slimline, fanless 12-watt power supply.

VIA, which will begin selling Mobile-ITX mainboards in the first quarter of 2010, anticipates the design appearing in ultraportable embedded systems for medical, military, and transportation applications, among others.