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        Via adds touchscreens to industrial computer

        Jonathan Angel | Date: Apr 28, 2010 | Comments: 1


        Via announced two panel PCs featuring 1.3GHz Nano processors, up to 2GB of RAM, hard disk or CompactFlash storage, stereo speakers, and two megapixel cameras. The Vipro VP7815 has a 15-inch touchscreen with 1024 x 768 pixel resolution, while the Vipro VP7806 has a 6.5-inch touchscreen with 640 x 480 resolution, the company says.

        Via says its Vipro VP7815 and VP7806 are intended for industrial and commercial use, incorporating touchscreens that meet IP65 standards for resisting water and dust. As we'll see, both provide identical computing power, but the 15-inch VP7815 is available with resistive or capacitive touchscreens and offers a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. The VP7806, in contrast, has a 6.5-inch resistive touchscreen with a resolution of just 640 x 480 pixels.

        According to Via, the VP7815 and VP7806 are based on a previously released industrial computer, the ART-3000 seen at right. When you look at the panel PCs (pictured below), this fact is pretty obvious: the VP7806 is particularly ungainly.


        Via's Vipro VP7815 and VP7806
        (Click either to enlarge)

        However, while the VP78xx devices obviously won't win any awards for styling, their design has advantages beyond just quick time to market (the ART-3000 was announced just last month). The panel PCs gain access to the dual I/O "coastlines" on the ART-3000 and its underlying EITX-3000 main board. As a result, they're particularly well-endowed with real-world connectors.


        The ports on Via's ART-3000 (above) carry over to the VP78xx panel PCs
        (Click to enlarge)

        On one side (above left) of the ART-3000 and VP78xx panel PCs, there's a DC power input, two USB 2.0 ports, and four serial ports. On the other side (above right), there are two more USB 2.0 ports, a microphone input, line output, a VGA port, and two gigabit Ethernet ports, Via says.

        The VP78xx panel PCs also retain the dual LVDS connectors found on the ART-3000. However, spec sheets for the devices imply that only one LVDS connector is operational, apparently because the wiring for the other one has been routed to the built-in touchscreens. Nonetheless, it's impressive to encounter a panel PC that's capable of driving two external displays.

        The VP7815 and VP7806 have CompactFlash slots and room for 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drives, plus up to 2GB of RAM in a single SODIMM slot. Employing Via's 1.3GHz Nano processor and VX800 northbridge/southbridge, they benefit from the latter's Chrome9 HC3 DX9 3D/2D graphics controller, which provides MPEG-2/4 and WMV9 decoding acceleration, according to Via.

        Via says the VP7815 and VP7806 both sport two megapixel cameras mounted on their front bezels. The systems also have built-in microphones and stereo speakers, the company adds.

        Features and specifications listed by Via for the VP8515 and VP7806 include:

        • Processor -- 1.3GHz Nano
        • Chipset -- VX800
        • Memory -- Up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM via single SODIMM slot
        • Display:
          • 15-inch touchscreen (resistive or capacitive) with 1024 x 768 resolution (VP8515)
          • 6.5-inch resistive touchscreen with 640 x 480 resolution (VP7806)
        • Camera -- 2.0 megapixel
        • Storage -- 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drive or CompactFlash
        • Networking -- 2 x gigabit Ethernet
        • Other I/O:
          • VGA
          • LVDS
          • 4 x USB 2.0 (2 front, 2 rear)
          • 4 x serial (2 x RS232; 2 x RS232/422/485)
        • Power -- accepts DC input power from 7V to 36V
        • Dimensions:
          • VP7815 -- 15.7 x 11.9 x 3.18 inches
          • VP7806 -- 7.9 x 6.5 x 3 inches
        • Weight:
          • VP7815 -- 11 pounds
          • VP7806 -- 6.6 pounds
        Further information

        According to Via, the VP78xx panel PCs run Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows XP Embedded, and Ubuntu Linux. Pricing was not cited, but the devices appear to be available now.

        Product pages for the VP7815 and VP7806 may be found here and here, respectively.

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