Pine64 releases WiFi module for iot for two dollars

Pine64 has released a Wi-Fi module for internet-of-things applications that is the size of a postage stamp and priced at $1.99. The module is built around the Realtek RTL8710, the competitor of the popular ESP8266 module.

The ESP8266 WiFi chip from the Chinese manufacturer Espressif is the favorite of many iot application makers and other electronics enthusiasts because of its low price, versatility and limited consumption. The module is from 2014, but Espressif recently released a version of the chip with 1MB integrated flash memory: the ESP8285.

In July, an interesting competitor for the popular ESP8266 appeared: the RTL8710 WiFi IoT module from Realtek. This module is also low-priced, but is a lot more powerful than the Espressif chips. As the site CNX Software writes, there is still something to criticize about the documentation and that is a point where Pine64’s ‘Padi iot Stamp’ comes into play.

This module based on the RTL8710 combines the Cortex M3 soc and wifi-n connectivity with 512kB ram and 1MB flash storage. The module supports spi at 41.5Mbit/s, 3x uart, 4x pwm, i2c at 3.4Mbit/s and up to 19 gpios. Pine64 is best known for the $15 A64 single-board computer.