Intel is pushing very hard for the Internet of Things to come true; to help that along it has finally made the Edison development board available to developers and manufacturers from today. The computer is about the size of an SD card, and is intended to allow manufacturers, entrepreneurs, and just about anyone to create wearable devices; or just allow their appliances to become connected to the internet.
Intel Edison is built on a 22nm manufacturing process and includes a dual-core, dual threaded Intel Atom CPU at 500MHz. Also included is 1GB LPDDR3 RAM, a dual band WiFi controller and Bluetooth capabilities. It will support Arduino and C/C++; with by Node.JS*, Python*, RTOS and visual programming support coming in the near future.
Intel will be introducing its first SDK and API for wearable devices later this year; which shows that the company is more than ready to embrace the wearable market. It sounds like Intel has learnt from its mistake of ignoring the mobile market, where it is barely noticeable compared to Qualcomm, and is attempting to get ahead in the wearable space in case it suddenly takes off.
The announcement also showed off some of the more unusual applications of the Edison, like controlling the lighting on a dress. Intel Edison will be available in three SKUs, with the Intel Edison Module sold at US$50, Intel Edison Kit for Arduino at US$85 and Intel Edison Breakout Board Kit at US$60. The product will be available in 65 countries by the end of this year.
