RISCOSbits has a really nice of RISC OS based machines with the PiHard (I have one at work which I reviewed here).

The latest version is another eMMC based system (ie it is very fast on disc access) and is more compact than the original Qube and a rather cool mini OLED screen.

Andy explains it really well in his press release so here is what he said......

RISCOSbits are pleased to announce their latest addition to the PiHard range - the eMMC4.

This rugged little machine is the second in our line of eMMC PiHard systems, following on the tail of the PiRO Qube machines, announced in late Summer.

Whilst not as compact as the Qube, the eMMC4 comes across as a miniature version of the popular PiHarder machine, and has very similar features, with some notable additions.

The most obvious one is the replacement of the SD card with a faster internal 32GB eMMC solid state device. This allows for rapid booting of the system and allows apps to load up much quicker than from an SD card. In our tests, some filer operations are more than four times faster. Heavy disc usage apps, like RiscOSM and PDF really benefit from this extra speed, without the need to copy huge amounts of information backwards and forwards into RAM. The eMMC is also seemingly more robust for high intensity disc operations than SD cards.

Secondly, the OLED information screen on the top of the case provides up to date user-configured information on the current state of the system, including free disc space, free RAM, CPU temperature and speed. Further developments will also allow a range of other (useful and useless!) information to be displayed, including uptime, days left till Christmas, IP address, and number of .days till the Apocalypse, to name but a few.

The third addition to the system is an on-board Real Time Clock (RTC) to ensure the device is kept at the correct time, even when not connected to the network. This proved problematic on some other machines in the PiHard range due to the nature of the enclosures, but this machine overcomes that, and without compromise.

Powered by a standard USB-c power supply, the machine also contains a standard 2.5in Solid State drive with the option of dual booting a well supported Raspberry Pi flavoured Linux distro to make for a 'solid all round' machine.

In addition, eMMC4 has the full range of expected user ports, including USB, properly functional Gigabit Ethernet, and twin HDMI ports, as well as dedicated analogue audio, and an on-off button, all within a compact and rugged aluminium case of only 12cm x 9cm x 4.5cm, mainly to accommodate the standard-sized storage options. With a fan-cooled processor capable of running at up to 2.28GHz, and 4GB of fast DDR4 RAM as standard, this machine is like lightning.

With prices starting from just £199, this aggressively-priced, top-end, eMMC-based machine combines the speed and reliability of 'RISC OS on a Raspberry Pi' platform with solid, robust storage, for a fraction of the price of similar systems.

For more details and to order for immediate despatch, go to www.pihard.co.uk and look for the eMMC4.