ROMA is an upcoming Linux laptop equipped with an unnamed quad-core RISC-V processor with GPU and NPU, up to 16GB RAM, 256GB storage, primarily aimed at software developers, and with Web3 technology integration.
The ROMA laptop will be born out of the collaboration between DeepComputing working on engineering and Xcalibyte taking care of system tuning, plus PW (assembly), ECP (security), XC (crypto), Rexeen (voice), and the LatticeX Foundation (PoS blockchain, NFT).
ROMA laptop preliminary specifications:
- SoC – Quad-core RISC-V CPU with GPU for graphics, NPU for AI (12nm chip for the Pro model, 28nm chip for the Standard model)
- System Memory – 16GB LPDDR4/LPDDR4X RAM
- Storage – 256GB eMMC flash
- Security – Arm SC300 security enclave processor
- Display, keyboard, touchpad
I agree that’s a bit light on details. We’re told the laptop will support most Linux operating systems and the company will offer free SoC and SoM upgrades, as well as “early access to next-generation laptop and accessory upgrades at generous discounts”. If I read that right that means you’d pay once and get free hardware upgrades for the rest of the laptop’s life. That’s going to be a hefty price tag, or it will rely on the ever-increasing value of whatever crypto or NFT is attached to the laptop. By the way, the first 100 orders will get a free NFT, and the laptop will ship with a MetaMask-style wallet.
But let’s put aside crypto, blockchain, NFTs, the Metaverse, and Web3 technology aside for a moment, as the true innovation, disruptive technology that will reverberate through the markets for years to come is THIS:
If that thing had an Apple logo, I could already see your jaw drop to the floor in awe. That’s the ROMA packaging used as a laptop stand. All jokes aside, provided it’s indeed sturdy enough, all laptop packagings should be made that way.
The “pre-orders” are opened for the ROMA laptop, but it’s more about filling out a form to express your interest since the payment method is not asked for. Note that personal email addresses (gmail, hotmail, …) are not accepted, and you’d need to use a company’s email address or one with your own domain name. As mentioned previously, the first 100 customers to pre-order ROMA will receive a unique NFT to mark the birth of the world’s first native RISC-V development platform laptop, and you can have your ROMA personally engraved with your name or company name.
While I’m not sure the ROMA RISC-V laptop will be successful with the lack of concrete details and all the buzzwords in the announcement, RISC-V laptops are being worked on by several companies, as we recently reported about a survey from StarFive planning to make a RISC-V laptop or mini PC with performance similar to Rockchip RK3588 SoC.
Via RISC-V and Liliputing
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
