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• 7 Benefits Segmentation Examples + How to Get Started

  26 mars 2024, par Erin

  Every copywriter knows the importance of selling a product’s benefits, not its features. So why should your marketing efforts be different ?

  Answer : they shouldn’t.

  It’s time to stop using demographic or behavioural traits to group customers and start using benefits segmentation instead.

  Benefits segmentation groups your customers based on the value they get from your product or service. In this article, we’ll cover seven real-life examples of benefits segmentation, explain why it’s so powerful and show how to get started today.

  What is benefits segmentation ?

  Benefits segmentation is a way for marketers to group their target market based on the value they get from their products or services. It is a form of customer segment marketing. Other types of market segmentation include :

  • Geographic segmentation
  • Demographic segmentation
  • Psychographic segmentation
  • Behavioural segmentation
  • Firmographic segmentation

  Customers could be the same age, from the same industry and live in the same location but want drastically different things from the same product. Some may like the design of your products, others the function, and still more the price. 

  Whatever the benefits, you can make your marketing more effective by building advertising campaigns around them.

  Why use benefits segmentation ?

  Appealing to the perceived benefits of your product is a powerful marketing strategy. Here are the advantages of you benefit segmentation can expect :

  

  More effective marketing campaigns

  Identifying different benefits segments lets you create much more targeted marketing campaigns. Rather than appeal to a broad customer base, you can create specific ads and campaigns that speak to a small part of your target audience. 

  These campaigns tend to be much more powerful. Benefits-focused messaging better resonates with your audience, making potential customers more likely to convert.

  Better customer experience 

  Customers use your products for a reason. By showing you understand their needs through benefits segmentation, you deliver a much better customer experience — in terms of messaging and how you develop new products. 

  In today’s world, experience matters. 80% of customers say a company’s experience is as important as its products and services.

  Stronger customer loyalty

  When products or services are highly targeted at potential customers, they are more likely to return. More than one-third (36%) of customers would return to a brand if they had a positive experience, even if cheaper or more convenient alternatives exist.

  Using benefits segmentation will also help you attract the right kind of people in the first place — people who will become long-term customers because your benefits align with their needs. 

  Improved products and services

  Benefits segmentation makes it easier to tailor products or services to your audiences’ wants and needs. 

  Rather than creating a product meant to appeal to everyone but doesn’t fulfil a real need, your team can create different ranges of the same product that target different benefits segments. 

  Higher conversion rates

  Personalising your pitch to individual customers is powerful. It drives performance and creates better outcomes for your target customer. Companies that grow faster drive 40 per cent more revenue from personalisation than their slower-growing counterparts.

  When sales reps understand your product’s benefits, talking to customers about them and demonstrating how the product solves particular pain points is much easier. 

  In short, benefits segmentation can lead to higher conversion rates and a better return on investment. 

  7 examples of benefits segmentation

  Let’s take a look at seven examples of real-life benefits segmentation to improve your understanding :

  Nectar

  Mattress manufacturer Nectar does a great job segmenting their product range by customer benefits. That’s a good thing, given how many different things people want from their mattress. 

  It’s not just a case of targeting back sleepers vs. side sleepers ; they focus on more specific benefits like support and cooling. 

  

  Take a look at the screenshot above. Nectar mentions the benefits of each mattress in multiple places, making it easy for customers to find the perfect mattress. If you care about value, for example, you might choose “The Nectar.” If pressure relief and cooling are important to you, you might pick the “Nectar Premier.”

  24 Hour Fitness

  A gym is a gym is a gym, right ? Not when people use it to achieve different goals, it’s not. And that’s what 24 Hour Fitness exploits when they sell memberships to their audience. 

  As you can see from its sales page, 24 Hour Fitness targets the benefits that different customers get from their products :

  

  Customers who just care about getting access to weights and treadmills for as cheap as possible can buy the Silver Membership. 

  But getting fit isn’t the only reason people go to the gym. That’s why 24 Hour Fitness targets its Gold Membership to those who want the “camaraderie” of studio classes led by “expert instructors.”

  Finally, some people value being able to access any club, anywhere in the country. Consumers value flexibility greatly, so 24 Hour Fitness limits this perk to its top-tier membership. 

  Notion

  Notion is an all-in-one productivity and note-taking app that aims to be the only productivity tool people and teams need. Trying to be everything to all people rarely works, however, which is why Notion cleverly tweaks its offering to appeal to the desires of different customer segments :

  

  For price-conscious individuals, it provides a pared solution that doesn’t bloat the user experience with features or benefits these consumers don’t care about.

  The Plus tier is the standard offering for teams who need a way to collaborate online. Still, there are two additional tiers for businesses that target specific benefits only certain teams need. 

  For teams that benefit from a longer history or additional functionality like a bulk export, Notion offers the Business tier at almost double the price of the standard Plus tier. Finally, the Enterprise tier for businesses requires much more advanced security features. 

  Apple

  Apple is another example of a brand that designs and markets products to customers based on specific benefits.

  

  Why doesn’t Apple just make one really good laptop ? Because customers want different things from them. Some want the lightest or smallest laptop possible. Others need ones with higher processing power or larger screens.

  One product can’t possibly deliver all those benefits. So, by understanding the precise reasons people need a laptop, Apple can create and market products around the benefits that are most likely to be sold. 

  Tesla

  In the same way Apple understands that consumers need different things from their laptops, Tesla understands that consumers derive different benefits from their cars. 

  It’s why the company sells four cars (and now a truck) that cover various sizes, top speeds, price points and more. 

  

  Tesla even asks customers about the benefits they want from their car when helping them to choose a vehicle. By asking customers to pick how they will use their new vehicle, Tesla can ensure the car’s benefits match up to the consumers’ goals. 

  Dynamite Brands

  Dynamite Brands is a multi-brand, community-based business that targets remote entrepreneurs around the globe. But even this heavily niched-down business still needs to create benefit segments to serve its audience better. 

  It’s why the company has built several different brands instead of trying to serve every customer under a single banner :

  

  If you just want to meet other like-minded entrepreneurs, you can join the Dynamite Circle, for example. But DC Black might be a better choice if you care more about networking and growing your business.

  It’s the same with the two recruiting brands. Dynamite Jobs targets companies that just want access to a large talent pool. Remote First Recruiting targets businesses that benefit from a more hands-on approach to hiring where a partner does the bulk of the work.

  Garmin

  Do you want your watch to tell the time or do you want it to do more ? If you fall into the latter category, Garmin has designed dozens of watches that target various benefits.

  

  Do you want a watch that tracks your fitness without looking ugly ? Buy the Venu. 

  Want a watch designed for runners ? Buy the Forerunner. 

  Do you need a watch that can keep pace with your outdoor lifestyle ? Buy the Instinct. 

  Just like Apple, Garmin can’t possibly design a single watch that delivers all these benefits. Instead, each watch is carefully built for the target customer’s needs. Yes, it makes the target market smaller, but it makes the product more appealing to those who care about those benefits.

  How to get started with benefits segmentation

  According to Gartner, 63% of digital marketing leaders struggle with personalisation. Don’t be one of them. Here’s how you can improve your personalisation efforts using benefits segmentation. 

  Research and define benefits

  The first step to getting started with benefit segmentation is understanding all the benefits customers get from your products. 

  You probably already know some of the benefits, but don’t underestimate the importance of customer research. Hold focus groups, survey customers and read customer reviews to discover what customers love about your products. 

  Create benefit-focused customer personas

  Now you understand the benefits, it’s time to create customer personas that reflect them. Group consumers who like similar benefits and see if they have any other similarities. 

  Price-conscious consumers may be younger. Maybe people who care about performance have a certain type of job. The more you can do to flesh out what the average benefits-focused consumer looks like, the easier it will be to create campaigns. 

  Create campaigns focused on each benefit

  Now, we get to the fun part. Make the benefit-focused customer personas you created in the last step the focus of your marketing campaigns going forward. 

  Don’t try to appeal to everyone. Just make your campaigns appeal to these people.

  Go deeper with segmentation analytics

  The quality of your benefit segmentation strategy hinges on the quality of your data. That’s why using a an accurate web analytics solution like Matomo to track how each segment behaves online using segmentation analytics is important.

  

  This data can make your marketing campaigns more targeted and effective.

  Benefits segmentation in practice

  Let’s say you have an e-commerce website selling a wide range of household items, and you want to create a benefit segment for “Tech Enthusiasts” who are interested in the latest gadgets and cutting-edge technology. You want to track and analyse their behaviour separately to tailor marketing campaigns or website content specifically for this group.

  1. Identify characteristics : Determine key characteristics or behaviours that define the “Tech Enthusiasts” segment. 

  This might include frequent visits to product pages of the latest tech products, site searches that contain different tech product names, engaging with tech-specific content in emails or spending more time on technology-related blog posts.

  One quick and surefire way to identify characteristics of a segment is to look historically at specific tech product purchases in your Matomo and work your way backwards to find out what steps a “Tech Enthusiast” takes before making a purchase. For instance, you might look at User Flows to discover this.

  

  2. Create segments in Matomo : Using Matomo’s segmentation features, you can create a segment that includes users exhibiting these characteristics. For instance :

  • • Segment by page visits : Create a segment that includes users who visited tech product pages or spent time on tech blogs.

  

  • • Segment by event tracking : If you’ve set up event tracking for specific actions (like clicking on “New Tech” category buttons), create a segment based on these events.
    • Combine conditions : Combine various conditions (e.g., pages visited, time spent, specific actions taken) to create a comprehensive segment that accurately represents “Tech Enthusiasts.”

  3. Track and analyse : Apply this segment to your analytics data in Matomo to track and analyse the behaviour of this group separately. Monitor metrics like their conversion rates, time spent on site or specific products they engage with.
  4. Tailor marketing : Use the insights from analysing this segment to tailor marketing strategies. This could involve creating targeted campaigns or customising website content to cater specifically to these users.

  Remember, the key is to define criteria that accurately represent the segment you want to target, use Matomo’s segmentation tools to isolate this group, and effectively derive actionable insights to cater to their preferences or needs.

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  Track your segmentation efforts 

  Benefits segmentation is a fantastic way to improve your marketing. It can help you deliver a better customer experience, improve your product offering and help your sales reps close more deals. 

  Segmenting your audience with an analytics platform lets you go even deeper. But doing so in a privacy-sensitive way can be difficult. 

  That’s why over 1 million websites choose Matomo as their web analytics solution. Matomo provides exceptional segmentation capabilities while remaining 100% accurate and compliant with global privacy laws.

  Find out how Matomo’s insights can level up your marketing efforts with our 21-day free trial, no credit card required.

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• A Quick Start Guide to the Payment Services Directive (PSD2)

  22 novembre 2024, par Daniel Crough — Banking and Financial Services, Privacy

  In 2023, there were 266.2 billion real-time payments indicating that the demand for secure transactions has never been higher. As we move towards a more open banking system, there are a host of new payment solutions that offer convenience and efficiency, but they also present new risks.

  The Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) is one of many regulations established to address these concerns. PSD2 is a European Union (EU) business initiative to offer smooth payment experiences while helping customers feel safe from online threats. 

  In this post, learn what PSD2 includes, how it improves security for online payments, and how Matomo supports banks and financial institutions with PSD2 compliance.

  What is PSD2 ? 

  PSD2 is an EU directive that aims to improve the security of electronic payments across the EU. It enforces strong customer authentication and allows third-party access to consumer accounts with explicit consent. 

  Its main objectives are :

  • Strengthening security and data privacy measures around digital payments.
  • Encouraging innovation by allowing third-party providers access to banking data.
  • Improving transparency with clear communication regarding fees, terms and conditions associated with payment services.
  • Establishing a framework for sharing customer data securely through APIs for PSD2 open banking.

  Rationale behind PSD2 

  PSD2’s primary purpose is to engineer a more integrated and efficient European payment market without compromising the security of online transactions. 

  The original directive aimed to standardise payment services across EU member states, but as technology evolved, an updated version was needed.

  PSD2 is mandatory for various entities within the European Economic Area (EEA), like :

  • Banks and credit institutions
  • Electronic money institutions or digital banks like Revolut
  • Card issuing and acquiring institutions
  • Fintech companies
  • Multi-national organisations operating in the EU

  PSD2 implementation timeline

  With several important milestones, PSD2 has reshaped how payment services work in Europe. Here’s a closer look at the pivotal events that paved the way for its launch.

  • 2002 : The banking industry creates the European Payments Council (EC), which drives the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) initiative to include non-cash payment instruments across European regions. 
  • 2007 : PSD1 goes into effect.
  • 2013 : EC proposes PSD2 to include protocols for upcoming payment services.
  • 2015 : The Council of European Union passes PSD2 and gives member states two years to incorporate it.
  • 2018 : PSD2 goes into effect. 
  • 2019 : The final deadline for all companies within the EU to comply with PSD2’s regulations and rules for strong customer authentication. 

  PSD2 : Key components 

  PSD2 introduces several key components. Let’s take a look at each one.

  Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)

  The Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) under PSD2 outline specific requirements for SCA. 

  SCA requires multi-factor authentication for online transactions. When customers make a payment online, they need to verify their identity using at least two of the three following elements :

  • Knowledge : Something they know (like a password, a code or a secret answer)
  • Possession : Something they have (like their phone or card)
  • Inherence : Something they are (like biometrics — fingerprints or facial features)

  

  Before SCA, banks verified an individual’s identity only using a password. This dual verification allows only authorised users to complete transactions. SCA implementation reduces fraud and increases the security of electronic payments.

  SCA implementation varies for different payment methods. Debit and credit cards use the 3D Secure (3DS) protocol. E-wallets and other local payment measures often have their own SCA-compliant steps. 

  3DS is an extra step to authenticate a customer’s identity. Most European debit and credit card companies implement it. Also, in case of fraudulent chargebacks, the issuing bank becomes liable due to 3DS, not the business. 

  However, in SCA, certain transactions are exempt : 

  • Low-risk transactions : A transaction by an issuer or an acquirer whose fraud level is below a specific threshold. If the acquirer feels that a transaction is low risk, they can request to skip SCA. 
  • Low-value transactions : Transactions under €30.
  • Trusted beneficiaries : Trusted merchants customers choose to safelist.
  • Recurring payments : Recurring transactions for a fixed amount are exempt from SCA after the first transaction.

  Third-party payment service providers (TPPs) framework

  TPPs are entities authorised to access customer banking data and initiate payments. There are three types of TPPs :

  Account Information Service Providers (AISPs)

  AISPs are services that can view customers’ account details, but only with their permission. For example, a budgeting app might use AISP services to gather transaction data from a user’s bank account, helping them monitor expenses and oversee finances. 

  Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISPs)

  PISPs enable clients to initiate payments directly from their bank accounts, bypassing the need for conventional payment options such as debit or credit cards. After the customer makes a payment, PISPs immediately contact the merchant to ensure the user can access the online services or products they bought. 

  Card-Based Payment Instruments (CBPII)

  CBPIIs refer to services that issue payment cards linked to customer accounts. 

  Requirements for TPPs

  To operate effectively under PSD2, TPPs must meet several requirements :

  Consumer consent : Customers must explicitly authorise TPPs to retrieve their financial data. This way, users can control who can view their information and for what purpose.

  Security compliance : TPPs must follow SCA and secure communication guidelines to protect users from fraud and unauthorised access.

  API availability : Banks must make their Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) accessible and allow TPPs to connect securely with the bank’s systems. This availability helps in easy integration and lets TPPs access essential data. 

  Consumer protection methods

  PSD2 implements various consumer protection measures to increase trust and transparency between consumers and financial institutions. Here’s a closer look at some of these key methods :

  • Prohibition of unjustified fees : PSD2 requires banks to clearly communicate any additional charges or fees for international transfers or account maintenance. This ensures consumers are fully aware of the actual costs and charges.
  • Timely complaint resolution : PSD2 mandates that payment service providers (PSPs) have a straightforward complaint procedure. If a customer faces any problems, the provider must respond within 15 business days. This requirement encourages consumers to engage more confidently with financial services.
  • Refund in case of unauthorised payment : Customers are entitled to a full refund for payments made without their consent.
  • Surcharge ban : Additional charges on credit and debit card payments aren’t allowed. Businesses can’t impose extra fees on these payment methods, which increases customers’ purchasing power.

  Benefits of PSD2 

  Businesses — particularly those in banking, fintech, finserv, etc. — stand to benefit from PSD2 in several ways.

  Access to customer data

  With customer consent, banks can analyse spending patterns to develop tailored financial products that match customer needs, from personalised savings accounts to more relevant loan offerings.

  Innovation and cost benefits 

  PSD2 opened payment processing up to more market competition. New payment companies bring fresh approaches to banking services, making daily transactions more efficient while driving down processing fees across the sector.

  Also, banks now work alongside payment technology providers, combining their strengths to create better services. This collaboration brings faster payment options to businesses, helping them stay competitive while reducing operational costs.

  Improved customer trust and experience

  Due to PSD2 guidelines, modern systems handle transactions quickly without compromising the safety of payment data, creating a balanced approach to digital banking.

  

  Banking customers now have more control over their financial information. Clear processes allow consumers to view and adjust their financial preferences as needed.

  Strong security standards form the foundation of these new payment systems. Payment provider platforms must adhere to strict regulations and implement additional protection measures.

  Challenges in PSD2 compliance 

  What challenges can banks and financial institutions face regarding PSD2 compliance ? Let’s examine them. 

  Resource requirements

  For many businesses, the new requirements come with a high price tag. PSD2 requires banks and fintechs to build and update their systems so that other providers can access customer data safely. For example, they must develop APIs to allow TPPs to acquire customer data. 

  Many banks still use older systems that can’t meet PSD2’s added requirements. In addition to the cost of upgrades, complying with PSD2 requires banks to devote resources to training staff and monitoring compliance.

  The significant costs required to update legacy systems and IT infrastructure while keeping services running remain challenging.

  Risks and penalties

  Organisations that fail to comply with PSD2 regulations can face significant penalties.

  Additionally, the overlapping requirements of PSD2 and other regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), can create confusion. 

  Banks need clear agreements with TPPs about who’s responsible when things go wrong. This includes handling data breaches, preventing data misuse and protecting customer information. 

  Increased competition 

  Introducing new players in the financial ecosystem, such as AISPs and PISPs, creates competition. Banks must adapt their services to stay competitive while managing compliance costs.

  PSD2 aims to protect customers but the stronger authentication requirements can make banking less convenient. Banks must balance security with user experience. Focused time, effort and continuous monitoring are needed for businesses to stay compliant and competitive.

  How Matomo can help 

  Matomo gives banks and financial institutions complete control over their data through privacy-focused web analytics, keeping collected information internal rather than being used for marketing or other purposes. 

  Its advanced security setup includes access controls, audit logs, SSL encryption, single sign-on and two-factor authentication. This creates a secure environment where sensitive data remains accessible only to authorised staff.

  While prioritizing privacy, Matomo provides tools to understand user flow and customer segments, such as session recordings, heatmaps and A/B testing.

  Financial institutions particularly benefit from several key features : 

  • Tools for obtaining explicit consent before processing personal data like this Do Not Track preference
  • Insights into how financial institutions integrate TPPs (including API usage, user engagement and potential authentication drop-off points)
  • Tracking of failed login attempts or unusual access patterns
  • IP anonymization to analyse traffic patterns and detect potential fraud

  

  PSD3 : The next step 

  In recent years, we have seen the rise of innovative payment companies and increasingly clever fraud schemes. This has prompted regulators to propose updates to payment rules.

  PSD3’s scope is to adapt to the evolving digital transformation and to better handle these fraud risks. The proposed measures : 

  • Encourage PSPs to share fraud-related information.
  • Make customers aware of the different types of fraud.
  • Strengthen customer authentication standards.
  • Provide non-bank PSPs restricted access to EU payment systems. 
  • Enact payment rules in a directly applicable regulation and harmonise and enforce the directive.

  Web analytics that respect user privacy 

  Achieving compliance with PSD2 may be a long road for some businesses. With Matomo, organisations can enjoy peace of mind knowing their data practices align with legal requirements.

  Ready to stop worrying over compliance with regulations like PSD2 and take control of your data ? Start your 21-day free trial with Matomo.

• My SBC Collection

  31 décembre 2023, par Multimedia Mike — General

  Like many computer nerds in the last decade, I have accumulated more than a few single-board computers, or “SBCs”, which are small computers based around a system-on-a-chip (SoC) that nearly always features an ARM CPU at its core. Surprisingly few of these units are Raspberry Pi units, though that brand has come to exemplify and dominate the product category.

  Also, as is the case for many computer nerds, most of these SBCs lay fallow for years at a time. Equipped with an inexpensive lightbox that I procured in the last year, I decided I could at least create glamour shots of various units and catalog them in a blog post.

  While Raspberry Pi still enjoys the most mindshare far and away, and while I do have a few Raspberry Pi units in my inventory, I have always been a bigger fan of the ODROID brand, which works with convenient importers around the world (in the USA, I can vouch for Ameridroid, to whom I’ve forked over a fair amount of cash for these computing toys).

  As mentioned, Raspberry Pi undisputedly has the most mindshare of all these SBC brands and I often wonder why… and then I immediately remind myself that it has the biggest ecosystem, and has a variety of turnkey projects and applications (such as Pi-hole and PiVPN) that promise a lower barrier to entry — as well as a slightly lower price point — than some of these other options. ODROID had a decent ecosystem for awhile, especially considering the monthly ODROID Magazine, though that ceased publication in July 2020. The Raspberry Pi and its variants were famously difficult to come by due to the global chip shortage from 2021-2023. Meanwhile, I had no trouble procuring these boards during the same timeframe.

  So let’s delve into the collection…
  

  Cubieboard
  The Raspberry Pi came out in 2012 and by 2013 I was somewhat coveting one to hack on. Finally ! An accessible ARM platform to play with. I had heard of the BeagleBoard for years but never tried to get my hands on one. I was thinking about taking the plunge on a new Raspberry Pi, but a colleague told me I should skip that and go with this new hotness called the Cubieboard, based on an Allwinner SoC. The big value-add that this board had vs. a Raspberry Pi was that it had a SATA adapter. Although now that it has been a decade, it only now occurs to me to quander whether it was true SATA or a USB-to-SATA bridge. Looking it up now, I’m led to believe that the SoC supported the functionality natively.

  Anyway, I did get it up and running but never did much with it, thus setting the tone for future SBC endeavors. No photos because I gave it to another tech enthusiast years ago, whose SBC collection dwarfs my own.

  ODROID-XU4
  I can’t recall exactly when or how I first encountered the ODROID brand. I probably read about it on some enthusiast page or another circa 2014 and decided to try one out. I eventually acquired a total of 3 of these ODROID-XU4 units, each with a different case, 1 with a fan and 2 passively-cooled :

  

  Collection of ODROID-XU4 SBCs

  This is based on the Samsung Exynos 5422 SoC, the same series as was used in their Note 3 phone released in 2013. It has been a fun chip to play with. The XU4 was also my first introduction to the eMMC storage solution that is commonly supported on the ODROID SBCs (alongside micro-SD). eMMC offers many benefits over SD in terms of read/write speed as well as well as longevity/write cycles. That’s getting less relevant these days, however, as more and more SBCs are being released with direct NVMe SSD support.

  I had initially wanted to make a retro-gaming device built on this platform (see the handheld section later for more meditations on that). In support of this common hobbyist goal, there is this nifty case XU4 case which apes the aesthetic of the Nintendo N64 :

  

  ODROID-XU4 N64-style case

  It even has a cool programmable LCD screen. Maybe one day I’ll find a use for it.

  For awhile, one of these XU4 units (likely the noisy, fan-cooled one) was contributing results to the FFmpeg FATE system.

  While it features gigabit ethernet and a USB3 port, I once tried to see if I could get 2 Gbps throughput with the unit using a USB3-gigabit dongle. I had curious results in that the total amount of traffic throughput could never exceed 1 Gbps across both interfaces. I.e., if 1 interface was dealing with 1 Gbps and the other interface tried to run at 1 Gbps, they would both only run at 500 Mbps. That remains a mystery to me since I don’t see that limitation with Intel chips.

  Still, the XU4 has been useful for a variety of projects and prototyping over the years.

  ODROID-HC2 NAS
  I find that a lot of my fellow nerds massively overengineer their homelab NAS setups. I’ll explore this in a future post. For my part, people tend to find my homelab NAS solution slightly underengineered. This is the ODROID-HC2 (the “HC” stands for “Home Cloud”) :

  

  ODROID-HC2 NAS

  It has the same guts as the ODROID-XU4 except no video output and the USB3 function is leveraged for a SATA bridge. This allows you to plug a SATA hard drive directly into the unit :

  

  ODROID-HC2 NAS uncovered

  Believe it or not, this has been my home NAS solution for something like 6 or 7 years now– I don’t clearly remember when I purchased it and put it into service.

  But isn’t this sort of irresponsible ? What about a failure of the main drive ? That’s why I have an external drive connected for backing up the most important data via rsync :

  

  ODROID-HC2 NAS backup enclosure

  The power consumption can’t be beat– Profiling for a few weeks of average usage worked out to 4.5 kWh for the ODROID-HC2… per month.

  ODROID-C2
  I was on a kick of ordering more SBCs at one point. This is the ODROID-C2, equipped with a 64-bit Amlogic SoC :

  

  ODROID-C2

  I had this on the FATE farm for awhile, performing 64-bit ARM builds (vs. the XU4’s 32-bit builds). As memory serves, it was unreliable and would occasionally freeze up.

  Here is a view of the eMMC storage through the bottom of the translucent case :

  

  Bottom of ODROID-C2 with view of eMMC storage

  ODROID-N2+
  Out of all my ODROID SBCs, this is the unit that I long to “get back to” the most– the ODROID-N2+ :

  

  ODROID-N2+

  Very capable unit that makes a great little desktop. I have some projects I want to develop using it so that it will force me to have a focused development environment.

  Raspberry Pi
  Eventually, I did break down and get a Raspberry Pi. I had a specific purpose in mind and, much to my surprise, I have stuck to it :

  

  Original Raspberry Pi

  I was using one of the ODROID-XU4 units as a VPN gateway. Eventually, I wanted to convert the XU4 to something else and I decided to run the VPN gateway as an appliance on the simplest device I could. So I procured this complete hand-me-down unit from eBay and went to work. This was also the first time I discovered the DietPi distribution and this box has been in service running Wireguard via PiVPN for many years.

  I also have a Raspberry Pi 3B+ kicking around somewhere. I used it as a Steam Link device for awhile.

  SOPINE + Baseboard
  Also procured when I was on this “let’s buy random SBCs” kick. The Pine64 SOPINE is actually a compute module that comes in the form factor of a memory module.

  

  Pine64 SOPINE Compute Module

  Back to using Allwinner SoCs. In order to make this thing useful, you need to place it in something. It’s possible to get a mini-ITX form factor board that can accommodate 7 of these modules. Before going to that extreme, there is this much simpler baseboard which can also use eMMC for storage.

  

  Baseboard with SOPINE, eMMC, and heat sinks

  I really need to find an appropriate case for this one as it currently performs its duty while sitting on an anti-static bag.

  NanoPi NEO3
  I enjoy running the DietPi distribution on many of these SBCs (as it’s developed not just for Raspberry Pi). I have also found their website to be a useful resource for discovering new SBCs. That’s how I found the NanoPi series and zeroed in on this NEO3 unit, sporting a Rockchip SoC, and photographed here with some American currency in order to illustrate its relative size :

  

  NanoPi NEO3

  I often forget about this computer because it’s off in another room, just quietly performing its assigned duty.

  MangoPi MQ-Pro
  So far, I’ve heard of these fruits prepending the Greek letter pi for naming small computing products :

  • Raspberry – the O.G.
  • Banana – seems to be popular for hobbyist router/switches
  • Orange
  • Atomic
  • Nano
  • Mango

  Okay, so the AtomicPi and NanoPi names don’t really make sense considering the fruit convention.

  Anyway, the newest entry is the MangoPi. These showed up on Ameridroid a few months ago. There are 2 variants : the MQ-Pro and the MQ-Quad. I picked one and rolled with it.

  

  MangoPi MQ-Pro pieces arrive

  When it arrived, I unpacked it, assembled the pieces, downloaded a distro, tossed that on a micro-SD card, connected a monitor and keyboard to it via its USB-C port, got the distro up and running, configured the wireless networking with a static IP address and installed sshd, and it was ready to go as a headless server for an edge application.

  

  MangoPi MQ-Pro components, ready for assembly

  The unit came with no instructions that I can recall. After I got it set up, I remember thinking, “What is wrong with me ? Why is it that I just know how to do all of this without any documentation ?”

  

  MangoPi MQ-Pro in first test

  Only after I got it up and running and poked around a bit did I realize that this SBC doesn’t have an ARM SoC– it’s a RISC-V SoC. It uses the Allwinner D1, so it looks like I came full circle back to Allwinner.

  

  MangoPi MQ-Pro with more US coinage for scale

  So I now have my first piece of RISC-V hobbyist kit, although I learned recently from Kostya that it’s not that great for multimedia.

  Handheld Gaming Units
  The folks at Hardkernel have also produced a series of handheld retro-gaming devices called ODROID-GO. The first one resembled the original Nintendo Game Boy, came as a kit to be assembled, and emulated 5 classic consoles. It also had some hackability to it. Quite a cool little device, and inexpensive too. I have since passed it along to another gaming enthusiast.

  Later came the ODROID-GO Advance, also a kit, but emulating more devices. I was extremely eager to get my hands on this since it could emulate SNES in addition to NES. It also features a headphone jack, unlike the earlier model. True to form, after I received mine, it took me about 13 months before I got around to assembling it. After that, the biggest challenge I had was trying to find an appropriate case for it.

  

  ODROID-GO Advance with case and headphones

  Even though it may try to copy the general aesthetic and form factor of the Game Boy Advance, cases for the GBA don’t fit this correctly.

  Further, Hardkernel have also released the ODROID-GO Super and Ultra models that do more and more. The Advance, Super, and Ultra models have powerful SoCs and feature much more hackability than the first ODROID-GO model.

  I know that the guts of the Advance have been used in other products as well. The same is likely true for the Super and Ultra.

  Ultimately, the ODROID-GO Advance was just another project I assembled and then set aside since I like the idea of playing old games much more than actually doing it. Plus, the fact has finally crystalized in my mind over the past few years that I have never enjoyed handheld gaming and likely will never enjoy handheld gaming, even after I started wearing glasses. Not that I’m averse to old Game Boy / Color / Advance games, but if I’m going to play them, I’d rather emulate them on a large display.

  The Future
  In some of my weaker moments, I consider ordering up certain Banana Pi products (like the Banana Pi BPI-R2) with a case and doing my own router tricks using some open source router/firewall solution. And then I remind myself that my existing prosumer-type home router is doing just fine. But maybe one day…

  The post My SBC Collection first appeared on Breaking Eggs And Making Omelettes.