VIA has announced a new board form factor for embedded systems which should offer twice as much I/O room for developers.

The Em-ITX form factor measures 12x17cm and is 30 percent more compact than Mini-ITX, but it has a dual I/O coastlines and an expansion bus for more flexibility and scalability.

The new I/O layout gives system developers more freedom, as I/O inputs are placed on both sides of the 17cm long board, allowing for embedded devices with less clutter and cables.

Products using the new form factor will be based around VIA's Nano CPU and should be available next month.

Intel is also looking expanding its offer of Atom based embedded solutions, and has recently launched four new Z-series Atom CPUs clocked from 1.1 to 1.6GHz.