Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft), Author at CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

February 24, 2014February 24, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

VIA VAB-1000 Pico-ITX Board Features VIA Elite E1000 Dual Cortex A9 SoC, Targets Embedded Android and Linux

Via has introduced VAB-1000 Pico-ITX board at Embedded World 2014. This new embedded board features VIA Elite E1000 dual Cortex A9 SoC together with 2GB DDR3 SDRAM, 4GB eMMC Flash memory, and numerous I/Os. The board targets interactive kiosk, digital signage and HMI (Human Machine Interface) applications running Android or Linux. VIA VAB-1000 Specifications: SoC – VIA Elite E1000 dual core Cortex A9 SoC with unnamed 2D/3D GPU with Unified Shader Architecture featuring 64 stream processors System Memory – 2GB DRR3 Storage – 4GB eMMC + microSD slot Back panel I/O 2x HDMI connectors for HDMI-in and HDMI-out 2x mini-USB 2.0 port 1x MicroSD slot 1x Gigabit Ethernet port 1x DC-in Jack. Front panel I/O 1x pin header for two additional USB ports 1x pin header for SPI and 8-pin GPIO 1x pin header for three I2C and two COM ports 1x pin-header for front audio (Line-in/Line-Out/Mic-In). Internal I/O 1x […]

February 24, 2014February 24, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Nokia Launches Nokia X Android Phones with Microsoft Services

After months of speculations and leaks, Nokia has formally announced Nokia X family of Android phones that instead of coming with Google services, comes with Microsoft services and user interface, as well as Nokia apps. Three phones has been announced, namely NokiaX, Nokia+ and NokiaXL. Let’s look at the specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual core @ 1 GHz System Memory – 512 MB RAM (Nokia X), or 768 MB RAM (Nokia X+/XL) Storage – 4GB NAND flash + micro SD card up to 32 GB Display Nokia X/X+ – 4″ IPS LCD touch screen – WVGA (800 x 480) Nokia XL – 5″ IPS LCD touch screen – WVGA (800 x 480) Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 + HS Cellular Networking – GSM: 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz, WCDMA: 900 MHz, 2100 MHz. Dual (micro) SIM card slots. Camera Nokia X/X+ – 3MP […]

February 24, 2014February 24, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 610 and 615 Quad and Octa Core ARM Cortex A53 SoC

MWC 2014 will apparently be the event where 64-bit ARM mobile SoCs are to be announced. After the official launch of Mediatek MT6732, and the soon-to-be-announced Samsung GH7, Qualcomm has unveiled two new ARMv8 processors, namely Snapdragon 610 (MSM8939) and Snapdragon 615 (MSM8936), respectively featuring 4 and 8 ARM Cortex A53 cores and targeting the mid-range of the market. Both processors will be manufactured using 28nm LP process technology, and features the new Adreno 405 GPU with support for OpenGL ES3.0, OpenCL, and DirectX 11.2 support, and up to 2560 x 1600 resolution, support H.265 video decoding, and integrates an LTE category 4 modem, as well as 802.11ac Wi-Fi via Qualcomm VIVE. Anandtech explains that “Snapdragon 615 is made up of two quad-core clusters, each optimized for a different operating point. One cluster is optimized for low power operation while the other cluster is optimized for high performance. This will likely […]

February 24, 2014May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Firefox OS Smartphones, Tablets and Reference Designs at Mobile World Congress 2014

Beside the $25 smartphone, Mozilla has also announced a number of smartphones and tablets running Firefox OS during an event at Mobile World Congress 2014. The first devices such as ZTE Open featured a single core processor, the new models come with more powerful dual and quad core processors, mostly from Qualcomm, but also WonderMedia and AllWinner, together with better screen and features. Let’s have a look. ZTE Open C and Open II ZTE Open C smartphone features a 4″ display (800 x 480 resolution), powered by Qualcomm Snadragon 200 SoC @ 1.2 GHz, 512MB of RAM, a 2MP camera, as well as a 1,200mAh battery. Engadget has an hands-on video. ZTE Open II sports a 3.5″ (HVGA -> 480×320) display, with a dual core Snapdragon processor @ 1.2 GHz, 256 MB, 2GB flash, a 2MP camera, and a 1150 mh, according to CNet. It also supports 3G networks. Both […]

February 24, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Mediatek Introduces MT6732 Quad Core ARM Cortex A53 LTE SoC

Meditaked has just announced their first 64-bit ARM SoC with MT6732 featuring four ARM Cortex A53 cores, Mali-T760 GPU, and a Multi-mode 4G LTE Modem at Mobile World Congress 2014. Here are the key features of MT6732: Quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor system @ 1.5GHz ARM Mali-T760 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.0 and OpenCL 1.2 APIs Multimedia Features Supports low-power, 1080p, 30fps video playback supporting the emerging video codec standard H.265 and legacy H.264 and 1080p, 30fps H.264 video recording Integrated 13MP camera image signal processor with support for unique features like PIP (Picture-in-Picture), VIV (Video in Video) and Video Face Beautifier MediaTek ClearMotion technology eliminates motion jitter and ensures smooth video playback at 60fps on mobile devices MediaTek MiraVision technology for DTV-grade picture quality Integrated Multi-mode 4G LTE Modem Rel. 9, Category 4 FDD and TDD LTE (150 Mb/s downlink, 50 Mb/s uplink) 3GPP Rel. 8, DC-HSPA+ (42 […]

February 24, 2014February 24, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Mozilla Working on $25 Firefox OS Smartphones With Spreadtrum SC6821 SoC

The cheapest Android smartphones cost about $50, and this price is still a barrier to entry to many, as about 46.4% of phones sold worldwide in 2013 were feature phones according to Gartner, which still corresponds to about 838 million units per year. Mozilla and Spreadtrum are currently working together to bring $25 smartphones to market, and that’s retail price, running Firefox OS and powered by the latest Spreadtrum SC6821 SoC. The $25 smartphone will come with 128 MB RAM, 256 MB NAND flash, and feature a 3.5″ HVGA touchscreen, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, FM radio, and run Firefox OS with HTML5 apps such as Twitter and Facebook, and access to a full web browser, according to Spreadtrum representatives. You would certainly not trade this phone with your existing Android phone, but if all you could afford until now was a feature phone, these upcoming ultra low cost Firefox OS […]

February 23, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Samsung Unveils Two Tizen Smartwatches: Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo

After the Samsung Galaxy Gear, Samsung has introduced two new smartwatches, Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, droppping the Galaxy brand in the process, most probably because these two happen to run Tizen, instead of Android found in the Galaxy gear. The Gear 2 has a camera which is missing in the Gear 2 Neo. Other specifications and features are more or less the same. Samsung Gear 2 Product Specifications: SoC – Dual Core Processor @ 1.0 GHz (Exynos 4?) System Memory – 512MB Storage – 4GB Internal Memory Display – 1.63” Super AMOLED (320 x 320) Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE, IrLED Camera Gear 2 – 2.0 Megapixel Auto Focus (1920×1080, 1080×1080, 1280×960) Gear 2 Neo – N/A Video – Codecs: H.264, H.263, Container Formats: 3GP, MP4. HD(720p, @30fps) Playback & Recording Audio – Codecs: MP3/AAC/AMR/Vorbis, Format: MP3, M4A, AAC, OGG. Noise Cancellation Sensors – Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Heart […]

February 23, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Flappy Bird Sucks, Let’s Play Flappy Tux Instead! Or How to Modify APK Files

Flappy Bird is a ridiculous fad, and I promised myself not to write about this silly game. I managed to resist when somebody showed off their Arduino powered real-life Flappy Bird, but then XDA developers mentioned one of their member posted instructions to customize Flappy Bird game. I thought it might be fun to personalize the game with pictures of friends or family members, and at the same time, learn how to hack apk files. Instead of real persons, I’ve replaced the original bird, by Tux, the official Linux mascot, flapping wings not included. The instructions in XDA dev forums are mainly for Windows, but I’ve adapted them to Linux, and “created” “Flappy Tux” from Ubuntu 13.10. I’ll assume you’ve already installed OpenJDK and the Android SDK and have a working Android app development environment. I think we just need adb and aapt from android-sdk-linux/platform-tools/bin to be in the path. […]