Author: Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

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.
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments on Lichee Console 4A RISC-V mini laptop sells for $252 and up

Lichee Console 4A RISC-V mini laptop sells for $252 and up

Sipeed Lichee Console 4A

Sipeed Lichee Console 4A is a RISC-V portable Linux console, that I would also call a RISC-V mini laptop, powered by an Alibaba T-Head TH1520 quad-core C910 processor and equipped with up to 16GB RAM and 128GB eMMC flash. We first covered the device last August, but Sipeed had started taking pre-ordered by the end of October, and they’ve gone through the first batch of mass production, and should soon ship the mini laptops with the Aliexpress store showing December 31 as the release date, and we’re told some samples may have already been shipped in the first part of the month. Lichee Console 4A specifications: SoM – Replaceable Lichee LM4A system-on-module based on TH1520 quad-core RISC-V C910 processor with up to 16GB LPDDR4X, 128GB eMMC flash Storage – MicroSD card slot, M.2 SSD support Display – 7-inch 1280 x 800 LCD with capacitive touch Video Output – 1x mini […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on $14 Pimoroni NVMe Base adds an M.2 PCIe socket underneath the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC

$14 Pimoroni NVMe Base adds an M.2 PCIe socket underneath the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC

Pimoroni NVMe BASE

Pimonori has started to take pre-orders for the NVMe BASE add-on board that adds an M.2 PCIe socket underneath the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC with support for M.2 NVMe SSDs and M.2 AI accelerators with 2230, 2242, 2260, or 2280 sizes. It’s not the first M.2 expansion board for the Raspberry Pi as the PineBerry Pi HatDrive TM1 and BM1 add-on boards launched last month can also do that either on top of on the bottom of the Raspberry Pi, but the NVMe BASE is quite cheaper at just 13.50 GBP inc. VAT or $14.29 ex. VAT at the time of writing. NVMe Base key features and specifications: NVMe Base PCB M.2 M-key slot Holes for 2230, 2242, 2260, and 2280 sized M.2 modules Raspberry Pi FFC PCIe connector ‘PCIe Pipe’ Flat Flex Cable M2 bolt and 2x nuts for SSD mounting 4x 7mm M2.5 standoffs for base mounting 8x […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on M5StickC PLUS2 IoT development kit features ESP32-PICO-V3-02 SiP, larger 200 mAh battery

M5StickC PLUS2 IoT development kit features ESP32-PICO-V3-02 SiP, larger 200 mAh battery

M5StickC Plus2 IoT development kit

M5Stack M5StickC PLUS2 is a battery-powered ESP32 IoT development kit with a 1.14-inch display, a built-in microphone, a 6-axis gyroscope and accelerometer, a few buttons, a buzzer, a Grove connector and a GPIO header for expansion. It builds upon the M5StickC Plus released in September 2020, but replaced the ESP-PICO-D4 SiP with an ESP32-PICO-V3-02 still based on ESP32 WiSoC but having 8MB SPI flash and 2MB flash and also features a larger 200 mAh battery along with a new CH9102 USB to TTL chip and does without a PMIC. M5StickC PLUS2 key features and specifications: ESP32-PICO-V3-02 SiP – Espressif Systems ESP32-PICO-V3-02 system-in-package with ESP32 dual-core WiFI and Bluetooth IoT processor @ up to 240 MHz, 8MB SPI flash, 2MB PSRAM Display – 1.14-inch Color TFT LCD with 135×240 resolution (ST7789v2 driver) Audio – SPM1423 microphone, buzzer USB – 1x USB-C port for power and programming using CH9102 USB to TTL chip […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Maxtang MTN-FP750 (Ryzen 7 7735HS) mini PC review – Part1: Specs, unboxing, teardown, and first boot

Maxtang MTN-FP750 (Ryzen 7 7735HS) mini PC review – Part1: Specs, unboxing, teardown, and first boot

Maxtang MTN-FP750 mini PC review

Maxtang MTN-FP750, also known as NUC-7735HS-A16, is a mini PC powered by AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS (or Ryzen 5 6600H) CPU with up to 64GB of memory, up to 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD, and ports such as HDMI 2.0, USB4, 2.5GbE, etc… It also optionally supports WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, takes a 2.5-inch SSD via an FPC connector, and optionally comes with Windows 11 Pro operating system with the company saying the mini PC is ideal for office retail and digital signage. Maxtang sent us an MTN-FP750 mini PC sample for review with an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS, 32GB DDR5, and a 512GB M.2 SSD preloaded with Windows 11 Pro. Today we will look at the specifications, go through an unboxing, teardown the device to check out the hardware design and boot it up to make sure it works as expected. We will then review Windows 11 Pro and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Banana Pi BPI-M4 Zero Allwinner H618 SBC follows Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W form factor

Banana Pi BPI-M4 Zero Allwinner H618 SBC follows Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W form factor

Banana Pi BPI-M4 Zero

Banana Pi BPI-M4 Zero is another Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W alternative with an Allwinner H618 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor, 2GB LPDDR4, 8GB eMMC flash, mini HDMI video output, two USB-C ports, WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 wireless connectivity and the usual 40-pin GPIO header as well as a 24-pin “Misc” FPC header. It succeeds the Banana Pi BPI-M2 Zero launched in 2017 with an Allwinner H2+ quad-core Cortex A7 processor with basically the same form factor but a more powerful 64-bit Arm processor, more memory (2GB vs 512MB), built-in eMMC flash, dual-band WiFi 5, and the 24-pin MIPI CSI connector is now a “Misc” connector with USB 2.0, Fast Ethernet, and other I/Os. Banana Pi BPI-M4 Zero specifications: SoC – Allwinner H618 CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.5GHz with 1MB L2 cache GPU – Arm Mali-G31 MP2 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.0/2.0/3.2, OpenCL […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on SZBOX DS135D – A dual-screen laptop with an Intel Processor N100 CPU

SZBOX DS135D – A dual-screen laptop with an Intel Processor N100 CPU

Dual-screen laptop Intel Processor N100

A few companies have been making dual-screen laptops – where one of the screens is placed where you’d typically find the keyboard and touchpad – for several years, and this type of design was brought back to the forefront with the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i introduced earlier this year with two 13.3-inch displays and a 13th-gen Intel Core Raptor Lake-U processor for $2,000 and up. If you like the concept but don’t quite have that much money to spare, SZBOX DS135D dual-screen laptop is a much cheaper option with two 13.5-inch displays, an entry-level Intel Processor N100 SoC, 16GB DDR5, and 128GB to 2TB NVMe SSD going for $699 and up on Aliexpress. SZBOX DS135D specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N100 quad-core processor up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics @ 750 MHz; TDP: 6W System Memory – 16GB DD5 Storage – 128GB to 2TB […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Microflex MCUs – Tiny USB development boards based on ESP32-S3, ESP32-S2, ESP32-C3, ESP32-C6, or Raspberry Pi RP2040 (Crowdfunding)

Microflex MCUs – Tiny USB development boards based on ESP32-S3, ESP32-S2, ESP32-C3, ESP32-C6, or Raspberry Pi RP2040 (Crowdfunding)

Microflex MCU board with ESP32 and RP2040 microcontrollers

SB Components is back with yet another crowdfunding campaign this time with the Microflex MCUs USB development boards all with the same tiny form factor and offered with a choice of five microcontrollers namely Raspberry Pi RP2040, ESP32-S3, ESP32-S2, ESP32-C3, or ESP32-C6. Microflex MCUs share the same layout with a USB-C port for power and programming, a built-in RGB LED, two buttons for Boot and Reset/User, and two rows of 10-pin with through and castellated holes to access the GPIOs and power signals such as 5V, 3.3V, and GND. But they differ in terms of the processor used, wireless features, and available I/Os as shown in the table below which sadly lacks any information about the flash and eventual PSRAM… The illustration below includes some more details for the Micro-C6 with the main components, ports, and a pinout diagram. Programming the firmware for the ESP32-series can be done through the […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on STMicro VD55G1 – A small, low-power global shutter I3C camera sensor for computer vision

STMicro VD55G1 – A small, low-power global shutter I3C camera sensor for computer vision

STMicro VD55G1 global shutter camera sensor

STMicro VD55G1 is a new global shutter I3C camera sensor with a small die size of 2.7 x 2.2 mm, 804 x 704 pixels native resolution, and consuming about 1mW in its ‘always-on’ autonomous mode to wake up the host when motion is detected. Camera sensors are available with rolling or global shutter, with most from the former type, but as we’ve seen in our reviews of the e-Con Systems See3CAM_24CUG (USB 3.1) and the Raspberry Pi Global Shutter (MIPI CSI) global shutter cameras, the latter is much better we capturing moving objects clearly at high frame rates with fewer artifacts than with rolling cameras. The VD55G1 global shutter sensor will also benefit from the same advantage but is offered in a smaller package working over MIPI CSI and/or I3C, making it suitable for devices with small batteries used in applications such as eye tracking or motion estimation. STMicro VD55G1 […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC