Hardware Category - Page 1037 of 1133 - CNX Software

November 16, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

$80 SJ1000 Waterproof Sports Camera is a Low Cost Alternative to GoPro Hero Cameras

I’ve recently learned about GoPro action cameras, waterproof cameras with lots of mounting options and a wide angle lense which allows to shot amazing action full HD videos, and the best selling cameras in the world. Since yesterday I wrote about low cost waterproof smartphone, I thought It might be a good idea to write about other waterproof devices, and look at low cost alternatives to the GoPro. The GoPro Hero3 comes in 3 editions: White Edition, Black Edition, and Silver Edition with prices ranging from $199.99 to $399.99. All camera can record @1080p and come with WiFi connectivity. The more expensive model, Gopro Hero3+ Silver Edition, can also record in UHD, and comes with a WiFi remote. The original GoPro still seem to be good values, but if you have a tight budget, SJ1000 action camera (aka F10) offers similar functionalities (1080p30 recording, wide angle, mounting options, waterproofness, but […]

November 15, 2013November 18, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Low Cost Rugged, Waterproof and Dustproof Smartphones Powered by Mediatek Processors

If you need a truly waterproof and dustproof smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, compliant with IP67 standard, is probably the most popular phone with this particular feature. However, the phone sells for nearly $600 on site like Amazon, and it may be nice to have some lower cost options. Today, I’ve come across two smartphones powered by Mediatek dual and quad core SoC that are both compliant with IP67 standard, and although their specs do not match the Galaxy S4 Active, the features found in these phones are still pretty good, and they can be purchased at a much lower price. The smartphones I’ll feature in this post are also rugged, which is not really the case for the Samsung device. IP67 standard? What does that mean in practice? The IP Code, Ingress Protection Rating, aka International Protection Rating, classifies and rates the degree of protection provided against the […]

November 15, 2013November 15, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Coin is a Smart Card that Replaces All Your Other Cards (Credit, Debit, Loyalty…)

You may have a few cards in your wallet: credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, membership cards, … and it’s just convenient to carry them around all the time. There will soon be a solution with Coin, a smart card where you can store all your other cards data, and use this smart card instead. In order to register your physical cards (up to 8 cards for one Coin), you’ll need to install an application in your Android smartphone, or your iPhone, take a picture of both sides of the cards, and swiping the Coin though a small device provided with the card. Then, when you want to make a purchase, you just click on the button of the Coin to select the card to use, and carry on with your purchase are you would normally do. You may worry about security concerns, but the company behind the Coin has […]

November 15, 2013August 10, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Terasic’s Altera DE1-SoC Board Based on Cyclone V Dual Cortex A9 + FPGA SoC Sells for $150 Up

A few months ago, Terasic unveiled its SoCKit powered by Altera Cyclone V dual Cortex A9 + FPGA. They’ve now announced a cheaper version will a less powerful Cyclone V SoC and lower specs (e.g. less RAM, only one sensor, etc…) that sells for as low as $150 for educational or academic purposes, and $199 for the rest of us. Altera DE1-SoC Board specifications: FPGA Device Cyclone V SoC 5CSEMA5F31 Device Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 (HPS – Hard Processor System) 85K Programmable Logic Elements 4,450 Kbits embedded memory 6 Fractional PLLs 2 Hard Memory Controllers Configuration and Debug Quad Serial Configuration device – EPCQ256 on FPGA (EPCQ = Erasable Programmable Configurable Quad-SPI device) On-Board USB Blaster II (Normal type B USB connector) Memory Device 64MB (32Mx16) SDRAM on FPGA 1GB (2x256Mx16) DDR3 SDRAM on HPS 128MB QSPI Flash on HPS (QSPI Flash does not come pre-installed out of factory) Micro SD […]

November 14, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Ugoos UG310 and UG320 Android STBs Based on Rockchip RK3188

In the last few months, there has been very little innovation or novelty in the Android set-top box and mini PC space, and the latest Ugood Android set-top boxes are yet other devices based on Rockchip RK3188 processor with 1 to 2GB RAM, and 8GB flash, as well as Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, and a 5MP camera. They only differ from the competition because of their casings. Both devices mostly share the same specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 @ 1.6Ghz with Mali-400MP4 GPU @ 500MHz? System Memory – 1GB DDR3 for UG320, 2GB DDR3 for UG310 Storage – 8GB flash + microSD card slot (Up to 32 GB) Video Output – HDMI and AV outputs Audio Output – HDMI, optical SPDIF, and AV (CVBS). Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, and 10/100M Ethernet. Bluetooth 3.0 is available in UG320 only. USB: UG310 – 2x USB 2.0 host […]

November 14, 2013November 14, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Ninja Sphere Home Automation and Monitoring Platform

Ninja Blocks is an company providing open source hardware solutions for home automation. Their first product was called Ninja Blocks Kit which includes a Ninja Block (Beaglebone + Arduino based gateway, but they now also support the Raspberry Pi), sensors, sockets, cables, and a power supply, and works with Ninja Platform, an open source software framework. The goal was to simplify the process of developing automation applications by taking care of all low levels tasks such as electronics, embedded programming, network protocols.., and letting “end users” / developers focus on their application. The company is now working on a new version called the Ninja Sphere, including a “Spheramid” gateway, location waypoints (Bluetooth low energy tags), and smart power sockets. Here are the key features of the gateway: Processor – ARM Cortex A8 (probably Texas Instruments Sitara) Color LED Matrix Connectivity – Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, Zigbee, and Wi-Fi USB Port – […]

November 13, 2013November 13, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

SD Association Announces Ultra High Speed (UHS) Speed Class 3 for 4K2K Video Recording

SD card are not the fastest storage devices, but they are usually good enough for the job. One of the main use case is storage for video cameras, but with devices supporting 4K2K (2160p) recording they are close to their minimum limits. That’s why the SD association announced Ultra High Speed (UHS) Speed Class 3 (U3), which provides at least 30 MB/s write speed. The updated SD card speed classes are shown in the table below. Marks Operable Under Applications SD Memory Card Speed Class High Speed Bus I/F Full HD video recording HD still consecutive recording SD, miniSD, microSD SDHC, miniSDHC, microSDHC SDXC, microSDXC Normal Bus I/F HD ~ Full HD video recording SD video recording UHS Speed Class UHS-I Bus I/F UHS-II Bus I/F Full higher potential of recording real-time broadcasts and capturing large-size HD videos (UHS Speed Class1 denotes a 10 MB/s minimum write speed) SDHC […]

November 13, 2013May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 26 Comments

CS918S Android STB Features AllWinner A31s Processor, a Retractable Webcam, Built-in 3G

K-R42-1, now better known as CS918, has been a fairly popular Android set-top box based on RK3188 due to its low price. There’s no a new model called CS918S with a similar casing, but replacing Rockchip RK3188, by AllWinner A31s, adding more flash (16GB), a retractable webcam, and an internal bay with an optional 3G/4G module. Here are the specs of this device: SoC – AllWinner A31s quad cortex cortex A7 processor @ 1.2 GHz + PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB NAND flash + microSD card slot Video Output – HDMI and CVBS (AV) Audio Output – HDMI, optical SPDIF, and AV Video Playback / Encoding 2160p (UHD) H.264 decoding 1080p video decoding for Mpeg1/2, Mpeg4 SP/ASP GMC, H.263, H.264, etc. 1080p@30fps or 720p@60fps encoding 3840×1080@30fps 3D decoding, BD/SBS/TAB/FP supported 3840×1080@30fps 3D encoding Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 (Realtek 8723), 10/100M Ethernet, […]