The DigiX, by Digistump, is hobbyist board with an Atmel SAM3 Cortex M3 MCU @ 84 MHz, embedded low power Wi-Fi (b/g/n) and mesh networking,audio output, USB on the go support, and the company claims it is 100% compatible with anything that works with the Arduino Due, with some extra I/Os for a total of 99 I/O pins. The hardware specifications go as follows: MCU – Atmel AT91SAM3X8E 32-bit ARM Cortex M3 Processor @ 84 Mhz with 96KB SRAM, 512KB Flash Connectivity On-board 802.11b/g/n WiFi Module (FCC/CE Approved) On-board nRF24L01+ wireless module (removable) – 2.4Ghz band 99 I/O Pins including 12 PWM, 12 Analog Input, 2 Analog Output (DAC), CAN bus, 4x UARTs, 2x I2C, SPI, JTAG, DMA and more. Audio – 3.5mm stereo jack USB – micro USB OTG port Misc – On-board RTC, user LED Power Supply – 3.3V, 3.4-5.5V (LiPo Ready), 5V, or 6-16V input (on-board buck regulator) (Max?) Power […]
Unu is an Android Tablet, a Gaming Console and a Smart TV
In the last year or so, we’ve started using Android set-top boxes or mini-PCs to make our TV smart and play games, and some products such as Ouya and Gamestick, using similar hardware, have been specifically designed for game play. But Unu Tablet, which can be used as a tablet (really), can also transform your TV into a gaming platform, and a smart connected TV, thanks to a docking station, and a game controller. Here are the known specifications for Unu tablet: SoC – 1.6 GHz quad-core chip (I’m guessing Rockchip RK3188). System Memory – Unknown Storage – 8GB NAND Flash + microSD card slot Display – 7″ IPS display, 1280×800 resolution. Connectivity – WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2 microUSB ports Video Output – mini HDMI jack Camera – 5MP rear camera, 2MP front camera This Android 4.2.2 tablet comes with a docking station that handles charging and […]
Texas Instruments Introduces SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3000 BoosterPack
Texas Instrument launched SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3000 in Q1 2012 in order to bring WiFi connectivity to any device including 8-bit or 16-bit MCU, as CC3300 internally handled all networking tasks, and exchange data with the MCU via an SPI interface. This Wi-Fi processor allows to use Wi-Fi for data transmission for the Internet of Things, and offers much better battery than other system relying on software to handle network traffic. Today, the company has just announced SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3000 BoosterPack, a low cost evaluation platform that works with both MSP430 and Tiva C Series LaunchPad evaluation kits, and sells for $35. SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3000 BoosterPack features and benefits as seen in the press release: SmartConfig technology: One-step Wi-Fi configuration using smartphones, tablets or PCs Easy network setup for display-less (headless) devices Simultaneous multiple device provisioning iOS, Android and Java sample applications available Royalty-free software Flexible memory size – Small memory foot print […]
Mele F10 Pro “Fly Mouse” Comes with Microphone and Speaker
A few weeks ago, I reviewed the Mele F10, a dual sided 2.4 GHz remote with a QWERTY keyboard and gyroscope, and found it to be a very good complement to any Android STB or mini-PC, with some caveats such as none optimal key arrangements, a lack of play/pause button… You can also use it with Windows and Linux. This product has been available for sale for a while, and Mele has just introduced a new version, called Mele F10 Pro, with better accuracy, and a built-in microphone and speaker for voice command or video chat apps such as Skype and Google Hangout. The new RF receiver dongle is much bigger than the original one which could be a problem if you use it with a mini-PC directly connected to the HDMI port of your TV, but I’ve been told the larger size is due to extra components to handle […]
Variscite DART-4460 SoM is Small, Very Small, and Powered by TI OMAP4460
Variscite announced DART-4460, a new system-on-module based on Texas Instruments OMAP4460, with up to 1GB LPDDR2 RAM and 8GB eMMC flash. The key differentiating point of this module is its size (17 mm x 52 mm), which could make it the world smallest dual core module, although Logic PD’s DM3730 / AM3730 Torpedo SOM might be the smallest of all in single core configuration. DART-4460 system-on-module specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments OMAP4460 dual core cortex A9 @ 1.5 GHz max + PowerVR SGX540 GPU System Memory – 512 to 1024 MB LP-DDR2 Storage – Up to 8 GB eMMC + 2x SD / MMC Video – 1080p30 H.264 Encode / Decode Camera Interfaces – 2x CSI, 1x CPI Display HDMI 1.3a 1920 x 1080 24-bit RGB 1400 x 1050 24-bit DSI 1400 x 1050 4-wire resistive touch Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth 4.0 Audio – Headphone, digital microphone, S/PDIF, Line […]
Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom – Phone Camera or Camera Phone?
Last year, we started to see Android cameras with 3G/4G connectivity such as Samsung EK-GC100 Galaxy Camera, but it was not possible to make phone calls. Samsung has just fixed that by announcing the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, a camera phone or phone camera, depending on your point of view, with a 4.3″ qHD youchscreen and Android 4.2, and a 16-megapixel CMOS with a 10x optical zoom lens. Other details about the camera includes support for ISO 100-3200, a lens with 24-240mm zoom, F3.1-F6.3, and optical image stabilization. A Xenon flash can also be used to take picture in low-light conditions. There’s also another more discreet 1.9 MP front camera on the device. Other specifications: SoC – Dual core processor @ 1.5GHz (Exact processor will depend on the market) System Memory – 1.5 GB RAM Storage – 8GB NAND flash with around 5GB user-available. Network – GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 […]
Linux / FreeBSD Netboard A10 SBC Powered by AMD G-Series SoC
AMD announced the G-Series SoC, AFAIK the first x86 SoC including CPU, GPU and chipset (ala ARM), at the end of April, and a few products are already available such as Win Enterprises MB-60830. One of those new SoCs, GX-416RA, is especially designed for headless applications, and does not features GPU. Deciso decided to use this processor in the standard version of their Netboard A10, a single board computer that can be used for network based appliances such as IP-PBX, Firewall & UTM or Load Balancer. The company also provides 2 other versions of the board that includes AMD G-Series SoCs with Radeon GPU. Netboard A10 Specifications: SoC: AMD Embedded GX-416RA G-Series SoC (4x 1.65GHz Jaguar cores, 2MB L2 cache, 15W TDP, no GPU) Option 1: AMD Embedded GX-415GA G-Series SoC (4 x 1.5GHz Jaguar cores, 2MB L2 cache, 15W TDP, Radeon HD 8330E GPU) Option 2: AMD Embedded GX-210HA […]
Souliss Automation and IoT Framework Makes Your Home Smarter
Souliss is an open-source framework written in C/C++ for the Internet of Things and home automation that runs on Arduino boards, or other Atmel AVR MCU based boards, and let your control lighting, heating, or anything else you can think of via your Android device, or switches connected to your board(s). You can get started with Souliss in 3 steps: Getting the building blocks, for example: Arduino, Olimex, or other AVR boards (See list of supported boards) Relay boards ON/OFF Switches, Lights, etc… Wi-Fi router Download and load Souliss to an AVR powered board controlling real things such as lights. Monitor and/or control via Souliss Home Automation App for Android. A detailed getting started guide is provided on Souliss Google Code page. Internally, the framework is composed of three parts: Souliss, an application level layer, MaCaco, a communication protocol and vNet, a transport layer. I’ll skip details in this post, […]