Hardware Category - Page 1086 of 1131 - CNX Software

December 16, 2012December 21, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Build Your Own Freescale i.MX6 Quad Laptop

Andrew Huang (“Bunnie”) and others have been working on an open source laptop based on Freescale i.MX6 Quad processor since June, and they’ve recently got the motherboard. Beside featuring a powerful quad core ARM processor, the design files are also provided, so if you have the right skills and resources you can build it yourself. The open source laptop mainboard (Codename: Novena) has the following specifications: SoC – Freescale iMX6 Quad @ 1.2GHz with Vivante GC2000 GPU System Memory – 64-bit DDR3-1066 SO-DIMM, upgradable to 4GB Storage – microSD boot flash, SATA-II connector for hard drive / SSD, SD card reader and serial EEPROM (for storing crash logs and other bits of handy data). FPGA – Spartan-6 CSG324. It has several interfaces to the CPU, including a 2Gbit/s RAM-like bus. Internal ports & sensors: mini PCI-express slot UIM slot for mPCIx mobile data cards Dual-channel LVDS LCD connector (up to […]

December 13, 2012December 13, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Getting Started with Infineon XMC4500 Relax Lite Kit and DAVE 3 IDE

Infineon Relax Lite Kit is a 10 Euros development kit based on Infineon XMC4500 Cortex M4 MCU with 160 KB SRAM and 1 MB flash, and featuring 2 USB OTG ports for debugging and powering up the board, 3 buttons (including reset), 2 LEDs, and 2 headers (through holes) giving access to the signals from the MCU such SPI, I2C, I2S, UART, CAN, ADC, DAC and PMW. The kit if available online via Hitec, but unless you live in Germany, this is not an interesting option, as international shipping costs over 100 Euros. So you’d better check local distributors in your country. The package only comes with the board, and you’ll need a USB to microUSB to power the board. To get started, simply connect the board via the USB cable to one of the USB OTG connectors, and to a Windows PC. The power LED (green) should lit up, […]

December 12, 2012December 13, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

$49.99 Android 4.0 Smartphone Powered by Spreadtrum SC6820 Cortex A5 SoC

Forget about sub-$100 smartphones, there’s now a sub $50 smartphone (including worldwide shipping), some kind of mini Galaxy S3 clone with a 3.5″ touchscreen, powered by Speadtrum SC6820 Cortex A5 + Mali-400 SoC, with 256 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM and running Android 4.0.3 (ICS). Here are the specifications of the device as shown in Focalprice: SoC – Spreadtrum 6820 Cortex A5 @ 1.2GHz with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 256MB RAM Storage – 256MB NAND Flash + microSD socket (up to 8GB according to specs, 16 GB according to customer support) Display – 3.5″ capacitive touchscreen (480×800) Connectivity Bluetooth v2.0 Wi-Fi 802.11b Video Formats – MP4, 3GP Audio Formats – MP3, MIDI Camera – 0.3MP front camera & 1.3MP rear camera. Sensors – G-Sensor Network – GSM850/900/1800/1900, GPRS, EDGE Dual SIM card dual standby TV Support – Analog TV, PAL, NTSC, SECAM FM Radio Audio In – 3.5 mm […]

December 10, 2012May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Open Hardware System on Module Project

“JM” has started working on a system-on-module project with the goal “to create a whole range of SoM boards and motherboards that can handle a large number of embedded projects”. He has just released schematics and layout files created with Kicad for a dual NXP LPC1764 SO-DIMM module and the baseboard under GPL3 license. The next goal is to release an AllWinner A10 SoM and corresponding baseboard. Kicad is an open source schematics capture and PCB layout software that can run in Windows, Linux and Mac. If you want to read the schematics or try it out, you can freely download it. In Ubuntu you could just use apt-get:

sudo apt-get install kicad fped

1	sudo apt-get install kicad fped

The hardware files for the module and carrier board are available here. JM explains that the LPC module and baseboard have already been manufactured and tested, so it could just be a matter of adapting the module for AllWinner A10/A20. […]

December 9, 2012May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 31 Comments

Cubieboard Unboxing and Quick Start Guide

I’ve received another cool board this week with the Cubieboard development board. As a quick reminder, the Cubieboard is the only proper low cost AllWinner A10 development board available, and comes with 512MB/1GB RAM, 4GB NAND Flash, 10/100 MBit Ethernet, HDMI output, 2x USB Host port, 1x USB OTG port, a microSD socket, a SATA interface, an IR sensor and 2 headers to access extra pins such as GPIOs, I2C, SPI,VGA pins, CVBS pins etc… CubieTech had a successful Indiegogo campaign where the 1GB board was available for $59 including worldwide shipping (and as low as $19 for early birds), and you can now buy it from resellers. [Update: It’s now available with several cables, USB to TTL debug board, and an enclosure for $80 on dx.com] Cubieboard Unboxing The board comes with a SATA cable and a USB cable for power. There’s no power supply so you’ll need you […]

December 8, 2012December 14, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 26 Comments

HI802 HDMI TV Dongle (Freescale i.MX6) is Now Available

After many delays allegedly due to Freescale i.MX6 CPU delivery issues, Hiapad HI-802 mini PC appears to be now available for purchase on Aliexpress for $99 including shipping. This HDMI dongle features Freescale i.MX6 Quad, 1GB RAM and 8GB Flash. The specs on Aliexpress are similar to the original announcement, except the internal NAND flash size is 8GB instead of 16GB: SoC – Freescale i.MX6 Quad Core Cortex A9 @ 1.2GHz with Vivante GC2000 System Memory – 1GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 8GB Nand Flash + microSD card socket Connectivity 802.11b/g/n Build-in Bluetooth 2.1 No 3G support. Video Output – HDMI (Up to 1080p60) Video Container Formats – 3GP,MPEG4,AVI,RMVB,MKV,FLV etc. support 1080P HD Resolution Audio Formats – MP3/WAV/AMR/AAC; USB – Micro USB 2.0 OTG + USB 2.0 Host Power Supply – 5V/1.5A Dimensions – 102 x 38 x 10 mm Weight – 45 g This Android 4.0 (ICS) mini PC […]

December 7, 2012December 7, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Droid Stick A2 mini-PC Unboxing

Droid Stick A2 is an HDMI TV Stick based on AMLogic AML8726-MX dual core Cortex A9 processor, and together with HI-802 (aka GK802) mini-PC based on Freescale i.MX6Q, is the most likely platform to get proper Linux support, as AMLogic AML8726-MX source code is somewhat open, and video playback in Linux is supported in the older AML8726-M1 processor (Cf. XBMC Linux in Pivos STB). Kimdecent sent me a sample for evaluation, but as the Android firmware is not really ready for prime-time at this time, I’ll just show some pictures of the device, as well as the user interface, and will review the device once a firmware update is available. Since this is still a sample, I received the device in a white box with the Droid Stick A2, a mini USB to USB cable, a small 5.2V/1A power supply and a plug adapter. There are plenty of ventilation hole […]

December 6, 2012December 6, 2012 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

StickNFind Bluetooth 4.0 Location Stickers for Android & iOS

Last year, Treehouse Labs unveiled BiKN Technology Platform, a 802.15.4 wireless sensor network that allows you to track objects fitted with Bikn tags within 60 m, and find your lost keys at home, your car in a parking lot, or track your pets location for example. A solution for the iPhone is available, and a kit with 2 tags and an iPhone case costs about $130. Since a case is required (for 802.15.4 support), this solution is unfortunately impractical for the variety of Android phones. Luckily, there’s now a new solution based on Bluetooth called StickNFind, by SSI America, which works both for Android 4.0 (and up) devices and iPhones. The StickNFind tags are based on Bluetooth 4.0 (Bluetooth Low Energy), have a line-of-sight range of about 30meters, and are powered by a replaceable CR2016 (or CR2020?) watch battery which can last up to 1 year for 30 minutes daily average […]