Texas Instruments Unveils Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast Video Streaming Solution Based on OMAP 4

In my previous post, I wrote about Marvell announcement of its new 802.11ac chipset (Avastar 88W8897) that will be Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast.  But it’s not the only company for such solution, as Texas Instruments has also announced the availability of a complete solution for mobile devices designed to support Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast, based on the Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi Display Specification that enables users to reliably display high definition content from a mobile device onto a larger screen over a secure, low-latency, wireless network connection. The Miracast certification program defines a standards-based solution for streaming video and audio content over a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi Direct wireless network. TI solutions will leverage OMAP processors and its WiLink connectivity solutions to provide a Miracast platform. This new solution will be available later this year to power mobile phones, tablets, HDTVs, projectors and audio receivers. Texas Instruments solution will provide the hardware and software resources […]

ASUS Windows RT Tablet 600: The First Ever Windows 8 Tablet Is Powered By Nvidia Tegra 3

Nvidia announced on its blog that ASUS unveiled a Windows RT (previously known as Windows 8 on ARM) tablet powered by Nvidia Tegra 3 and featuring a 10.1-inch touch screen display. This is a convertible tablet with an optional keyboard dock, so it’s like a transformer with Windows 8. The Asus 600 is said to have the following specifications: Nvidia Tegra 3 (Quad Core Cortex A9) 2 GB RAM 10.1-inch Super IPS+ display (Resolution  1366 x 768) 8MP rear camera with an LED flash 2MP front camera. WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity GPS support Gyroscope, compass and NFC. You can watch the hands-on video below provided by Nvidia. ASUS didn’t disclose pricing or availability. 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. www.cnx-software.com

UGoos UG-LMW70 – 72 USD Android 4.0 7″ Touchscreen Tablet Powered By VIA WM8850 (Cortex A9) Processor

Back in January, VIA announced the WonderMedia Prizm WM8950 processor featuring a Cortex A9 processor @ 800 Mhz with a Mali-400 GPU, but recently I have seen a few tablets with the WM8850, the little (or rather the big) brother of WM8950, with the same Cortex A9 but cadenced at 1.2 GHz and Mali-400 GPU. VIA has apparently not officially announced this new processor, and details are not available on Wondermedia website yet, but the WM8850 targets the same markets as AllWinner A10/A13 Cortex A8 processors and is said to be competitive in price. And it must be competitive, because I just found an Android ICS tablet based on WM8850 for $72 US (including shipping) on aliexpress (UGoos UG-LMW70) with the following specifications: CPU –  Via Wondermedia WM8850 Cortex A9 @ 1.2GHz + Mali-400 GPU Memory –  512MB RAM Storage –  4GB NAND FLASH + microSD card slot (Up to […]

Zedboard Xilinx Zynq-7000 Community Board is Now Available

Based in March, I wrote about Xilinx Zynq-7000 Extensible Processing Platform (EPP), a SoC comprises of a Dual Cortex A9 and an FPGA, as well as the corresponding development boards and kits: Xilinx Zynq-7000 EPP ZC702 Evaluation Kit based on Zynq-7020 with all the basic components (595 USD). Xilinx Zynq-7000 EPP Video Kit based on Zynq-7020 with all necessary hardware, software and IP components for the development of custom video applications (1195 USD). Zynq-7000 EPP ZedBoard, a low cost development board for the developers community. At the time, the first 2 (expensive) boards were available, but there was little information about the Zedboard. But yesterday evening, I noticed Zedboard website had a lot more information and we now know details about the board and it is even possible to purchase it. Here are the Zedboard specifications: Processor – Xilinx Zynq-7020 Dual ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore @ 677 MHz Memory 512 MB […]

e-con Systems Unveils e-CAM51_USB 5MP USB Camera Module

e-con Systems, an embedded design services company specializing in the development of camera solutions, has just announced the launch of e-CAM51_USB USB Camera comprised of a 5-megapixel Autofocus Camera Module (e-CAM52_5640_MOD) based on OmniVision OV5640 CMOS image sensor.This camera module targets document camera visualizers, interactive teaching & meeting solutions, OCR, scientific research, telemedicine/health, biometrics and robotics applications. The e-CAM51_USB camera module supports GPIO and microphone with an integrated analog-to-digital converter (ADC).  It does not require specific drivers since it is compliant with USB Video Class (UVC) and USB Audio Class (UAC). OmniVision OV5640 CameraChip sensor features automatic image control functions such as: Automatic exposure control (AEC) Automatic white balance (AWB) Automatic band filter (ABF) 50/60Hz automatic luminance detection Automatic black level calibration (ABLC) Most of these features are supported via the standard UVC protocol providing good applications interoperability on Linux and Windows. Some e-CAM51_USB features such as GPIO control, Auto […]

MINI X Android 2.3 Network Media Player Based on AllWinner A10

Here’s another tiny device based on AllWinner A10 processor. The MINI X is an Android 2.3.4 set-top box with 512MB RAM and 4GB NAND Flash that costs 77.50 USD including worldwide shipping. Here are the device specifications: CPU – AllWinner A10 (Cortex A8) with Mali-400 GPU Memory – 512MB DDR3 RAM Storage – 4GB NAND Flash, microSD slot Video Output – HDMI 1.3 USB  – 2x USB 2.0 host Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n Video Formats –  MKV, TS, TP, M2TS, RM/RMVB, BD-ISO, AVI, MPG, VOB, DAT, ASF, TRP, FLV etc Video Codecs – MPEG1/2/4, H.264, VC-1, Divx, Xvid, RM8/9/10, VP6 Subtitle – SRT, SUB, IDX, SSA, SMI Audio Formats – MP3, ACC, OGG, WMA, WAV, M4A, APE Image format – JPG, BMP,GIF, TIF, PNG IR Remote Control Dimension: 72 x 61 x 13mm Weight: 51g This device is half-way between the MK802 HDMI stick and the Mele A1000 STB. […]

Willow Garage Launches The Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF)

Willow Garage announces the formation of the Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF), an independent, non-profit organization founded by members of the global robotics community whose goal is to support the development, distribution, and adoption of open source software for use in robotics research, education, and product development. The OSRF Board of Directors is composed of the following members: Wolfram Burgard. Dr. Burgard, a professor at the University of Freiburg,  heading the Laboratory for Autonomous Intelligent Systems. His major research interests lie in mobile robotics, state estimation and control, as well as artificial intelligence. Ryan Gariepy, co-founder and CTO of Clearpath Robotics. Clearpath Robotics is a company specializing in the design and manufacture of unmanned vehicle solutions for industrial R&D. Brian Gerkey,  Director of Open Source Development at Willow Garage who has worked on the open source Robot Operating System (ROS) since 2008. Dr. Gerkey will be CEO of the OSRF. Helen […]

NTT Docomo Showcases Smartphone Prototype with See-through Touch Panel

NTT Docomo and Fujitsus have jointly developed a smartphone prototype with a 2.4″ see-through OLED display (QVGA) that has touch sensors both on its front and back sides and NTT Docomo is currently exhibiting the device and showcasing the corresponding new innovative user interface at Wireless Japan 2012, until June 1, 2012, in Tokyo. The backside touch panel can be operated by using the forefinger and there are several ways to take advantage of a see-through display in the UI including: Operate the notification bar from the back side of the panel with a finger Hold an icon with a finger of one hand from the back side of the panel and stroke the front side of the panel with a forefinger of the other hand to move the home screen on which the icon is placed Play Rubik’s Cube by spinning the cube when the back side is not […]

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