Hardware Category - Page 797 of 1118 - CNX Software

June 8, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 36 Comments

$66 I5 Intel Mini PC Features 2GB RAM, 32GB Storage, HDMI & VGA Ports (Promo)

It would have been unthinkable a few years ago, but you can now buy a computer capable of running Windows or Linux and shipped to your door for just $65.99 (with coupon GBi5) thanks to i5 mini PC based on Bay Trail processor (not Core i5 as the name may have implied), and the usual 2GB RAM and 32GB storage combination. i5 mini PC specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz / 1.83 GHz with Intel HD graphics System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L Storage – 32 GB eMMC + micro SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 1.4, and VGA Audio I/F – HDMI, 3.5mm earphone jack Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 host, 1x micro USB OTG port Misc – Power Button, power LED Power Supply – 5V/2A Dimensions – 13.00 x […]

June 8, 2016June 8, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 23 Comments

$33 Mini M8S TV Box Comes with 2GB RAM, Amlogic S905 Processor

While there are many Amlogic S905 TV Boxes below $40, many of them only come with 1GB RAM, and if you want to get a model with 2GB RAM, you’d need to pay a little more. Mini M8S appears to be a pretty good deal, as it includes 2GB, and sells for $32.97 including shipping on eBay. Mini M8S specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905 quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 2.0GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU @ 750 MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB flash + micro SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 Audio – HDMI, optical S/PDIF Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Misc – IR receiver Power Supply – DC 5V/2A Dimensions – 110 x 110 x 17.5 mm Weight – 162 grams The device runs Android 5.1, and looks exactly the same […]

June 7, 2016June 8, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

4K VP9 Video Playback in Amlogic S905X based NEXBOX A5 Android TV Box

I’ve never been able to play 4K VP9 videos smoothly in any Android TV boxes so far. It’s possible in Nvidia Shield Android TV, but the device is relatively expensive, and hard to source in many parts of the world, and NEXBOX A5 is the first Android TV Box I own capable of handling 4K VP9 @ 60 fps thanks to Amlogic S905X processor. So I tested 3 4K Vp9 video using MoviePlayer app pre-loaded in the device: 4K Hawaii Sunset _ GoPro Hero 4 Black 4k@30fps-I7CycuMpQ3w.webm – 3840×2160 resolution @ 30 fps; no audio; ~24 Mbps; Downloaded from YouTube with youtube-dl script phfx_4KHD_VP9TestFootage.webm – 3840×2160 resolution @ 25 fps; no audio; ~14 Mbps The.Curvature.of.Earth.4K.60FPS-YT-UceRgEyfSsc.VP9.3840×2160.OPUS.160K.webm – 3840×2160 resolution @ 60 fps; Opus audio; ~30 Mbps As you’ll see in the video below, the good news is that all three videos could be played relatively smoothly. The not-so-good news are that […]

June 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Jide Remix Pro is a Remix OS 3.0 2-in-1 Laptop Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 Processor

Remix OS appears to getting more and more attention, and is now found in an increasing number of hardware platforms. Jide has also been working on the new Remix OS 3.0 version based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and showcased it in Jide Remix Pro 2-in-1 laptop / tablet reference design powered by Snapdragon 652 octa-core processor. Jide Remix Pro specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 (APQ8074) octa core processor with 4x Cortex A72 cores @ 1.8 GHz, 4x Cortex A53 cores, and Adreno 510 GPU System Memory – 3GB RAM Storage – TBD internal storage; micro SD card slot Display – 12″ IPS display with 2K resolution (2160×1440) Camera – 8 MP rear camera; 5MP front-facing camera Audio – 2x speakers; combo audio jack Connectivity – dual band WiFi, Bluetooth 4, optional 4G-LTE with SIM card slot (replacing micro SD slot), GPS, USB – 1x USB 2.0 port, 1x USB type C […]

June 7, 2016June 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

Unboxing and Teardown of NEXBOX A5 TV Box Powered by Amlogic S905X Processor

NEXBOX A5 is one of the first Android 6.0 TV boxes based on Amlogic S905X processor capable of 4K H.265, H2.64 and VP9 video decoding. The company sent a sample for review, and I’ll start by taking pictures of the device and board in the first part of the review, before fully testing its performance and features in the second part.NEXBOX A5 Unboxing I got the device in a black package with NEXBOX logo, and “Android 6.0 TV Box” text. I received the TV box with the default cofiguration (2GB RAM / 16GB flash), but they also have a cheaper model with 1GB and 8GB flash. Some of the new feature brought by this device has shown on the bottom of the package such as VP9, Android 6.0 and HDR (High Dynamic Range) support. I don’t think I’ll be able to test the latter, since my TV does not support […]

June 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Hardkernel Releases Amlogic S905 Datasheet

When you design a board and/or write drivers for an SoC it helps a lot to get info about electrical characteristics, memory map, registers’ addresses and values to understand how the hardware works, especially for custom applications, but many silicon vendors only distribute such documents under NDA to their business customers, with exception from companies such as Freescale (now NXP), and Texas Instruments. Hardkernel, the company developing ODROID boards, is also trying to release as much documentation as possible for their board such as Amlogic S805 datasheet for ODROID-C1/C1+ boards, and the Korean company has now released Amlogic S905 processor datasheet as the processor is used in their ODROID-C2 board. Some of the information available in the datasheet include Memory map Power domain CPU and GPU sub-system Clock & Reset Unit System Boot General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) Interrupt Controller Direct Memory Access Controller (DMAC) Timers Crypto Etc… ODROID-C2 was launched […]

June 7, 2016June 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Android TV 6.0 Ported to Raspberry Pi 3 with 2D/3D GPU Acceleration, but no Hardware Video Decoding (Yet)

Google might be working on Android or Brillo for Raspberry Pi 3, with a new repository created in AOSP, meaning that, if that’s Android, you won’t probably get the Google Mobiles Services by default, but those can be side-loaded to get access the the Play Store, Youtube, etc… In the meantime, a group of developer have been working Android 6.0 TV port for Raspberry Pi 3. That’s the same team who worked on previous images for Raspberry Pi and Raspberry Pi 2 boards using “peyo” port, and that did not have any support for 2D/3D graphics acceleration, nor hardware video decoding. But they’ve made some improvements for their Android TV 6.0.1 release for Raspberry Pi 3, as 2D/3D GPU acceleration is enabled using the Mesa drivers, and Kodi user interface, game emulators, WelGL in Chrome browser all work relatively well using 1280×720 frame buffer resolution as you can see from […]

June 6, 2016June 16, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Energympro EP-SH09 Bluetooth LE Fitness Tracker Features AMS AS7000 Biosensor

I wrote about AMS AS7000 biosensor designed for heart rate monitors last fall, and one of my regular reader noticed the sensor, made his company evaluate it, and since the results were pretty good, designed a product with it. And here I am with a sample of Energympro EP-SH09 fitness tracker with an OLED display, HRM based on AS7000 sensor, and IP67 ingress protection rating. Some of Energympro EP-SH09 technical specifications: MCU – Texas Instruments CC2640 ARM Cortex-M3 48 MHz Display – 0.86″ OLED display, 96×32 resolution Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE Input – Touch area at the bottom of the display Sensors – AMS AS7000 biosensor for HRM, motion sensors Battery – 45 mAh LiPo battery which looks good for 4 to 5 days. Dimensions – 40 x 18 x 12.9 mm Weight – 6 grams Ingress Protection Rating – IP67 The device can pair with smartphone using Smart […]