Hardware Category - Page 965 of 1132 - CNX Software

October 21, 2014May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 29 Comments

AllWinner A80 based Cubieboard4 Development Board is Now Available for $100 (in China)

Allwinner and Cubietech announced they were working on Cubieboard8 in May, before we got to see some pictures of the first engineering samples. Cubieboard8 has now been renamed to Cubieboard4, also known as CC-A80 (CubieTech single board Computer A80), and the company has listed the board on Taobao for 620 RMB (~$102), with shipping scheduled for October 30. Cubietech CC-A80 board specifications, which have changed since the first pictures were released in July: SoC – AllWinner A80 octa core 4x Cortex A15 @ 2.0GHz, 4x Cortex A7 @ 1.3GHz, and Imagination PowerVR G6200 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC (25MB/s read and write speed), micro SD Card slot Video Output – HDMI 1.4, and VGA Audio I/O – HDMI, 2x 3.5mm audio jacks for audio output and microphone Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n up to 300 Mbps + Bluetooth 4.0 (AP6330 module) […]

October 20, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Add GPIOs to Windows, Linux, Android Computers and Devices with FTDI USB Adapters / Breakout Boards

It’s possible to to add GPIOs to your computer, (openWRT) router, or Android tablet using some FTDI USB dongles that expose I/Os. On operating systems based on Linux, including Android, you can use the GPIO sysfs interface (/sys/class/gpio) to easily control GPIOs from the command line, and in some cases Rx, Tx, CTS, .. pins can also be used as GPIOs. Zoobab has tried it with various FTDI USB adapters, and Oneping OP-1010 breakout board based on PL2303 HDX chip, and the results are mixed, but it could worth a try. There are currently patchsets ([1] and [2]) awaiting acceptance to mainline kernel that will enable GPIO support for these USB devices, but in the meantime you need to patch the kernel yourself, and then enable the relevant options in the kernel config for example “USB_SERIAL_PL2303_GPIO” or “USB_SERIAL_FTDI_SIO_GPIO”. The first patch is for PL2303 chips, and the second for FT2xxx/FT4xxx […]

October 19, 2014October 20, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

$50 UNI-T UT61E Digital Multimeter Supports Data Logging to a Windows Computer

Since I don’t use a multimeter that often, and don’t need high precision, I bought an ultra cheap multimeter (Sunwa DT830B) locally a couple of a years ago. I normally use it for continuity testing (no beep though) for repair work / checking solder point, and some quick voltage measurement, and it works well for these simple tasks, although the lack of buzzer makes it a little inconvenient. But I discovered its limits when I tried to measure current. The 200 mA range works fine, but I started to encounter issues when switching to the 10A range, as device under tests would just start rebooting if the current draw was too high, and the manual indicates that you “cannot measure more than 15 seconds in the 10A range”. Since I did not want to spend $100+ on a Fluke multimeter, I did some research for a better multimeter, and finally […]

October 18, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 32 Comments

iMito QX1 Quad Core Android HDMI TV Stick Sells for $30

As new platforms are being introduced to market, companies have to clear their stock of older devices, and iMito QX1 HDMI TV dongle based on Rockchip RK3188 quad core processor is now going for $30 on Aliexpress, including shipping. iMito QX1 specifications as a reminder: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 Quad core Cortex A9 @ 1.6Ghz with Mali-400 MP4 GPU. (or maybe RK3188T @ 1.4 GHz now) System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND Flash + microSD card Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR Video Output – HDMI USB – 1x USB 2.0 host + 1x mini USB port for power Misc – Reset/recovery button, external antenna connector. Power – 5V/2A via mini USB port Dimensions – 99 x 40 x 10.8mm Weight – 42 grams The latest firmware is based on Android 4.2.2, and there are also some custom ROMS (Finless, Nitro Team, etc..) for […]

October 17, 2014October 17, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Meet Blocks, a Tizen Modular Smartwatch based on Edison Board

If you like Phoneblocks / Project Ara module model concept, you may also be interested in Blocks, a modular smartwatch comprised of blocks connected via 3.5mm jacks. The watch is running Tizen on Edison development board powered by Intel dual-core Atom + Quark SoC, and part of the 10 finalists of Intel’s Make It Wearable challenge. Most smartwatches comes with a dumb” watchband, but with Blocks both the actual watch, and watchband are smart and customizable. You can change from round to square display, and add modules, which are part of the watchband, adding features like GPS, heat rate monitor, motion sensors, extra battery capacity, SIM card, contactless payment, temperature sensors, and so on. Each module also have a removable cover to let you change the color. One of the main drawbacks of current smartwatches is the battery life (1 to 2 days), so if it is possible to connect […]

October 16, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Lark Board Powered by Altera Cyclone V SX ARM Cortex A9 + FPGA SoC

Farnell/Element14 has quietly announced Lark Board from their subsidiary Embest Technology in September. The board is powered by an Altera Cyclone V ARM Cortex-A9 dual-core + FPGA processor with high speed transceivers, runs Debian 7.4, and targets medical instruments, video surveillance and industrial control applications. Lark board specifications: SoC – Altera Cyclone V SX (5CSXFC6D6F31I7N) with a dual core Cortex A9 processor (HPS – Hard Processor System) @ 800 MHz, FPGA fabric including up to 110K logic cells (LE), and high speed transceivers (2 PCIe hard IPs and 9 3Gbps transceivers) System Memory – 1GB DDR3 SDRAM for HPS, 1GB DDR3 SDRAM for FPGA Storage – 4GB eMMC Flash + micro SD card slot Audio/Video Interfaces – HDMI, VGA, and 24-bit LCD interface supporting 4-wire touch screen Data Transfer Interfaces: High-resolution serial digital interface (SDI) that supports SMD standard interface and provides a SDI TX and a SDI RX 12-bit […]

October 16, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Intel / Rockchip XMM 6321 Solution for Low Cost 3G Smartphones and Tablets

Back in May, Intel and Rockchip announced a partnership to develop 3G and LTE “Sofia” SoC for mobile devices, a few months later, Rockchip VP posted a picture of dual core development board (6321 solution) on Weibo with Rockchip and Intel technology, and the companies have showcased solutions based on XMM 6321 during the Hong Kong Electronics Fair. Intel XMM 6321 appears to be a two-chip solution comprised of: XG632 SoC with a dual core Intel processor, a GPU, ISP?, VPU and a 2G/3G modem Intel/Infineon AG620 Communication Combo with 2G/3G RF, Wi-Fi/BT, GPS, GLONASS and Audio/PMU. XG632 will be the first processor from Intel and Rockchip collaboration, but it may not be part of “Sofia” family. with quad core 64-bit Sofia 3G-R and Sofia LTE SoCs coming at later date. XG632 is for entry-level smartphones (<$30) and tablets (<$40), whereas the upcoming Sofia SoCs will be seen in mainstream […]

October 16, 2014August 24, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Google Unveils Android 5.0 Lollipop, Nexus 6 Smartphone, Nexus 9 Tablet, and Nexus Player

Android L is now formally known as Android Lollipop. Since Google already released Android L preview a few month ago, we already know what’s new in Android 5.0 Lollipop with key changes including material design user interface, ART replacing Dalvik, better battery management, 64-bit support, etc… Google also announced three hardware platforms running Android 5.0: Nexus 6 Smartphone, Nexus 9 Tablet, and Nexus Player (Android TV) Motorola Nexus 6 Smartphone Hardware specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 quad core Krait 450 processor @ 2.7 GHz with Adreno 420 GPU System Memory – 3GB RAM Storage – 32 or 64 GB eMMC – No micro SD slot Display – 5.96” 1440×2560 AMOLED display (493 ppi). 16:9 Aspect ratio. Connectivity – 802.11 ac 2×2 (MIMO), Bluetooth 4.1, NFC Cellular Network (nano SIM): North America: GSM – 850/900/1800/1900MHz CDMA Band Class – 0/1/10 WCDMA Bands – 1/2/4/5/8 LTE Bands – 2/3/4/5/7/12/13/17/25/26/29/41 CA DL Bands […]