While there are many LPWAN standards, in recent years, we wrote mostly about LoRaWAN, NB-IoT & LTE Cat M1/2, as well as Sigfox to a lesser extent. The company managing the latter, also called Sigfox appears to be in financial trouble with the company placed in “redressement judiciaire”, a court-supervised business recovery/turnaround procedure in French law that looks to be similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US, and sometimes also translated as “receivership”. LTE IoT standards like NB-IoT and Cat M1/M2 rely on the vast infrastructure established for phones, while LoRaWAN allows the community and private companies to build their own network with gateways, but Sigfox decided to build and own their network and charge a monthly/yearly fee per device to access the network. Sigfox has extensive coverage in Europe, South Africa, Japan and South Korea, New Zealand, and part of South East Asia, but more sporadic coverage in […]
MECOOL HomePlus – A 2-in-1 smart speaker and 4K TV box with DVB Tuner
We’ve reviewed MECOOL devices in the past, such as their hybrid set-top boxes with DVB-T2 and/or DVB-S2 tuners. But MECOOL HomePlus (aka MECOOL KA1) packs even more features as it serves as both a 4K Android set-top box with a DVB tuner and a smart speaker compatible with Google Assitant. Based on Amlogic S905X4 Arm Cortex-A55 processor, and equipped with 4GB RAM and 32GB storage, MECOOL HomePlus runs a Google-certified Android TV 11 OS with far-field voice and hands-free TV control. MECOOL HomePlus (KA1) specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X4 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor with Arm G31 MP2 GPU RAM – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 32GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI 2.1 port with HDCP 2.2 Video Codes – 4K AV1, VP9, H.265, H.264 Audio Built-in two linear microphone array 2x 5W RMS speakers Tuner – RF antenna input for DVB T/T2/C tuner (optional) Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet RJ45 port Dual-band […]
Samsung Exynos 2200 SoC features Xclipse 920 GPU with AMD RDNA 2 architecture
Samsung has just unveiled the Exynos 2200 Armv9 SoC equipped with Samsung Xplipse 920 GPU based on AMD RDNA architecture and promising console quality graphics on mobile devices. Manufactured with a 4nm process, the octa-core processor also features Arm Cortex-X2, Cortex-A710, and Cortex-A510 cores, a 5G modem for up to 7.35 Gbps downlink, 8K video encoding and decoding, as well as support for LPDDR5 memory and UFS 3.1 storage. Exynos 2200 specifications: CPU 1x Arm Cortex-X2 3x Arm Cortex-A710 4x Arm Cortex-A510 GPU – Samsung Xclipse 920 GPU built with AMD RDNA 2 technology enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing (RT) and variable rate shading (VRS), a first on mobile according to Samsung VPU Video decode – 8Kp60 10-bit HEVC (H.265), 8Kp30 10-bit VP9, AV1 Video encode – 8Kp30 10-bit HEVC(H.265), VP9 AI – AI Engine with Dual-core NPU and DSP up to 52 TOPS (TBC) Memory – LPDDR5 Storage – UFS […]
i.MX 8M Plus solderable LGA module follows OSM Size-L standard
SGET Open Standard Module (OSM) specification was ratified in November 2020. It defined specifications for solderable LGA system-on-modules, and we first noticed it though through the launch of F&S Elektronik “FS 8MM OSM-SF” module powered by an NXP i.MX 8M Mini processor, and following OSM Size-S standard (30x30mm). As we noted in our introduction about the Open Standard Module, SGET defined four sizes from Size-0 (30x15mm) to Size-L (45x45mm), and there’s now at least one “Large” OSM module courtesy of iWave Systems, and their iW-RainboW-G40M module equipped with an NXP i.MX 8M Plus processor for AI applications. iW-RainboW-G40M specifications: SoC- NXP i.MX 8M Plus Q/QL/D quad-/dual-core Cortex-A53 processor up to 2.0 GHz, with Arm Cortex-M7 real-time core @ 800 MHz, Vivante GC7000UL 3D GPU, Vivante GC520L 2D GPU, 2.3 TOPS NPU System Memory – Up to 8GB LPDDR4 Memory Storage – Up to 256GB eMMC flash Wireless – 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax Wi-Fi […]
Rockchip RK3568 SBC to power 4G/5G, WiFI 6 connected smart displays, features an optional tuner
Geniatech is back with another Rockchip RK3568 SBC. The K3-3568 single board computer is designed specifically for smart displays with 4G LTE, 5G, or WiFi 6 connectivity, and follows last year’s “Geniatech RK3568 development board” (aka DB3568) offered as a full-featured development kit for Rockchip RK3568 SoC. K3-3568 SBC ships with up to 8GB RAM, up to 64GB eMMC flash, and offers multiple display interfaces with HDMI, MIPI DSI, LVDS, eDP, plus and an internal HDMI input connector, as well as support for an optional DVB-T2, ISDB-T, DMBT, or ATSC digital tuner. Geniatech K3-3568 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor up to 1.5/2.0 GHz with Arm Mali-G52 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1, 0.8 TOPS NPU for AI acceleration System Memory – 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB LPDDR4 Storage 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB eMMC 5.1 flash MicroSD card slot M.2 socket for NVMe SSD (See expansion […]
ROCK5 Model B RK3588 single board computer is up for pre-order for $79 and up
Some will say “finally!” After years of waiting for Rockchip RK3588 processor, ROCKPi Trading Limited/Radxa got some samples for their ROCK5 Model B single board computer and has started to take pre-orders with discounted prices starting at $79 through distributors. But let’s check out the specifications first, with the octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 Pico-ITX SBC shipping with up to 16GB RAM, M.2 NVMe storage, 2.5GbE, optional WiFi 6E, 8K video output via HDMI or USB-C ports, 4K HDMI input, and more. Radxa ROCK5 Model B (aka ROCK 5B) specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588 octa-core processor with four Cortex-A76 cores @ 2.4 GHz, four Cortex-A55 cores @ 1.8 GHz, an Arm Mali G610MC4 GPU, a 6TOPS NPU, 8K 10-bit decoder, 8K encoder System Memory – 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB LPDDR4x Storage M.2 2280 socket for NVMe SSD (PCIe 3.0 x4) up to 2,000 MB/s MicroSD card socket eMMC flash socket Video Output 2x […]
Reolink Go Plus 4G review – Part 2: A Solar-powered 4G LTE security camera with person & vehicle detection
Last month, I received Reolink Go Plus 4G smart security camera with 4G LTE connectivity, vehicle/human detection support, and powered by a solar panel. In the first part of the review, I did an unboxing, added the camera to the Reolink Android app, and confirmed it worked with my DTAC SIM card. I’ve now installed the camera and had time to test more of its features, so I can report my experience with the security camera. Reolink Go Plus 4G camera and solar panel installation I wanted to use the camera near the gate that’s outside of (reliable) WiFi range. So I found a piece of hardwood to which I attached the mounts of the camera and solar panel… … and attached it to the wall. My current installation works for testing, but it’s not the most secure as the camera is quite visible and only placed a little over […]
The death of transformers? AC Direct DC Enabler is a solid-state solution for AC-DC power supplies
Power supplies would typically transform AC mains to DC voltage with the use of transformers, rectifiers, or filtering, but Amber Solutions’ AC Direct DC Enabler chip claims to do without those old tech electromechanical components by enabling DC extraction directly from AC mains through solid-state architecture. The company claims the technology leads to dramatically smaller size footprints, while simultaneously “delivering a much more dynamic, configurable power delivery capability”. Consumer, commercial and industrial electrical products manufacturers and semiconductor companies can already evaluate the technology as the AC Direct DC Enabler is now available as a demo kit. The company made bold claims even announcing the death of transformers: The magic of the Amber AC Direct DC Enabler is that it allows manufacturers to add modern intelligence and enhanced functionality to new and existing products using much smaller silicon chips to manage and deliver DC power. Using a single silicon chip, this […]