Pine64 community has been on a tear in 2022, with the launch of the PineNote Developer Edition Linux e-reader following the availability of the PinePhone keyboard case and PinePhone Pro Explorer Edition Linux smartphone in the last 2-3 weeks. So far a limited number of PineNote prototypes had been sent to developers, but it’s now possible to order the PineNote Developer Edition for $399 directly on the Pine64 store. As its name implies, the e-Reader is not ready for end-users, but recent progress with mainline Linux makes it suitable for developers and enthusiasts who want to play around with the device knowing much more work is needed to make it a usable device. The specifications remain the same as in the initial PineNote announcement: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 quad-core A55 processor @ 1.8 GHz with Arm Mali-G52 EE GPU, 0.8 TOPS NPU (AI accelerator) System Memory – 4GB of LPDDR4 […]
Intel launches NUC 11 Essential mini PC, Kits, and SBC with Jasper Lake SoC
Details about the Intel NUC 11 Essential “Atlas Canyon” mini PCs with Jasper Lake processor were leaked in May 2021, but Intel has now made it official with the “launch” of five NUC 11 Essential SKUs with one Windows 11 mini PC with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, three kits (bare mini PC), and one bare board all listed on Ark Intel. I put “launch” between quotes because it’s only “launched” as stated on Ark Intel, but it does not look like it’s available for sale just yet, but now at least we get confirmation about the specs from the leak that was fairly accurate, except Intel did not launch 10W Jasper Lake J-Series processors, and both 6W and 10W Jasper Lake processors are part of the N-Series. Intel NUC 11 Essential specifications: SoC/memory/storage NUC11ATKC2 Mini PC SoC – Intel Celeron N4505 dual-core processor clocked at 2.0 GHz / 2.9 […]
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS to leverage zswap to run on Raspberry Pi 4 with 2GB RAM
Canonical used to recommend Raspberry Pi 4 with at least 4GB RAM to run Ubuntu Desktop, but Ubuntu 22.04 LTS should run more smoothly on the Raspberry Pi 4 2GB as the company has enabled zswap by default to allow the Linux operating system to run better on systems with less memory. Canonical explains that zswap is essentially a compression tool. When a process is about to be moved to the swap file, zswap compresses it and checks whether the new, smaller size still needs to be moved or if it can stay in your RAM. It is much quicker to decompress a ‘zswapped’ page than it is to access the swap file so this is a great way of getting more bang for your buck from systems with smaller amounts of RAM. The good news is that you don’t even need to wait for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS to come […]
Raspberry Pi CM4 Nano industrial mini PC supports wide temperature range, 12-18V DC input
If you ever wanted a mini PC similar to Raspberry Pi 4 but working within a wider temperature range and supply voltage, as well as a few extra features, the Raspberry Pi CM4 Nano industrial mini PC with a metal enclosure might be worth looking at. Based on the EDATEC CM4 Nano carrier board, the mini PC supports Raspberry Pi CM4 with up to 8GB RAM, 32GB storage, optional WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0, and offers one HDMI port, a flat cable HDMI + Touchscreen connector, Gigabit Ethernet, three USB 3.0 ports and more. It works in settings with -25 to +60°C ambient temperature and offers a 12-18V DC input. EDATEC (Raspberry Pi) CM4 Nano specifications compared to Raspberry Pi 4 SBC: The company uses the Raspberry Pi OS image for the board plus a Board Support Package (BSP) specific to CM4 Nano to support extra features like the RTC: […]
PinePhone Pro Explorer Edition Linux smartphone is up for pre-order for $399
Pine64’s PinePhone Pro “Explorer Edition”, the successor of the PinePhone Linux smartphone with a much more powerful Rockchip RK3399S processor, is now available for pre-order for $399 on Pine64 store, but mostly for Linux developers since there’s still a lot of work to do before the phone becomes usable. Based on Allwinner A64 processor, the original PinePhone was the cheapest Linux smartphone you could get, but as a user, I can also say it’s sluggish and suspect only a few people have made it their main mobile device. The story should be a different story with PinePhone Pro with much better specs include on hexa-core Cortex-A72/A55 processor tweaked to consume less power than RK3399, 4GB RAM, 128 GB eMMC flash, and a 6-inch display that makes it more like a typical entry-level/mid-range smartphone. PinePhone Pro Explorer Edition specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399S hexa-core processor with 4x Arm Cortex A53, 2x […]
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 […]
Linux 5.16 Release – Main Changes, Arm, RISC-V and MIPS architectures
Linus Torvalds has just announced the release of Linux 5.16: Not a lot here since -rc8, which is not unexpected. We had that extra week due to the holidays, and it’s not like we had lots of last-minute things that needed to be sorted out. So this mainly contains some driver fixes (mainly networking and rdma), a cgroup credential use fix, a few core networking fixes, a couple of last-minute reverts, and some other random noise. The appended shortlog is so small that you might as well scroll through it. This obviously means that the merge window for 5.17 opens tomorrow, and I’m happy to say I already have several pending early pull requests. I wish I had even more, because this merge window is going to be somewhat painful due to unfortunate travel for family reasons. So I’ll be doing most of it on the road on a laptop […]