Category: Operating Systems

Operating Systems used in Embedded Devices

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Android 2.2 Media Player: Cidecko Simple Box AB03

Android 2.2 Media Player: Cidecko Simple Box AB03

Cidecko, a Taiwanese company, demoed its new Android media player the Cidecko Simple Box AB03 running Android 2.2 on an undisclosed  500 Mhz CPU  (Based on this frequency, could it be one of Sigma Designs SMP8650 series, e.g. SMP8653?) at CeBit 2011. They have an innovative remote control (named Air Keyboard AK02d) in the shape of a game controller with a full keyboard, an accelerometer and of gyroscope to control the menu. The set-top box has HDMI, component (YPbPr) and composite video outputs, optical audio output, 2x USB Host, an SD card reader (supports SDHC),  an Ethernet port and support Wifi (802.11n)  via an external dongle. Although it’s running Android 2.2, note that it does not support full flash, but only Flashlite 9.0. It can support the most popular video codecs including MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264/AVC, RMVB and VC-1 and audio codecs such as MPEG, Dolby, DTS.. The retail price of the […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Android 2.2 IETV Smart Player by Shenzhen Ider Technology

Android 2.2 IETV Smart Player by Shenzhen Ider Technology

Shenzhen Ider Technology (亿典华科技) showcased two Android 2.2 media player prototypes based on a Samsung ARM Cortex A8 Processor (Probably Samsung SOPC100) at CeBit 2011.  They feature an Ethernet port, one or several video output ports(HDMI / Component / Composite),  several USB Host ports and can output up to 1080p. The low cost version on have HDMI ouput, whereas the other version has HDMI, component and composite. Both devices support wireless mouse and keyboard and come with a magic remote (wii-like) to control Android. This is interesting to note that whereas other set-top boxes doe not use the Android home as there main menu, those media players do. The low cost version would be around 60 to 80 USD for order larger than 1000 pieces and the higher cost version slightly over 80 USD. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Low Cost Freescale i.MX53 (Cortex A8) Development Board

Low Cost Freescale i.MX53 (Cortex A8) Development Board

Possibly inspired by Texas Instruments low cost Beagleboard (OMAP 3 – 129 USD) and Pandaboard (OMAP4 – 179 USD) and the large following in the development community, Freescale announced its own “Quick Start Development Board” based on i.MX53 for a cost of 149 USD. i.MX53 QSD Board Hardware Description Listed Hardware Features of the i.MX53 Quick Start Development Board: Processor i.MX53 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 Processor Power management IC 1 GB DDR3 memory Display LVDS connector VGA connector Parallel LCD add-on card (via expansion connector) HDMI add-on card (via expansion connector) Audio SPDIF output via HDMI add-on card Freescale SGTL5000 audio codec Microphone jack Headphone jack Expansion Connector Enables parallel LCD or HDMI output Camera CSI port signals I2C, SSI, SPI signals Connectivity Full-size SD/MMC card slot microSD card slot 7-pin SATA data connector 10/100 Base-T Ethernet port Two High-Speed USB host ports Micro USB device port Debug JTAG connector […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Databases for Linux Embedded Systems: Berkeley DB and SQLite

Databases for Linux Embedded Systems: Berkeley DB and SQLite

Embedded systems often need to use database to store contact information, EPG data and more. Many Linux systems use MySQL, however such a large database management system may not always be appropriate for embedded systems. Hence, there are lightweight database management systems  implementation that are especially suited to embedded systems by their binary footprint, memory footprint and CPU requirements. If you want to develop in C in Linux and your requirement is to have no (or little) license to pay in your application, you could consider Oracle Berkeley DB or SQLite among others. Oracle Berkeley DB (previously Sleepycat Berkeley DB)  is described as follows: Berkeley DB enables the development of custom data management solutions, without the overhead traditionally associated with such custom projects. Berkeley DB provides a collection of well-proven building-block technologies that can be configured to address any application need from the hand-held device to the datacenter, from a […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Android C/C++ development with Android Native SDK

Android C/C++ development with Android Native SDK

HyperDevBox is a Japanese based software development company, developing games for Android. They are presenting their new Android game called “Spectral Souls”, the first tactical RPG game for Android. The interesting part is that this Android gamewas not developped with Java, but only using C/C++ programming with Android Native SDK (NDK) (Currently revision 5). Using the NDK means you’ll have to adapt your software to several hardware platform contrary to java development. They now only support Qualcomm and PowerVR GPU for now, and they are working on supporting NVidia Tegra platform and other upcoming GPU. The advantage of native code is a potential performance improvement and code re-use if you have already applications developed in C/C++, the inconvenience is that more work is need to support different hardware. Currently the NDK is only available for ARM platforms (ARMv5TE  andARMv7-A), future releases will support x86 instructions. The video below is an […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Low Cost Android Tablets: Archos Arnova 8 and Arnova 10

Low Cost Android Tablets: Archos Arnova 8 and Arnova 10

Archos – a leader in low cost android tablet with its Archos Gen8 Series (Archos 28/32/48/70/101) – has just released the Arnova Series with the Archos Arnova 8 (149 USD), an 8″ inch Android 2.1 tablet and Archos Arnova A10HT (199 USD), a 10.1″ Android 2.1 tablet. Currently those 2 tablets are based on Rockchip ARM9 RK2818 @ 600 Mhz and use a resistive touchscreen, but in the next few months, they’ll release version with Rockchip RK2918 @ 1GHz (Cortez A8 based), a capacitive touchscreen and Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) for the same price. The firmware of those tablets is apparently not directly supported by Archos, but is developed by a subsidiary in Hong Kong called Arnova (hence the name). Usually the IT (Internet Tablet) series are developed and supported by Archos (better support) and HT (Home Tablet) developed and supported by third parties. Have a look at Charbax’s video of the […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Linaro Development Board “Snowball” by ST Ericsson

Linaro Development Board “Snowball” by ST Ericsson

ST Ericsson unveiled a development board based on Nova A9500 (dual ARM Cortex A9 processor and MALI 400 GPU) at MWC 2011 called Snowball (or SKY-S9500-ULP-CXX) for the embedded Linux community and professional developers. This board was designed by CALAO Systems and can be pre-ordered on their website for 200 USD (SKY-S9500-ULP-C11 / Software Development Kit – SDK) or 300 USD (SKY-S9500-ULP-C01 / Production development Kit – PDK). The difference between the SDK and PDK is that the former has no expansion connectors, no battery backup for RTC and only support serial over USB port (for Linux console). First, some pictures with description of the snowball development board. The full documentations for Snowball development board can be found in Calao Systems File Repository, where you’ll get the bottom and top assembly diagrams for both C01 and C11, the major components datasheet, documentation and some photos. The specifications of the boards: – […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Samsung at MWC 2011: Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy S 2

Samsung at MWC 2011: Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy S 2

Samsung will showcase two highly expected products at Mobile World Congress 2011, in Barcelona: The Galaxy S II smartphone with a 4.3″ Super AMOLED Plus display and dual-core processor and the new Galaxy Tab 10.1 (aka Galaxy Tab 2) with a 10.1″ display (1280×800) running Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). Samsung GALAXY S II Product Specifications are as follows: Network GSM 850/900/1800/1900 HSPA+ 21 850/900/1900/2100 OS Android 2.3 Gingerbread Display 4.27” WVGA (480×800) Super AMOLED Plus Processor ( BB& AP ) 1 GHz Dual Core Application Processor Camera Main(Rear): 8.0-Mega Pixel Camera AF with LED Flash Front: 2.0-Mega Pixel Camera Single Shot, Beauty Shot, , Panorama Shot, Smile Shot, Action Shot, Cartoon Shot Video Codec : MPEG4/ H.264/ H.263/ DivX VC-1 Playback : FULL HD(1080p)@30fps Recording : FULL HD(1080p)@30fps Audio MP3, AAC, AAC+, eACC+ 3.5mm Ear Jack & Speaker, Stereo FM Radio with RDS, Voice Recorder Hub Social Hub – Integrated Contacts, […]

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