LimeSDR Open Source Hardware Software Defined Radio Goes for $199 and Up (Crowdfunding)

Canonical and Lime Micro showcased SoDeRa software defined radio (SDR) a couple of months ago, with a promise to launch a crowdfunding campaign later this year. They’ve fulfill their promise, and launched the open source SDR, renamed to LimeSDR, on Crowdsupply. LimeSDR board specifications: FPGA – Altera Cyclone IV EP4CE40F23 Altera FPGA compatible with EP4CE30F23 System Memory – 256 MB DDR2 SDRAM RF Lime Microsystems LMS7002M RF transceiver with continuous coverage of the frequency range between 100 kHz and 3.8 GHz; 61.44 MHz bandwidth 4 x TxOut and 6 x RxIn U.FL connectors Power Output (CW): up to 10 dBm Wi-Fi, GSM, UMTS, LTE, LoRa, Bluetooth, Zigbee, RFID, Digital Broadcasting, configurable through apps. USB – 1x micro USB3 via CYUSB3014-BZXC Cypress Microcontroller  for control, data transfer and power Misc – Status LEDs, RGB LEDs, 4x switches Power – USB or external power supply Dimensions –  100 mm x 60 mm The board […]

Meizu PRO 5 Ubuntu Edition Smartphone is Up for Sale for $370

Meizu PRO 5 Ubuntu Edition, the first high-end smartphone running Ubuntu operating system, is now available on jd.com for $369.99, and Russian people can order it here. However, one of the key selling point of using an Ubuntu phone would be desktop and mobile use, the so-called “convergence”, but since there’s no MHL or HDMI output, and the USB-C port does not carry the video signals on this phone, that feature will be missing. Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition smartphone specifications as listed on JD.com: SoC – Samsung Exynos 7 Octa (7420) octa core processor with four Cortex A57 cores @ 2.1GHz, four Cortex A53 cores @ 1.5Ghz, and a Mali-T760 MP8 GPU System Memory – 3GB LPDDR4 Storage – 32 GB UFS 2.0 storage + micro SD slot up to 128GB Display  – 5.7″’AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 1920×1080 resolution. Gorilla Glass 3. Camera – 21MP rear camera with autofocus and […]

MeLE PCG02U Ubuntu TV Stick is Now Available for $70

MeLE unveiled Start Cloud PCG02U Ubuntu TV stick powered by Intel Atom Z3735F processor with 1 to 2GB RAM and 32 GB flash a few weeks ago. The TV stick is a variation of PCG02 TV stick running Windows 10, but featuring an Ubuntu orange case, and running Ubuntu 14.04. The company has now launched the 2GB RAM version for $69.99 shipped on their Aliexpress store. MeLE PCG02U specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F  “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz / 1.83 GHz with Intel HD graphics Gen 7 (2W TDP) System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 32 GB eMMC + micro SD slot up to 128 GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 with external antenna USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 1x micro USB port (for power only) Misc – Power button, Kensington […]

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS “Xenial Xerus” Release

Ubuntu 16.04 Long Term Support (LTS) release of the popular Linux distribution is scheduled for later today. The release codenamed Xenial Xerus will feature ‘snap’ package format, LXD pure-container hypervisor, and be the very first release with support for converge with IoT, phone, desktop and server versions running on the same base. Some of the key changes listed by Canonical include: Introduces “snaps” for new robust, secure app format which can still be used along ‘deb’ packages Introduces LXD pure-container hypervisor with OpenStack Mitaka Supports IBM Z and LinuxONE systems with flat pricing Steps towards converged Ubuntu across IoT, Phone, Desktop and Server Introduces ZFS and CephFS for large-scale cloud storage Ubuntu 16.04 will also run updated version of packages with Linux 4.4, Python 3.5, OpenSSH 2.0, PHP 7.0, MySQL 5.7, etc.. More details about the changes can be found on Xenial Xerus release notes. I’ve also noticed the system […]

Android and Linux Benchmarks on MiQi Development Board

MiQi is an upcoming low cost development board powered by Rockchip RK3288 SoC that will sell for $35 with 1GB RAM and 8GB storage, and $69 for the version with a  2GB / 32GB combination. Since Rockchip RK3288 was launched in 2014, most available benchmarks were made on Android 4.4, and since MiQi is the first low cost board based on the processor, other RK3288 based board such as FireFly have not been that popular. So I’ve decided to run updated benchmarks in MiQi both in Android 5.1 and Linux (Lubuntu 14.04), which was easy since a dual boot image is pre-installed. But since I received an early sample without heatsink, I found a spare heatsink added some thermal paste and placed it on top of the processor and partially on RAM and eMMC flash. MiQi Board Android 5.1 Benchmarks I ran Antutu both using 1080p60 and 2160p30 video output, […]

MiQi Rockchip RK3288 Development Board using Raspberry Pi Form Factor to Sell for $35 and Up

Rockchip RK3288 processor may have launched in 2014, but it’s still one of the most powerful processor found in TV boxes for example, and in the past we’ve seen higher end board based on the processor such as Firefly-RK3288 or Radxa Rock 2 Square selling for well above $100. But MQMaker, the company that previously made WiTi router board, is bringing a smaller and cheaper RK3288 development board with MiQi, which definitely looks similar to the Raspberry Pi. MiQi board specifications: SoC – Rockchip 3288 quad core ARM Cortex A17 up to 1.8 GHz with Mali-T764 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0 /3.0, and OpenCL 1.1 System Memory – 1 or 2G DDR3 depending on model Storage – 8 or 32 GB eMMC flash depending on model + micro SD slot Video & Audio output – HDMI 2.0 up to 3840×2160@60p Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet USB – 4x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB port Debugging […]

Intel RealSense Robotic Development Kit Features Atom x5 UP Board, Realsense R200 Depth Camera

An Intel Developer Forum is currently taking place in Shenzhen, China, which may explains why we have several Intel products announcements targeting developers such as the launch of Quark D2000 development board. Another product for makers and developers is Intel RealSense Robotic Development Kit combining Raspberry Pi like UP Board powered by Intel Atom x5-Z8350 processor with Intel RealSense camera (R200) in order to bring 3D / depth vision to robots. UP Board specifications have changed a little as the processor is now Z8350 instead of Z8300, and they now have a version with 4GB RAM used in the kit: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8350 “Cherry Trail” quad core processor @ 1.44 GHz (Burst frequency: 1.92 GHz) with Intel Gen8 HD graphics System Memory –  4GB DDR3L-1600 Storage – 32 GB eMMC flash Video Output / Display – HDMI 1.4b, MIPI DSI/eDP interface Audio I/O – HDMI, I2S Connectivity – […]

UDOO x86 Development Board Combines Quad Core Intel Motherboard with Arduino 101 Board for $89 and Up (Crowdfunding)

UDOO is known for their ARM based development board with an MCU to control I/Os from Arduino compatible headers such as UDOO Quad or UDOO NEO. The community has now launched a new board called UDOO x86 powered by a quad core Intel processor, and integrating the Intel Curie compute module with Quark SE MCU used in Arduino 101, and the Arduino UNO headers. The basic version will come with Atom x5-E8000 Cherry Trail Braswell processor while the advanced version will feature Celeron N3160 Braswell processor. UDOO x86 Basic and Advanced specifications: SoC Basic – Intel Atom x5-E8000 quad core processor @ 1.04 / 2.0 GHz GHz with 12EU Intel HD graphics @ 320 MHz (5W TDP) Advanced – Intel Celeron N3160 quad-core processor @ 1.6 GHz / 2.24 GHz (Turbo) with 12EU Intel HD graphics@ 320 MHz/640Mhz (4W SDP / 6W TDP) System Memory Basic – 2 GB DDR3L […]

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