There’s a New MarsBoard A20 ARM Linux Development Board In Town

MarsBoard, a development board based by AllWinner A10 was released last year, soon followed by MarsBoard A20 with a dual core Cortex A7 AllWinner A20 processor. That board is now called the “Old MarsBoard A20” and is replaced by the “New MarsBoard A20” that features a baseboard + computer-on-module design, increases the NAND flash capacity to 8 GB flash, and supports 1GB RAM by default, with an option for 2 GB RAM. Let’s check the specifications of this new development board: SoC – AllWinner A20 ARM Cortex A7 dual core processor @ 1GHz + Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 @ 480 MHz by default, up to 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND Flash, SATA II interface, and micro SD slot Video I/O HDMI up to 1080p60 VGA Composite output TV-IN (composite IN) LCD connectors for RGB and LVDS interfaces, capacitive touch support Audio I/O – HDMI, Line In/Out, Microphone […]

Linux 3.15 Released

Linus Torvalds announced the release of Linux Kernel 3.15 last Sunday: So I ended up doing an rc8 because I was a bit worried about some last-minute dcache fixes, but it turns out that nobody seemed to even notice those. We did have other issues during the week, though, so it was just as well. The futex fixes and cleanups may stand out, but as usual there’s various other random fixes since rc8 in there too: mainly drivers (drm, networking, sound, usb etc), networking, scheduling and perf tooling. But it’s all been fairly small and quiet, which *may* of course be due to the fact that last week was also the first week of the merge window for 3.16. That might have distracted some developers. I’m not entirely convinced I liked the overlap, but it seemed to work ok, and unless people scream really loudly (“Please don’t _ever_ do that again”) and give good […]

$37 Shenzhen Visson V5 Android TV Box Features AllWinner A20 SoC

If you’re looking for a low cost dual core Android or Linux TV box or mini server, it won’t get much cheaper than Shenzhen Visson V5 powered by AllWinner A20 dual Cortex A7 SoC with 512 MB RAM, 4GB flash, as well as various port such as HDMI, Ethernet, and USB. Shenzhen Visson V5 specifications: SoC – AllWinner A20 dual core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1 GHz + Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 512 MB Storage – 4GB flash. Video & Audio Output – HDMI and AV Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n USB –  2x USB host ports Misc – IR receiver, power button Power Supply – 5V/2A According to the specifications on Aliexpress, there’s also a (micro?) SD card, but I can’t find it on any of the pictures, so it’s safe to assume there isn’t any. This Android 4.2.2 box ships with a remote control, a 5V/2A […]

AllWinner A33 Quad Core SoC is Pin-to-Pin Compatible with AllWinner A23

Allwinner has just announced a new quad cortex ARM Cortex A7 SoC for entry-level Android tablets. AllWinner A33  shares many of the features of AllWinner A23 dual core Cortex A7, including an ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU, and provides pin-to-pin compatibility, with the main difference being the upgrade from two to four Cortex A7 cores. The company has already disclosed the main specifications of their new SoC: CPU – Quad core ARM Cortex A7 with 256 KB L1 Cache, 512KB L2 cache GPU – ARM Mali-400MP2 with support for OpenGL ES 2.0/VG 1.1 standards Memory DDR3/DDR3L SDRAM controller 8-bit NAND/eMMC flash controller  Video Decoding – 1080p60 video playback for MPEG-1/2, MPEG 4 SP/ASP GMC, H.263, H.264, WMV9/VC-1, VP8, and more Encoding – 1080p60 for H.264 Complies with RTSP, HTTP, HLS, RTMP, MMS streaming protocols Supports OpenMAX API Display 1 to 4 lane MIPI DSI up to 1280×800 RGB/CPU/LVDSLCD up to 1280×800 Camera – […]

Hewlett Packard Unveils $100 HP 7 Plus Tablet Powered by AllWinner A31 Quad Core SoC

Hewlett Packard has just launched HP 7 Plus Android 4.2 tablet with an AllWinner A31, or possibly AllWinner A31s considering the screen resolution, that sells for $99.99, but you may also be able to get it for $85 with SLICK15HP coupon. This price includes shipping, but unfortunately this is only available in the US. I’ll also check out alternatives of the rest of us. HP 7 Plus specifications: SoC – AllWinner A31 (A31s?) quad core ARM Cortex-A7 @ 1 GHz with PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU System Memory – 1 GB DDR3 Storage – 8 GB eMMC + micro SD slot (up to 32GB) Display – 7″ diagonal WVA IPS multitouch-enabled (1024 x 600) Camera –  0.3 MP fixed focus (front-facing); 2 MP fixed focus (rear-facing) Audio – Mono speaker, 1x integrated microphone, 1x 3.5mm headphone jack Connectivity – 802.11b/g/n (Miracast compatible) USB – 1x micro USB 2.0 Sensors –  Accelerometer Battery […]

$58 QT900 “AirplayCast” Android Mini PC Features AllWinner A31s Processor

There are few AllWinner A31 powered HDMI TV sticks on the market such as CS868 and Measy U4K, but Q900 is the first I come across with AllWinner A31s, the low cost version of AllWinner A31, with a lower LCD screen resolution capability, which is not used in this type of device… The dongle appears to be also called AirplayCast to boast Airplay and Miracast support, which is now available on most Android TV dongles… QT900 specifications: SoC – Allwinner A31s quad core ARM CortexA7 @ 1.0GHz with PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB + micro SD slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 1.4 (up to 1080p) Connectivity – Dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 b/n, Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB 2.0 host, 1x micro USB OTG, 1x micro USB for power Misc – Recovery Key ? Power Supply – 5V/2A The device runs […]

ARM Cortex A15/A17 SoCs Comparison – Nvidia Tegra K1 vs Samsung Exynos 5422 vs Rockchip RK3288 vs AllWinner A80

We’re now starting to get quite a few players with ARM Cortex A15 cores on the market, as well as some with ARM Cortex A17. So a comparison table of different quad and octa SoCs might be a useful thing to do. I’ve put aside SoCs such as HiSilicon K3V3, and OMAP5, and focused on the four latest processors: Nvidia Tegra K1 (32-bit), Samsung Exynos 5422, Rockchip RK3288 and AllWinner A80. I haven’t included Mediatek MT6595 and Qualcomm SnapDragon 805, because the two companies mainly focus on smartphones and tablets (although it appears to be slowly changing for Qualcomm), documentation is usually difficult or impossible to find, and in the case of Qualcomm they use their own ARMv7 Krait cores. I’ve highlighted some features in green, in case a particular SoC appears to have an edge. Rockchip RK3288 AllWinner A80 Nvidia Tegra K1 Samsung Exynos 5422 CPU 4x ARM Cortex-A17 […]

Ruach A20 Android TV Box Powered by AllWinner A20 Sells for $43

Android TV Boxes based on dual core processors usually sells for north of $50. But you can now get an AllWinner A20 based Android media player for just $43.39 including shipping thanks to Ruach A20 also featuring 1GB RAM, 8 GB Flash, Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity, two USB ports, and more. Ruach A20 specifications: SoC – AllWinner A20 dual core Cortex A7 @ 1GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3, Storage – 8GB NAND Flash Video Output – HDMI, Composite Audio Output – HDMI, Stereo RCA, Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n USB – 2x USB host ports Misc – IR receiver, power button Power Supply – 5V Dimensions – 11.8 x 7.8 x 3.0 cm This Android 4.2.2 TV Box comes with an IR remote control, an AV cable, a power adapter, and a user’s manual. The manufacturer has a website in Chinese only, but I could […]

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