Gemini PDA Pocket PC Runs Android & Linux on Mediatek X25 Deca-Core Processor (Crowdfunding)

GPD Pocket 7″ portable computer running Windows or Ubuntu Linux is getting some competition, as Gemini PDA has a similar form factor with a 5.7″ display and a keyboard, but instead of featuring an Intel processor, it is equipped with Mediatek X25 deca-core ARM Cortex A72/A53 processor, and runs either Android or Linux. Gemini PDA specifications: SoC – Mediatek X25 deca-core ARM processor with 2x Cortex A72 @2.5GHz, 4x Cortex A53 @2.0GHz, 4x Cortex A53 @1.55GHz and Mali-T880 MP4 GPU @ 850 MHz System Memory – 4GB RAM Storage – 64GB flash, micro SD card slot (covered) Display – 5.7” QHD+ (2880×1440) multi-touch display; 18:9 aspect ratio Audio – Dual side mounted speakers, integrated ambient microphone, 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, GPS with A-GPS, NFC 4G + WiFi model adds: GSM – 850/900/1800/1900MHz WCDMA – 900/2100MHz LTE – 1/2/3/4/5/7/17/20 VoLTE – Compatible SIM slot + eSIM […]

Linux 4.9 Release – Main Changes, ARM and MIPS Architectures

Linus Torvalds released Linux 4.9 on Sunday: So Linux 4.9 is out, and the merge window for 4.10 is thus open. With the extra week for 4.9, the timing for the merge window is obviously a bit awkward, and it technically closes in two weeks on Christmas Day. But that is a pure technicality, because I will certainly stop pulling on the 23rd at the latest, and if I get roped into Xmas food prep, even that date might be questionable. I could extend the merge window rather than cut it short, but I’m not going to. I suspect we all want a nice calm winter break, so if your stuff isn’t ready to be merged early, the solution is to just not merge it yet at all, and wait for 4.11. Just so you all know (I already bcc’d the main merge window suspects in a separate mailing last […]

Mediatek Introduces Helio X23 and X27 Processors with Faster Clocks, Better Camera Support, Lower Power Consumption

Mediatek has just announced upgrades to their Helio X20 and X25 deca-core processors with respectively Helio X23 and X27 boasting higher CPU and GPU frequencies, higher camera quality, as well as lower power consumption thanks to MiraVision EnergySmart Screen power-saving technology. The two new processor still feature MediaTek tri-cluster deca-core architecture with two ARM Cortex A72 cores, four ARM Cortex A53 core, and 4 more low power Cortex A53 cores, but Helio X23  Cortex A72 cores’ max CPU frequency increased from 2.1 GHz to 2.3 GHz, and Helio  X27 got a small boost to 2.6 GHz for the Cortex A72 cores (vs 2.5 GHz) and 1.6 GHz for the low power Cortex A53 cluster, as well as a higher frequency ARM Mali-T880 MP4 GPU at 875 MHz instead of 850 MHz for Helio X25. MediaTek Helio X23 and X27 also support dual camera photography with the upgraded MediaTek Imagiq image […]

Aikun Morphus X300 Android Game Console with 3D Display Integrates Detachable Game Controllers

Earlier this week, Nintendo unveiled their innovative switch game console that can be used in various configuration such as a portable game console, and a TV connected game console by inserting the portable game console into its dock, and detaching the game controllers on each side of the display. There are many ways to play with the console in single or multiplayer mode, and the best way to understand what’s possible is to check out the video on Nintendo Switch product page. Few other details were provided but we do know it’s based on a custom Nvidia Tegra processor, and it should be available in March 2017. It turns out Aikun is already selling a similar concept with their Morphus X300 game console, available on Amazon.co.uk for 299 GBP, and slated to ship next month. Gaming performance should be much lower than Nintendo Switch but still enough for many Android […]

Linux 4.8 Release – Main Changes, ARM & MIPS Architectures

Linus Torvalds has officially released Linux 4.8 last Sunday: So the last week was really quiet, which maybe means that I could probably just have skipped rc8 after all. Oh well, no real harm done. This obviously means that the merge window for 4.9 is open, and I appreciate the people who already sent in some pull requests early due to upcoming travel or other reasons. I’ll start pulling things tomorrow, and have even the most eager developers and testers hopefully test the final 4.8 release before the next development kernels start coming 😉 Anyway, there’s a few stragging fixes since rc8 listed below: it’s a mixture of arch fixes (arm, mips, sparc, x86), drivers (networking, nvdimm, gpu) and generic code (some core networking, with a few filesystem, cgroup and and vm things). All of it pretty small, and there really aren’t that many of them. Go forth and test, […]

Vernee Apollo Lite Helio X20 Smartphone Review – Part 2: Android 6.0 Firmware

I’ve already taken pictures and shown Antutu benchmark in the first part of Vernee Apollo Lite review, an Android 6.0 smartphone powered by Mediatek Helio X20 deca-core processor. Now that I’ve had time to play with the phone for over 10 days, I’ve ready to report my experience and write the second part of the review about performance, features, and issues I encountered with the phone. General Impressions First, the build quality feel pretty good, the phone is light and slim. I’ve only called once or twice, and voice quality was good, but I mostly use my phone over WiFi to browse the web, check emails, watch YouTube, and access social networks. More rarely, I also use GPS while running and during trip, and play some games. To be honest, the first few days did not work as expected, as many apps would either be much slower than last year […]

How Fix Apps Crashing at Launch in Android 6.0 (in Mediatek Phones) ?

I’ve recently received a new Android 6.0 Marshmallow smartphone powered by Mediatek Helio X20 processor, namely Vernee Apollo Lite, and one of the issues I encountered is that some applications such as Firefox and MAPS.ME would crash when I tried to launch them. The problem was reproducible 100% of the time, and occurred from the very first time I tried to start the app. I’d get a message like “Unfortunately MAPS.ME has stopped” with two buttons: REPORT or OK. So I asked on Vernee forums to report the issue, and see if other people had the same problem. One replied had the same problem, but a simple reboot would fix the issue, while the other proposed to clear the cache. I had not considered that option since the crash occurred from the very first time, but I tried anyway. Go to the App list, drag and drop the problematic app […]

Review of Vernee Apollo Lite Smartphone with Mediatek Helio X20 SoC – Part1: Unboxing, First Boot and Benchmarks

Vernee Apollo Lite is the little brother of Vernee Apollo, both based on Mediatek Helio X20 deca-core Cortex A72/A53 SoC, but with the Lite version having lower hardware specs otherwise, and being one of the few ARM Cortex A72 smartphones selling for less than $200 (at least in China). Tomtop, a Chinese online store, sent me a sample for review, and today, I’ll start by going through the tech specs, then check out the phone design and its accessories, and finally run a few benchmark, before posting a more detailed review in one or two weeks, where I’ll have more experience and feel about the phone. Vernee Apollo Lite Specifications I had posted some specs about the phone when it was first released, but they were incomplete at the time, and Vernee now released the full specs for their Apollo Lite: SoC – Meaitek Helio X20 (MT6797) deca-core processor with […]

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