In the last few months, there has been very little innovation or novelty in the Android set-top box and mini PC space, and the latest Ugood Android set-top boxes are yet other devices based on Rockchip RK3188 processor with 1 to 2GB RAM, and 8GB flash, as well as Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, and a 5MP camera. They only differ from the competition because of their casings. Both devices mostly share the same specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 @ 1.6Ghz with Mali-400MP4 GPU @ 500MHz? System Memory – 1GB DDR3 for UG320, 2GB DDR3 for UG310 Storage – 8GB flash + microSD card slot (Up to 32 GB) Video Output – HDMI and AV outputs Audio Output – HDMI, optical SPDIF, and AV (CVBS). Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, and 10/100M Ethernet. Bluetooth 3.0 is available in UG320 only. USB: UG310 – 2x USB 2.0 host […]
Rikomagic MK902 Quad Core Android TV Box Features a 5MP Camera
Rikomagic is mostly known for its Android HDMI TV dongles such as the MK802 series, but a new Android media player has recently been listed on its website. MK902 features a quad core Cortex A9 RK3188 processor, 2GB RAM, 8 to 16 GB flash depending on configuration, as well as a 5MP camera for video conferencing. MK902 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 Quad Core cortex A9 SoC @ 1.6 GHz with Mali 400-MP4 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 8GB to 16GB NAND flash, and a micro SD card slot (Up to 32GB) Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n with external antenna, Bluetooth 4.0, and 10/100M Ethernet Video Output – HDMI and AV output (composite). Audio Output – HDMI, AV output and optical SPDIF USB – 4x USB 2.0 host ports Camera – 5MP webcam with microphone Power supply – 5V / 2.5A The device will come with […]
DriverAssistant – Simplified Method to Install Rockchip USB Drivers in Windows XP/7/8/10
When you need to root or upgrade Rockchip RK3066 or RK3188 devices, you’ll usually have to connect your device to your computer via USB, and in Windows, installing specific drivers (ADB drivers) is usually needed. However, many people seem to have problems with installing the proper driver, and their device may not be recognized properly. To simplify the task for Windows users, Rockchip has written a tool called RK Driver Assistant to automatically install the correct drivers on different Windows versions. Here’s how to install the drivers with this tools.There’s no need to connect your Rockchip device during this procedure. Download and extract RK_DriverAssitant.zip [Update: More recent versions of the tools can be found in Rockchip-Linux account in Github] Double click on DriverInstall.exe in Release_DriverAssitant directory to start the utility If you’ve already tried to install USB drivers for Rockchip devices, make sure to click “Uninstall Driver” first Then click “Install […]
$91 IPPLI Mars i8 is a Cylinder Shaped STB Based on Rockchip RK3188
Most of set-top boxes come with a casing with a rectangular shape. But some designs are more original: spaceship-like, spherical, or even in the shape of a pyramid. We’ve now got another option with IPPLI Mars i8, a media player based on Rockchip RK3188, that comes with a cylindrical enclosure. Here are the technical specifications of the device: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 @ 1.6 GHz + Mali-400MP4 System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND Flash + microSD slot (Up to 32GB) Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with external Wi-Fi antenna. Bluetooth Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR 10/100M Ethernet Video Output – HDMI v1.4 up to 1080p Audio Output – HDMI, optical audio, and 3.5mm jack Camera – 2.0MP with microphone USB – 2 x USB 2.0 port, 1 x Mini USB (OTG) Dimensions – 8.5 cm x 8.5 cm x 13.0 cm Weight – 252 g […]
Lenovo A10 Android Laptop is Powered by Rockchip RK3188
Lenovo has recently announced the Lenovo A10, an Android 4.2 netbook featuring a 10″ touchscreen display, and powered by Rockchip RK3188 quad core ARM Cortex-A9 processor coupled with 2GB RAM, and up to 32GB storage. Here are the specifications of this laptop: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad-core Cortex A9 processor System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – Up to 32GB storage + microSD card slot Display – 10.1″, 1366 x 768 display with 10-point multitouch Video Output – HDMI port USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports Webcam – 0.3MP webcam Audio – Stereo speakers Battery – Up to 9 hours of video playback Dimensions – 17.3mm maximum thickness Weight – Less than 1kg The screen can be flipped around 300 degrees so that the device can be used in “laptop mode” or “stand mode”. In “laptop mode”, the company has designed a customized user interface, with an app launcher, task […]
PicUntu 4.5 Brings Ubuntu 13.04 to RK3188 mini PCs
At the beginning of the year, PicUntu had been released for Rk3066 HDMI TV sticks, but as quad core devices based on RK3188 became popular, work started as soon as the source code was available, and a preliminary version of Linux ran on some RK3188 devices in June. After 4 more months of development an installer for PicUntu 4.5 has been released to allow users to run a customized version of Ubuntu 13.04 on RK3188 HDMI TV sticks or set-top boxes such as T428 or Rikomagic MK802 IV. The installation procedure appears to be easier than earlier version, as there’s only one installer file (247 MB), and you can complete the installation to the NAND flash of your device with just 4 clicks. PicUnutu runs xfce4 desktop environment, supports more than 200 drivers, multiple file systems (nfs, ntfs, cramfs, cifsutils, smb…), lots of different USB devices, serial devices, GPS devices, […]
How to Root Rockchip Devices in Linux
Rooting methods for devices based on Rockchip RK3066 and Rk3188 are usually only provided for Windows, so if you run Linux as your main operating system, you would either need to find a Windows based devices, or run Windows in a virtual machine. Luckily, Linux users may not have to switch to Windows anymore thanks to the instructions provided in one article that I’ll summarize below. The steps below are for Ubuntu / Debian based systems, but should be easily adaptable to other distributions. Set up ADB access to the device Install adb:
1 |
sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb |
Edit/create /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules with the following line in order to let standard users connect to the device:
1 |
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="2207", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev" |
Make sure that the Linux user is part of group “plugdev”:
1 |
groups user |
Reload of the USB access rules to get the latest one on:
1 |
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules |
Add your device USB Vendor ID to adb list. e.g.:
1 |
echo "0x2207" >> ~/.android/adb_usb.ini |
Restart the adb […]
Radxa Rock Development Boards with Rockchip RK3188 Are Available for Developers Now
As previously mentioned, work was in progress to design development boards based on Rockchip processors. Radxa Rock and Radxa Rock Lite, 2 boards powered by Rockchip RK3188, are now available to early developers, and the final versions will soon be broadly available. Here are the boards specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 ARM Cortex-A9 quad core @ 1.6Ghz + Mali-400 MP4 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 @ 800Mhz (1GB DDR3 @ 800Mhz for Lite version) Storage – 8GB Nand Flash (4GB Nand Flash for Lite version) + micro-SD SDXC up to 128GB Video Output – HDMI 1.4 up to 1080p@60hz, andAV output Connectivity: 10/100M Ethernet port WIFI 150Mbps 802.11b/g/n with antenna Bluetooth – Bluetooth 4.0 (Not in Lite version) Audio I/O – Audio S/PDIF, headphone jack USB – 2x USB 2.0 host port, micro USB OTG Debugging – Serial Console Misc – IR sensor, power key, recovery key, reset key, […]