As Rockchip RK3288 based tablets and TV boxes are slowly starting to reach end-users, it may be a good time to post instructions showing how to root your Android device. Geekbuying has just published a guide to root RK3288 tablets and media players. The instructions below require a PC or Virtual Machine running Windows XP/7/8, but hopefully instructions to root under Linux similar the ones for RK3066/RK3188 will surface soon. Install Rockchip USB drivers by downloading the latest DriverAssistant which adds support for Rockchip RK3288. Simply extract the files and click on DriverInstall.exe to complete the installation. Download the latest version of VRoot tools. and basically follow the same instructions as for Amlogic S802 root which I’ll summarize below. Make sure USB debugging is enabled in your device (Settings->Developer Options->USB Debug) Connect your RK3288 device to your PC via a USB cable. (OTG port) Start VRoot. It should detect your […]
Rockchip RK3288 Temperature Testing and Antutu Benchmarks
There are many upcoming Rockchip RK3288 based devices, and in the listing the CPU frequency varies from 1.6 GHz to 2.0 Ghz. so it’s difficult to know exactly what to expect. Ugoos has done some testing with their UT3 board measuring temperature after Antutu benchmark for different CPU clock frequencies and fan/fanless combinations. The board comes with a rather tiny heatsink which may explain some of the results below. They also added a small fan on top in about half the tests to compare the temperature against an heatsink only solution. Without further delays let’s go through the results: Frequency Antutu Score Temperature (heatsink) Temperature (Back of PCB) Heatsink only Heatsink + fan Heatsink only Heatsink + fan 1.608 GHz 38655 67 °C N/A 70 °C N/A 1.704 GHz 39853 72 °C 50 °C 75 °C 60 °C 1.800 GHz 41440 83 °C 52 °C 85 °C 62 °C 1.920 […]
Linux 3.16 Released
Linus Torvalds announced the release of Linux Kernel 3.16 over the week-end: So nothing particularly exciting happened this week, and 3.16 is out there. And as usual (previous release being the exception) that means that the merge window for 3.17 is obviously open. And for the third time in a row, the timing sucks for me, as I have travel coming up the second week of the merge window. Many other core developers will be traveling too, since it’s just before the kernel summit in Chicago. So we’ll see how the next merge window goes, but I’m not going to worry about it overmuch. If I end up not having time to do all the merges, I might delay things into the week of the kernel summit, but I’ll hope to get most of the big merging done this upcoming week before any travel takes place, so maybe it won’t come […]
Skytecx SK-R68b Android TV Box Comes with Three Wi-Fi Antennas
There’s now a pretty long list of Android media players powered by Rockchip RK3288, and they keep coming up. While I don’t cover most of them, Skytecx SK-R68b is a little more interesting because for some reasons, the manufacturer has decided to go with not only two, but three Wi-Fi antennas, and the product is the type that you place directly on top of your TV. The rest of the specifications looks pretty standard: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core CortexA17 @ 1.8 GHz with ARM Mali-T764 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8 to 32GB NAND flash (8GB by default) + micro SD card slot (up to 32 GB) Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz/5GHz) and 802.11 a/c with triple Wi-Fi antennas, and Bluetooth 4.0 Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 output (female) up to 1080p (sic), AV output (3.5mm jack) Video Codecs […]
Rockchip RK3288 Beta Firmware Release for Unnamed Android TV Box
The whole activity around the upcoming media players based on Rockchip RK3288 is pretty interesting, or some would say amusing. First, many companies started to release pictures of their boards a few months before their products are actually ready, and now we’ve got a beta Android 4.4 firmware for Rockchip RK3288 for an unknown TV box released via Geekbuying Blog. I’ve read rumors about a Tronsmart Orion R28, so it might be that one, but who knows. Before investigating the content of the firmware, here are the features that we know about the hardware: Based on Rockchip RK3288 quad core Cortex A17 processor System Memory – 2GB RAM (Samsung) Storage – 8GB flash (Kingston) Wi-Fi – AP6330 Wi-fi module The firmware is based on Linux 3.10, the build number is rk3288-eng 4.4.2 KOT49H eng.ant.20140721.164453 test-keys, and the software version RK3288_R_BOX_Android 4.4.2-SDK_v1.0.0_140613. Most people won’t need this, but if developers want […]
CloudnetGo CR16 is a Rockchip RK3288 based TV Box with HDMI, AV and VGA Outputs
As we’ve seen in our list of RK3288 Android TV boxes, CloudnetGo has already announced CR12 and CR13 models powered by the quad core Cortex A17 SoC. With their new CR16 model, they are the only Rockchip RK3288 TV box with VGA (and HDMI + AV) output that I know of. Another interesting feature of this media player is the enclosure which stands vertically. The rest of the specifications will probably make you yawn as it’s the same story all over again: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core CortexA17 @ 1.8 GHz + Mali-T764 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0 /3.0, and OpenCL 1.1 System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8 to 16GB NAND Flash + micro SD slot (up to 32 GB) Connectivity – 100M/1000M Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (AP6330 module) using external Wi-Fi antenna, and Bluetooth 4.0 Video Output – HDMI output, AV output […]
Rockchip RK3288 Based OTT928 / CS928 Android Media Player Sells for $114 and Up
In my list of RK3288 TV boxes, I mentioned that although many products had been announced with Rockchip’s quad core Cortex A17 SoC, no reliable company had listed prices yet, except for one selling for $99.99 on Aliexpress, but with no clear shipping date, and nobody to answer potential customer requests. One reader left a comment about OTT-928 Android TV box also featuring a 5MP retractable camera and (pre-)selling on Asiapads for $119.99 including shipping with delivery currently scheduled for July 20, but it can also be purchased via one vendor on Aliexpress for as low as $114 under the name CS928 but with only 8GB flash, instead of 16GB on OTT928. CS928 / OTT928 hardware specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core CortexA17 @ 1.8 GHz + Mali-T764 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0 /3.0, and OpenCL 1.1 System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage OTT928 – 16GB NAND […]
List of Rockchip RK3288 Android TV Boxes So Far
In the previous years, you’d normally learn about new devices as they get listed on Alibaba or Aliexpress, and that’s how I built my – now very incomplete – list of Rockchip RK3188 based devices. But now companies seem to be anxious to let people know about their new devices even before they hit the market, and albeit I’ve been told full production of Rokchip RK3288 powered Android TV boxes is only planned by the end of July, many companies are already showing off their new devices, even though only the PCBA may be ready, or in development. Let’s go through the list of Rockchip RK3288 quad core Cortex A17 media devices that’s known (to me) so far: No brand D368 – HDMI 1.4 TV dongle with 1 or 2 GB RAM, 4, 8 or 16 GB flash, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac + (optional) Bluetooth, and 2x USB host ports. No […]