Testing Category - Page 118 of 169 - CNX Software

December 1, 2015December 1, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Quick Start Guide for LinkIt Smart 7688 (Duo) Board

Mediatek Labs has announced LinkIt Smart 7688 development boards powered by Mediatek MT7688 WiSoC earlier today, but I was selected for a close beta several weeks before the launch, and I’ve had time to play a little with the boards, so today I’ll report my experience getting started with LinkIt Smart 7688 amd 7688 Duo by writing a Quick Start Guide showing how to setup the boards, upgrade firmware, access the serial console, run “Blink LED” sample applications with Python and JavaScript, as well as the Arduino IDE, and connect to the Internet. Initial Setup You’ll only need a micro USB cable and a computer with WiFi and USB ports to get started with the board. The green LED (top) for the MCU will turn on immediately, while the red LED (bottom) for WiFI will blink once, and only turn on continuously after 5 seconds, and within 30 seconds after […]

November 29, 2015December 1, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Intel Atom x5-Z8300 vs x5-Z8500 Benchmarks Comparison

We’ve previously seen there’s not that much difference in benchmarks between Intel Atom Z3735F and the newer Atom x5-Z8300 processor, except when it comes to 3D graphics performance where the latter can be up to twice as fast. The same benchmarks have been run in Windows 10 on an Atom x5-Z8500 based device, namely Kangaroo Mobile Desktop computer, and the difference seemed large enough that I decided to make a comparison against the Atom x5-Z8300 processor used in Tronsmart Ara X5. The three benchmarks – PCMark 8 (Accelerated 3.0), Passmark 8, and 3DMark – were run in Windows 10 64-bit Home in both devices. A Ratio greater than one indicates Kangaroo (x5-Z8500) is the faster device. Benchmark Tronsmart Ara X5 Intel Atom x5-Z8300 @ 1.44 GHz / 1.84 GHz (Turbo) Kangaroo Mobile Desktop Intel Atom x5-Z8500 @ 1.44 GHz / 2.24 GHz (Turbo) Ratio PCMark8 Overall Score 1,354 1,597 1.18 […]

November 28, 2015November 28, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 68 Comments

K1 Plus Amlogic S905 TV Box Review

Videostrong KI Plus is one of the first Amlogic S905 TV boxes to be launched on the market, and it also happens to be one of cheapest model selling for around $45 on various sites, and it’s even available for $39.99 on GearBest for Black Friday / Cyber Monday. I’ve posted the specifications and pictures of the device previously, and after updating the firmware, I’ve finally completed the review. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions As usual, I’ve connected a whole bunch of cables and peripherals to the device to make the power supply can handle it, including a USB hard drive, a USB webcam, a USB keyboard, a USB hub with two RF dongles for Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad and MeLE F10 Deluxe air mouse, as well as a HDMI, optical audio and Ethernet cables, and a speaker connected to the 3.5mm AV jack and powered by one of […]

November 24, 2015November 24, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 130 Comments

How to Update Firmware on Amlogic S905 TV Boxes

Videostrong has just sent me a new firmware for K1 Plus mini PC based on Amlogic S905 processor. The procedure is basically the same as for previous Amlogic devices, but I’ve still documented the step to follow an update. Please note that devices from decent brands should have OTA updates implemented, so it may not be needed, except for the cheapest devices, or in case of network issues. The firmware update procedure below can be done in any computer, including the Android TV box itself. The firmware is specific to K1 Plus, so if you have another TV box, you’ll need to change the download link to the firmware for your device. Download the firmware file (e.g. K1 Plus 2015-11-23.rar) Extract the compressed file to the root of a micro SD card, or on any other external storage. You should have a few files as shown above, including a zip […]

November 24, 2015November 25, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

No.1 D3 Smartwatch (Mediatek MT6261) Review

Since I’ve listed the specs and torn down No.1 D3 smartwatch, I’ve spent several days wearing the smartwatch / watchphone, and trying most of its features, so it’s time for a review. I’ll go through all screens of the user interface, include a video review, before providing a conclusion to this review Charging the watch take between 15 to 30 minutes, and you can turn it on by pressing the only button on the side of the watch for a few seconds. The first menu you are likely to see if the one with the phone functions including the Dialer, messaging, phonebook and call logs. You can use these in two ways: with a micro SIM card inserted into the watch, or/and via your smartphone connected over Bluetooth. I mostly used the watch connected to my smartphone, but both methods worked for me. When you receive a call, it’s not […]

November 23, 2015November 23, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

How to Build Brillo Operating System from Source Code and Run Brillo Emulator

Google formally launched Brillo operating system a few weeks ago. The new operating system is a stripped down version of Android that targets Internet of Things (IoT) applications, and more recently the company pushed the source code to their servers. So I’ve given it a try by checking out the code, building Brillo emulator for Intel/AMD, and running it in Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit. First you’ll need to retrieve the source code:

mkdir brillo-master
cd brillo-master
repo init -u https://android.googlesource.com/brillo/manifest -b master
repo sync -j8

mkdir brillo-master

cd brillo-master

repo init -u https://android.googlesource.com/brillo/manifest -b master

repo sync -j8

It took a few hours here with some errors the first time, so I tried again and I finally got the code a few hours later. Once this is done, set the build environment and configuration:

source build/envsetup.sh && lunch

1	source build/envsetup.sh && lunch

Lunch will bring a list of possible builds:

You're building on Linux

Lunch menu... pick a combo:
1. aosp_arm-eng
2. aosp_arm64-eng
3. aosp_mips-eng
4. aosp_mips64-eng
5. aosp_x86-eng
6. aosp_x86_64-eng
7. brilloemulator_arm64-eng
8. brilloemulator_arm-eng
9. brilloemulator_x86_64-eng
10. brilloemulator_x86-eng
11. edison-eng
12. mini_emulator_arm64-userdebug
13. m_e_arm-userdebug
14. mini_emulator_x86_64-userdebug
15. mini_emulator_x86-userdebug
16. brillo_gpios-userdebug
17. brillo_i2c-userdebug
18. brillo_leds-userdebug
19. ledflasher-userdebug

Which would you like? [aosp_arm-eng] 9

You're building on Linux

Lunch menu... pick a combo:

1. aosp_arm-eng

2. aosp_arm64-eng

3. aosp_mips-eng

4. aosp_mips64-eng

5. aosp_x86-eng

6. aosp_x86_64-eng

7. brilloemulator_arm64-eng

8. brilloemulator_arm-eng

9. brilloemulator_x86_64-eng

10. brilloemulator_x86-eng

11. edison-eng

12. mini_emulator_arm64-userdebug

13. m_e_arm-userdebug

14. mini_emulator_x86_64-userdebug

15. mini_emulator_x86-userdebug

16. brillo_gpios-userdebug

17. brillo_i2c-userdebug

18. brillo_leds-userdebug

19. ledflasher-userdebug

Which would you like? [aosp_arm-eng] 9

You could also run the “Brillo emulator” on ARM, and edison-eng must be the build for Intel Edison board. Now you can start the build:

make -j8

make -j8

It has to complete 21491 different tasks, […]

November 23, 2015January 5, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

MINI MX 4K Android Media Player Unboxing and Teardown

I received my first Amlogic S905 TV box last week with K1 Plus, and although I have not reviewed it yet due to some issues with Google Play, I’ve run some benchmarks on the Amlogic S905 platform, which some people mentioning that results could have been impacted by the small heatsink leading to CPU throttling. The good news is that I know have a new Amlogic SD905 TV Box to play with as GearBest sent me Beelink MINI MX TV box. Today, I’ll take a few photos of the device and the board, before hopefully publishing the full review early next week. Beelink MINI MX Unboxing I received the package via DHL, and thanks to its low price I did not have to pay custom duties or VAT. The package does not show any specific brand, only Mini MX 4K Movies products, as well as the specifications on the back. […]

November 21, 2015May 5, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

DragonBoard 410c Development Board Quick Start Guide and Android Benchmarks

Linaro’s 96Boards initiative was announced in February with the introduction of Hikey board, and while progress has been rather slow, there are now two boards available for sale: Lemaker Hikey and Qualcomm Dragonboard 410c. The main advantage of these board is that 96Boards is not only an hardware specification, but also a software specifications that mandate most code to be open source, with recent versions of Linux and U-boot, and in the case of Dragonboard 410c work is being done with Freedreno open source GPU drivers. Now that I’ve got a board I’ll explain my experience with the purchasing process, take a few pictures, and show how to get started with Android, and install the latest version, before running a few benchmarks. Ordering DragonBoard 410c Development Board I normally don’t like purchasing from North American and European distributors, because of the potential documentation involved to comply with silly laws, high […]