ShiftWear Shoes Integrate a Flexible e-Paper Display, Energy Harvesting Capabilities (Crowdfunding)

ARM CTO, Mike Muller, showcase imprinted electronics, that is an integrated circuit printed on a plastic film, at ARM TechCon 2015, and several products are featured flexible displays, so in future flexible electronics could bring innovation applications from truly wearables electronics to traceable bank notes, and so on. A company has launched an Indiegogo campaign for a new product, that’s both cool and relatively useless, with ShiftWear sneakers that integrate a flexbile e-Paper display, a battery that recharges by harvesting energy from your steps, and some connectivity (likely Bluetooth LE) to update the display from your iOS, Android or  Windows device. Three models are available: L1, M1 and H1 referring to low height, medium height and high height of the part around the ankle (heel tab?). But all three have basically the same features: Always-on HD color e-paper flexible display Up to 30 days of battery life Waterproof up to […]

UP Board Gets 2GB RAM and 32GB Storage Option, Linux Port in Progress

The UP Board is a Raspberry Pi like board with an Intel Atom processor that’s currently on Kickstarter with a few hours left, and it has just reached its 100,000 Euros stretch goal meaning that beside the 16GB storage / 1 GB version, a version with 32Gb storage and 2GB is now offered. The company also showed their progress with the implementation Debian based Ubilinux on the Intel Atom x5-Z8350 board. That means the specifications have now been updated: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8350 “Cherry Trail” quad core processor @ 1.44 GHz (Burst frequency: 1.84 GHz) with Intel Gen8 HD graphics @ 500 MHz System Memory –  1 GB or 2 GB DDR3L-1600 Storage – 16 or 32 GB eMMC Video Output / Display – HDMI, DSI connector Audio I/O – HDMI Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet USB – 4x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x USB 2.0 pin header, 1x micro […]

Bmorn W4301 is a $34 Android Smartphone Powered by Intel Atom x3-C3101 Processor

Intel unveils their plans for Atom X3, X5 and X7 processors last year, but so far we’ve mostly seen devices with Atom X5 processors.  The lowest end Intel Atom processor, namely X3-C2101 “Sofia” dual core processor, with an ARM Mali-400MP GPU and 3G connectivity did find its way into Teclast X70 3G tablet that is now selling for $64 and up retail (but there’s a deal on Geekbuying for $45.99), and a company called Bmorn is about to launch their W4301 smartphone based on Intel/Rockchip X3-C2101 SoC for just $34 ( factory price in quantities), but I think the retail price should be around $60 including shipping. Bmorn W4301 preliminary specifications: SoC – Intel Atom x3-C3130 dual x86 core processor @ up to 1GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU @ 533 MHz System Memory – 512MB or 1GB LPDDR2 Storage – 4 or 8 GB eMMC Display – 4″ touchscreen with 800×600 resolution […]

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 […]

H.264 & H.265 4K Video Playback on Amlogic S905 Android TV Box

I’ve almost completed my review of Videostrong K1 Plus Android box powered by Amlogic S905, and while there are many shortcomings, 4K video playback is actually pretty good with Android’s Video Player (Kodi is not really usable @ 4K). I connected the device to LG 42UB820T 4K UHD TV, and set video output to 2160p @ 60Hz, and went through several video samples: Beauty_3840x2160_120fps_420_8bit_HEVC_MP4.mp4 (H.265 @ 30 fps – No audio) – OK big_buck_bunny_4k_H264_30fps.mp4 (H.264 @ 30 fps – MPEG1/2 and AC3 audio) – OK big_buck_bunny_4k_H264_60fps.mp4 (H.264 @ 60 fps – MPEG1/2 and AC3 audio) – Video looks somewhat OK, but big audio delay or AV sync issue. BT.2020.20140602.ts (H.265 Rec.2020 compliant – AAC audio) – OK (First time I can play this video on any hardware). Fifa_WorldCup2014_Uruguay-Colombia_4K-x265.mp4 (H.265 @ 60 fps – AC3) – Video is very good, but no audio MHD_2013_2160p_ShowReel_R_9000f_24fps_RMN_QP23_10b.mkv (10-bit HEVC @ 24 fps – no […]

Android 5.1 Firmware for Rockchip RK3288 TV Boxes by Ugoos and CloudNetgo

There are times when you are happy to have spend a little extra for a device to get better software support, and while most Rockchip RK3288 TV boxes are still running Android 4.4, a few companies have been porting Android 5.1 Lollipop to their products, including Ugoos and CloudNetgo. Ugoos has been working on Android 5.1 for RK3288 for while, releasing several beta firmware in the process, and the latest beta firmware (3.0.2b) includes Light Biz OS (aka Multiwindow) support to provide a better Android desktop experience, OTA firmware updates, and several bug fixes. One new small-yet-neat option is to customize the use of the power LED on the devices (WiFi, Ethernet, IR, CPU usage….), or if you don’t like it turn it off. The Android 5.1.1 firmware (still beta) is available for three devices: Beta Firmware v 3.0.2  for Ugoos UT3 – See Ugoos UT3 specs Beta Firmware v […]

MeegoPad T08 Windows 10 mini Projector is Powered by Intel Atom x5 Processor

This week-end, I quickly mentioned MeegoPad T08 projector while announced MeegoPad T07 TV Stick Indiegogo campaign, so today, I’ll have a closer as the Intel Atom x5-Z8300 “Cherry Trail” based Windows 10 projector. MeegoPad T08 projector preliminary specifications: SoC – Intel Atom qual core “Cherry Trail” x5-z8300 or z5-8500 processor with Intel HD Gen8 graphics System Memory – 4GB DDR3L-1600 Storage – 32 to 64 GB eMMC storage + micro SD card Projector – 1280 x 800 resolution, up to 110″ screen projection, 400 lumens, and optional touchscreen support Video – HDMI input or output? port Audio – HDMI,  headphone jack, JBL speakers Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB 2.0 port, 1x USB 3.0 port Misc – Power button Battery – 10,400 or 12,000 mAh battery Power Supply – 5V Dimensions – 139 x 79 x 16 mm The project will run Windows 10, and […]

FleaFPGA Uno Board Combines a Lattice FPGA, Arduino UNO Form Factor, HDMI Output, and an ESP8266 WiFi Module

FPGA board with Arduino headers are not exactly a rarity, for example Digilent ARTY in a larger form factor, and some developers have designed FPGA boards using Arduino Mega form factor, such as Papilio DUO and Arduissimo. But FleaFPGA Uno is the first Arduino Uno like FPGA board I’ve seen and it includes HDMI output, one USB host port, as well as an optional WiFi module based on ESP8266. FleaFPGA Uno specifications: FPGA – Lattice Semi MachXO2-7000HC with 6864 LUTs, 256 Kbits flash, and 240+54 Kbits SRAM System memory – 512KB 10nsec User SRAM. Storage – 16MB User Flash ROM. Video Output 24-bit Digital Video out via HDMI port up to 800×600 Composite NTSC video via 3.5 mm jack Audio – Stereo audio out via 3.5mm jack. USB 1x micro USB port for power and slave serial port 1x USB 1.1 host port (PS/2 port) On-board USB JTAG for easy […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC