With the announcement of Intel Elkhart Lake IoT-optimized processors, we should expect embedded systems companies to unveil their own Atom x6000E and Celeron/Pentium Elkhart Lake powered products, and one of the first to do so is Congatec with the introduction of four different Elkhart Lake computers-on-module (CoM) following Qseven, SMARC, and COM Express standards, as well as a Pico-ITX SBC. conga-PA7 Atom x6000E SBC (with Celeron/Pentium J optional) Detailed specifications: SoC – Choice of eight different Elkhart Lake processors from the 6W Atom x6211E dual-core processor to the 10W Intel Pentium J6425 quad-core processor up to 3.0 GHz, all with 10th Gen Intel UHD graphics System Memory – Up to 16GB quad-channel onboard LPDDR4x Storage 32GB or 64GB UFS 2.0 flash (optional up to 512GB) M.2 SATA/PCIe SSD support (see expansion) 32 MB serial flash for AMI Aptio UEFI firmware Video DisplayPort DP++ video output up to 4Kp60 1x USB-C […]
Android 11 on Android TV Launches for the Big Screen
Android 11 may have been released for smartphones on September 8th, but Google has just only announced the launch of Android 11 on Android TV for an optimized experience on the big screen. The version of the TV-optimized operating system builds on the many new features introduced for Android 11, but also adds performance and privacy improvements, new features tailored for the TV, and updated developer tools. One of the notable TV-related improvements in Android 11 includes HDMI 2.1’s Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) which allows the latency setting to be automatically established depending on the applications, as for instance, many games require the lowest possible latency, while it’s not really an issue for movies and videos. Android 11 on Android TV also adds low latency media decoding, a new Tuner Framework with updated Media CAS support, extensions to the HAL implementation of HDMI CEC, extended gamepad support, silent boot […]
TechNexion Unveils EDM and AXON SoM’s Powered by NXP i.MX8M Plus SoC
A few days ago we wrote about Variscite’s NXP i.MX 8M Plus-powered AI systems-on-modules and devkits, and now it’s TechNexion’s turn to introduce its own SoM’s for artificial intelligence applications. Just like variscite, the company has two variants with EDM-G-IMX8M-PLUS following the EDM standard with a 260-pin edge connector, and AXON-E-IMX8M-PLUS part of the AXON family with board-to-board connectors better suited to vibration-prone applications. Besides the form factor and different default storage capacities, both SoM’s share the same specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX8M Plus quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.8 GHz with Cortex-M7 real-time core @ 400 MHz, Vivante GC520L 2D GPU, Vivante GC7000UL 3D GPU, 1080p60 hardware decoder (HEVC, H.264, VP9, and VP8) and encode (H.265/H.264), and 2.3 TOPS NPU System Memory – Up to 8 GB LPDDR4 Storage AXON-E-IMX8M-PLUS – 32 GB eMMC flash by default EDM-G-IMX8M-PLUS – 16 GB eMMC flash by default Networking Chips Qualcomm […]
Geniatech XPI 3128 RK3128 SBC is Equipped with an NXP WIFi 5 Module
Geniatech XPI family of single board computers was first introduced in 2018 with the launch of the XPI-S905X development board following many of Raspberry Pi 3 Model B features and form factor. The company has now added another board to the family with XPI 3128 single board computer powered by a Rockchip RK3128 quad-core Cortex-A7 processor coupled with up to 2 GB RAM and 64 GB flash, as well as an NXP WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 module. Geniatech XPI 3128 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3128 quad-core Cortex-A7 processor @ up to 1.2GHz GPU with Arm Mali 400 MP2 GPU (See datasheet) System Memory – 512MB DDR3L (1GB, 2GB optional) Storage – 8GB flash (16GB, 32GB, 64GB optional), and MicroSD card slot Video Output – HDMI up to 1080p60 Video – 1080p60 H.264/H.265 video decoding Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet port Dual-band 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 via Marvell/NXP 88W8897 module, […]
Raspberry Pi inspired MaaxBoard Mini SBC features NXP i.MX 8M Mini SoC
Last year, Embest – an Avnet company – introduced MaaXBoard NXP i.MX 8M SBC mostly compatible with Raspberry Pi form factor and running Android 9.0 or Yocto Linux. The company has now launched MaaXBoard Mini with a 14nm NXP i.MX 8M Mini quad-core processor. In some ways, the new board follows more closely Raspberry Pi 3 Model B form factor with four USB 2.0 ports, instead of the two USB 3.0 ports found in the first version of the board, but it does so without HDMI output, leaving MIPI DSI as the only option for display output. MaaxBoard Mini (AES-MC-SBC-IMX8MINI-G) specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Mini Quad with 4x Arm Cortex-A53 cores @ up to 1.8GHz, Cortex-M4F real-time core @ 400MHz, Vivante GCNanoUltra 3D GPU and GC320 2D graphics, 1080p H.264/H.265 VPU; System Memory – 2GB DDR4 Storage – eMMC socket for up to 64GB flash, MicroSD slot Display […]
NXP i.MX 8M Plus AI Systems-on-Modules and Devkits Launched by Variscite
NXP i.MX 8M Plus processor was unveiled at the very beginning of the year as the first i.MX processor with AI hardware acceleration provided by a 2.3 TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU) embedded in the chip. Apart from the upcoming Wandboard 8MPLUS SBC, we had not seen hardware powered by the new processor, but Variscite has now announced two NXP i.MX 8M Plus systems-on-modules – VAR-SOM-MX8M-PLUS and DART-MX8M-PLUS – and corresponding development kits. VAR-SOM-MX8M-PLUS CPU Module & Development Kit Specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus single, dual or quad-core Cortex-A53 processor clocked at up to 1.6 (Industrial/Extended) or 1.8GHz (Commercial), Cortex-M7 real-time core @ 800 MHz, 1080p H265/H264 encode/decode, AI/ML acceleration up to 2.3 TOPS, GC7000UL 3D GPU, GC520L 2D GPU System Memory – 1 to 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 8 to 64GB eMMC flash Networking – 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n + BT 4.2/BLE module SO-DIMM Edge Connector Storage I/F – […]
Low-cost Amlogic S905L2 TV Boxes Show Up on Aliexpress for $20+
Amlogic has plenty of variants to its S905 processors, and so far I had never heard about Amlogic S905L2 processor that can be found in some Android 9.0 TV boxes sold for a little over $20 including shipping. [Update: I’ve been informed people are not getting boxes with S905L2, but just S905L, nor the advertised amount of memory or storage, notably from Shop5779464] There are only two such TV boxes listed with the quad-core Cortex-A53 processor so far, and they are basically the same X7 model except for different storage and memory configuration. X7 TV box specifications: Amlogic S905L2 quad-core Cortex-A53 with Arm Mali-450 MP GPU System Memory – 2 or 4GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB or 32GB flash storage Video Output – HDMI up to 4Kp60 with HDR support, and AV port Video Decoding – 4K H.265, H.264 Networking – 10/100M Ethernet and dual-band 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 USB – […]
Banana Pi BPI-M5 Amlogic S905X3 SBC coming soon
Banana Pi BPI-M5 is an Amlogic S905X3 SBC following the Raspberry Pi form factor, and that is pretty similar to Hardkernel ODROID-C4 launched earlier this year with the same quad-core Cortex-A55 processor. BPI-M5 comes with 4GB LPDDR4 RAM, 16GB eMMC flash, and offers four USB 3.0 ports, one Gigabit Ethernet port, and on HDMI 2.1 output port for 4K/8K video output. Banana Pi BPI-M5 preliminary specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X3 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 2.0 GHz with Mali-G31 MP2 GPU @ 650Mhz System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash (option up to 64GB), MicroSD slot up to 2TB Video Output – HDMI 2.1 up to 4Kp60 with HDR, CEC, EDID Audio – 3.5mm audio jack, digital HDMI audio Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet USB – 4x USB 3.0 ports via VL817 hub controller, 1x USB-C port (for power only?) Expansion – 40-pin Raspberry Pi header with […]