Allwinner H6 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor with Arm Mali-T720 GPU was launched in 2017 and made its way into various TV boxes and SBC’s. But last year, we got some news of lower-cost versions of the processor with Allwinner H603 and H6 VC200-OS SoC’s. Allwinner H616 Processor Advantages So the first time, I read about Allwinner H616, I thought it was yet another variant of little interest. But it turns out H616 is the first processor from the company with a Bitfrost GPU, namely Mali G31MP2, meaning it supports Vulkan, and down the line, it could potentially be supported by Panfrost open-source graphics driver. Another positive for the processor is support for Android 10, while AFAIK other H6 processors are stuck to Android 9.0. Another advantage is low power consumption leading to lower CPU temperature. It might be a process change or some other optimizations in the silicon, we just don’t […]
Cosmo Communicator 2-in-1 Phone/Mini Laptop can now Dual Boot Debian Linux and Android
The Cosmo Communicator The Cosmo Communicator was released as a crowdfunded handheld device mixing smartphone and a small laptop features such as keyboard and display. It was launched in late 2019 and ran Google Android. Didn’t Ship with Linux Support The original units were shipped and fulfilled the requirements of the crowdfunding campaign, but still were missing something the company had wanted to provide: support for Linux. Debian Linux Support This is now fixed as Planet Computers, the company that makes Cosmo Communicator, just released a version of Debian Linux, that can be installed on the system, with the tools that the company has provided for free on its website. Other Linux Phones There has been some movement in the world of Linux Phones, with the advent of the Purism Librem 5 and the Pine64 PinePhone using the familiar touchscreen interface found in the vast majority of smartphones. Quick Basics […]
Lantronix Snapdragon 865 Development Kit to Support Android 11
If you ever wanted to develop applications for the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, Intrinsyc is always the first company to provide Snapdragon hardware development kits and we’ve covered many over the years including Open-Q 845 HDK and Open-Q 855 HDK. The company has recently been bought by Lantronix, a provider of solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) and Out of Band Management (OOBM), and we covered one of their products – an RJ45 connector running Linux – over 6 years ago. Lantronix Snapdragon 865 Mobile Hardware Development Kit is the first devkit announced since the acquisition. The board is powered by the latest Snapdragon 865 (SM8250) processor combined with 6GB LPDDR5 RAM, 128GB UFS 3.0 storage. The development kit currently supports Android 10, but it will be one of the first hardware to officially run Android 11 just previewed by Google. Snapdragon 865 Mobile HDK specifications: SoC – Qualcomm […]
Toradex Launches New Verdin Arm SoM Family Starting with iMX8M Mini/Nano Modules
So far, Toradex had two Arm-based system-on-module families with the smaller, lower-power Colibri and more powerful Apalis modules. The Colibri form factor was first defined in 2005, and the company is still maintaining it, but since then new interfaces have emerged, so Toradex has now designed a new low-power module family called Verdin. Toradex Verdin modules offer more I/Os with a 260-pin edge connector, include a battery-ready design with a wide input voltage range (3.3 to 5V), low power 1.8V IOs, the ability to easily extend power management to carrier board peripherals, and off-the-shelf thermal solutions. The modules are also tested for EMC, shock and vibration tolerance, and “Toradex Direct Breakout” is said to simplify signal routing on carrier boards as high speed, impedance critical signals are routed from the source IC to the edge connector on the Verdin module in such a ways to limit complexity on the carrier […]
ADLINK Industrial-Pi (I-Pi) SMARC Development Kit Features Rockchip PX30 SoC
ADLINK Technology has just announced the Industrial-Pi (I-Pi) SMARC Development Kit to help engineers quickly design prototypes for industrial applications using peripherals and sensors. The I-Pi SMARC development kit is comprised of a baseboard, LEC-PX30 SMARC-compliant Rockchip PX30 system-on-module, an acrylic case, a 12V/2A power supply, USB cable, and a 32GB MicroSD card. The company promotes the kit as “an industrial-ready substitute for Arduino and Raspberry Pi (RPi) platforms that are commonly used for prototyping but cannot typically be ‘dropped’ into an industrial solution as-is“. LEC-PX30 SMARC System-on-Module Specifications: SoC – Rockchip PX30 Quad-core Arm Cortex-A35 CPU with TrustZone technology, ARMv8 Cryptography Extensions, Mali-G31 GPU System Memory – 1GB or 2GB DDR3L at 1066/1333 MHz Storage – 8, 16, 32 or 64 GB eMMC flash Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet from SoC, 10/100M Ethernet via LAN9514 USB 2.0 Ethernet controller Video Decoding – H.264 up to 1080p60, H.265/HEVC up to 1080p60, […]
Google Releases Android 11 Developer Preview – What’s New?
I’ve only just upgraded my Xiaomi Mi A2 phone to Android 10 earlier this week, but Google is already preparing for the next version of the mobile operating system, and the company has already released the first developer preview for Android 11 OS. Enhancements for foldables and 5G, call-screening APIs, new media & camera capabilities, and machine learning are some of the improvements brought to Android 11 so far. Some of Android 11 highlights include: Updates of existing connectivity APIs to take advantage of improved 5G speeds. Dynamic meteredness API to check whether the connection is unmetered in order to offer higher resolution or quality for users who don’t need to pay extra for data Bandwidth estimator API to check the downstream/upstream bandwidth without having to poll the network. Pinhole and waterfall screen support – Pinhole screens are the ones with a round opening for the camera, and waterfall […]
Ugoos AM6 Plus Android TV Box is Powered by Amlogic S922X-J Processor
When I wrote about the official launch of MINIX NEO U22-XJ media hub yesterday, I mentioned it was the first Amlogic S922XJ that I knew of and the first Amlogic TV box to support Dolby Vision and Dolby Audio. But it was rightly pointed out to me that Amazon Fire TV Cube TV box already supported Dolby Vision with Amlogic S922Z processor that looks to be about the same as Amlogic S922XJ. Ugoos is now offering another Dolby Vision/Audio option with an upgrade to their existing Ugoos AM6 TV box replacing Amlogic S922X processor with S922X-J and increasing the memory and storage capacity. Ugoos AM6 Plus specifications: SoC – Amlogic S922X-J hexa-core processor with 4x Arm Cortex-A73 cores @ up to 2.2 GHz, 2x ARM Cortex-A53 cores, and an Arm Mali G52 MP6 GPU System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 32GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card slot up to 32GB […]
Boardcon Idea3288 Android SBC is Made for Digital Signage, Smart PoS, and Vending Machines
Boardcon Announces the Idea3288 SBC Boardcon Idea3288 targets the commercial market with a variety of applications for its latest SBC, utilizing a Rockchip 3288 CPU module. The company says the Idea3288 is customizable for whatever commercial application that can be had, such as digital displays, vending machines, intelligent POS, automotive, IoT, and even access control systems. Idea SoC RK3288 and Interfaces The SBC is comprised of a Rockchip RK3288 quad-core Arm Cortex A17 processor with a Mali-T764 GPU, 2GB RAM, and 8GB eMMC flash. The interfaces include GbE, mDP, HDMI, 3x USB2.0 Host ports, one USB OTG port, audio, battery, MIPI DSI/CSI, UARTs, RS485, CAN, POE, Micro SD, PCI-e (for 4G modem), M.2 slot (for SSD), SIM slot, and more. The SBC is made up of a carrier board and a CPU module The SBC runs Android 7.1.2 operating system and is built to handle 4K video playback. The Idea3288 […]