Rockchip RK3188-T TV Sticks with 2GB RAM Are Now Selling for About $30 Shipped

It’s fun to report about the latest gadgets, but sometimes it can be a good idea to look back at older devices to find if there are any good deals out there. TV boxes and sticks based Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 processors were clearly the most popular in 2013 and early 2014, and in many respects their performance is still quite similar to the one of recent 64-bit platforms barring new features such as H.265 and 4K video capabilities. The good news is that you can now get RK3188-T TV sticks such as CX919 or MK809IV with 2 GB RAM for about $30 shipped. CX919 and MK809IV are very similar specifications, except CX919 comes with an external antenna [Update: MK809IV also has a retractable antenna, see red slider on picture above]: SoC – Rockchip RK3188-T quad core Cortex A9 @ 1.4Ghz + Mali-400MP4 GPU System Memory – 2GB […]

Tronsmart BJ19 Mini PC based on Intel Celeron J1900 Sells for $60 (Promo)

Tronsmart BJ19 is a barebone mini PC powered by Intel Celeron J1900 quad core “Bay Trail-D” processor with SO-DIMM slots for memory, and a SATA interface for a 2.5″ hard drive or SSD in a form factor similar to Intel NUC. It was launched last year, but GeekBuying is probably getting rid of stock, as it is selling it for just $59.99 shipped. Let’s remind us of the specs: SoC – Intel Celeron J1900 Quad core processor  @ 2.0 GHz (base) / 2.41 GHz (burst) with Intel HD graphics (10W TDP) System Memory –  DDR3L 1333/1666 MHz SO-DIMM slot Storage – 2.5″ SATA hard drive or SSD Video Output – mini HDMI + mini DisplayPort Audio – mini HDMI, 3.5 mm jack for headphone and MIC-in Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, mPCIe Wi-Fi (2.4GHz) and Bluetooth 4.0 module USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x USB 3.0 port. Misc – […]

Free and Discounted Development Boards: Raspberry Pi 3, DragonBoard 410c, LinkIt ONE and More

Based on the number of comments I get when I organize giveaways, I think people like freebies. I don’t have anything to give away today, but others have launched competitions to win free developments, and Seeed Studio is having a promotional event with some discount on IoT boards. DragonBoard 410c Boards “Maker Month Contest” Qualcomm has declared March as Maker Month, and is asking developer to tell them what they’d make with a DragonBoard 410c board for a chance to win the board and up to $5,000. All you have to do is to submit your idea on DragonBoardContest.com, and every week, the company will give 7 to 10 boards (31 boards in total) to the people with the best ideas as selected by popular vote. The contest has two part: Part 1 – Submit your idea as mentioned above – Open between March 1 and March 31, is open […]

Wintel Pro CX-W8 Cherry Trail mini PC Sells for $85

I reviewed Wintel W8 mini PC powered by an Intel Atom Z3735F last year, although since the model could dual boot Windows 8.1 and Android 4.4 I mostly focused my review on the Android part. There’s now an upgraded model running Windows 10 only, based on Intel Atom x5-Z8300 quad core Cherry Trail processor, and very much the same interfaces except one of the USB 2.0 ports has been upgraded to USB 3.0. Wintel Pro CX-W8 has very similar same specifications to other Cherry Trail mini PCs available on the market: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8300 “Cherry Trail” quad core processor @ 1.44 GHz (Bust freq: 1.84 GHz) with Intel Gen8 HD graphics (2W SDP) System Memory –  2 GB Storage – 32 GB eMMC + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI Audio I/O – HDMI, 3.5mm microphone jack Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 […]

Allwinner A10 Android TV Stick Sells for $9.99 Shipped (Promo)

Android TV sticks started to become popular in 2012 thanks to Rikomagic MK802 that was based on Allwinner A10 Cortex A8 processor. Now these devices would be considered slow and outdated, but they may still be useful for some simple applications, and I’ve just seen GeekBuying is selling A22 TV Stick, that’s basically the same as MK802 for $9.99 with free shipping, likely to get rid of stock. A22 specifications: SoC – Allwinner A10 Cortex A8 processor @ 1.0 GHz with ARM Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 512 MB RAM Storage – 4GB flash + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI female Connectivity – WiFi 802.11b/g/n (Ralink8188) USB – 1x mini USB 2.0 OTG port, 1x USB 2.0 Host port Power Supply – 5V/2A Dimensions – 8.8 x 3.5 x 1.2cm It’s still running Android 4.0, but since it’s based on Allwinner A10 you could easily hack it to […]

Texas Instruments MSP432 LaunchPad Development Board Sells for $4.32 (Promo)

Texas Instruments has started the year by offering a deal on their 32-bit MSP432 LaunchPad Development Kit, dropping the cost from $12.99 to $4.32 for a limited time with coupon code 432@432. MSP432 Launchpad’s key features: MCU – Texas Instruments MSP432P401R ARM Cortex M4F MCU @ 48 MHz with FPU and DSP, 256KB flash, 64KB RAM Expansion – 40 pin BoosterPack Connector, and support for 20-pin BoosterPacks Misc – 2 buttons and 2 LEDs for user interaction Debugging – Back-channel UART via USB to PC, Onboard XDS-110ET emulator featuring EnergyTrace+ Technology Power – Micro USB connector The kit includes the board, micro USB cable and a quick start guide. There’s plenty of technical documentation for the board, although for some unknown reasons,  I can’t download any PDF documents from TI website tonight. The coupon is still working, but free shipping on TI eStore seems to be a thing of the […]

Black Friday 2015 – International Deals

While Black Friday is very much a US tradition, Chinese online retailers have made an habit to launch Black Friday, and to a lesser extend Cyber Monday, promotions discount on their sites bringing the event to an international audience. This year is no different, and have gathered some promotions that may be of interest to CNX Software readers. DealExtreme I have not found specific deals on DealExtreme, but the company launched a Black Friday 2015 Lucky Draw event where you can get partial or full refunds of existing orders, as well as coupons for future order. Here are the rules: This campaign is for all DX customers. Please log in first. One play per valid order number. Valid Orders must meet the following three conditions: Orders made on or after 10:00:00(AM) Oct. 28th and before 9:59:59(AM) Nov. 26th, 2015 (UTC+8). Order should include one or more MVP product(s) and the […]

Nvidia Jetson TK1 Development Board is Now Selling for $99 (Promo)

Sorry that I don’t have an Nvidia Jetson TK1 board to give away…, but if you were interesting in getting one the best ARM Linux boards available today, and found the $192 price tag a little too high, Make announced a ~50% discount offer to get the board for $99 on Nvidia store using MAKEJTK1 coupon. Here’s a reminder of the board’s specifications: SoC – Nvidia Tegra K1 SoC with 4-Plus-1 quad-core ARM Cortex A15 CPU, and Kepler GPU with 192 CUDA cores (Model T124) System Memory – 2 GB x16 memory with 64 bit width Storage – 16 GB 4.51 eMMC memory, SATA data + power ports, full size SD/MMC slot, and 4MB SPI boot flash. Video Output – HDMI port Audio – ALC5639 Realtek Audio codec with Mic in and Line out Connectivity – RTL8111GS Realtek GigE LAN USB – 1x USB 2.0 OTG port, micro AB, 1x […]

EmbeddedTS embedded systems design