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September 13, 2014September 13, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Tronsmart Orion R28 Meta RK3288 TV Box Unboxing

GeekBuying sent me one of their Tronsmart Orion R28 Meta (Beta) Android TV boxes powered by Rockchip RK3288 SoC. This model comes with 2GB DDR3, 16 eMMC, and 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi. R28 Mega is the mid-range model, and there are two others models R28 Pro (entre-level) and R28 Telos (premium). I’ve already listed specifications for the three Tronsmart Orion R28 models. Today, I’ll show some picture of the device, and the board to find out more about the design of the product. Before reviewing the product in another post, I’ll probably build the image using the provided Android 4.4 SDK (provided I can download it), and perform the full review next week with the resulting firmware. Tronsmart Orion Meta R28 Unboxing I’ve received the parcel via DHL within 2 days. The same package will be used for all three models, but you’ll have a sticker on the side for Pro, […]

August 29, 2014September 10, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Tronsmart Orion R28 (Beta) TV Boxes with Rockchip RK3288 SoC Feature up to 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC, Come with Android SDK

I’ve recently reviewed my first Rockchip RK3288 Android mini PC, UyeSee G1H, and while it’s not catastrophic, the box still have stability issues related to Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, AV video output, Wi-Fi performance and so on. Now Geekbuying has just announced availability of the beta versions of their Tronsmart Orion R28 Android TV box also powered by the quad core ARM Cortex A12/A17 processor. This first batch (180 pieces) is geared towards tinkerers and “ROM makers”, rather than people who just want something that works, and these first boxes will ship with an Android SDK (5.1GB) on a micro SD card. [Update: link to SDK] There will be three models: Orion R28 Pro (8GB flash, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi), Orion R28 Meta (16GB flash, 802.11ac Wi-Fi), and Orion R28 Telos (4GB RAM, 32 GB eMMC, 802.11ac Wi-Fi). They’ve just manufactured the first two models in the first batch, with 90 pieces […]

May 1, 2014March 17, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 40 Comments

List of Chinese Online Stores and Shopping Guide

Most of the time I feature products that are sold on Chinese online stores, because it’s either the only way, or the cheaper way to purchase the products. However, it’s not always easy to decide which Chinese e-retailer to select, and to avoid potential pitfalls with the sellers, and/or at home when you receive the products and get charged all sort of taxes. In this post, I’ll go through a list of Chinese online stores, the ones I personally use, and others, and then provide a guide with a series of tips and recommendations to hopefully help you shop with minimal worries. I’ll only cover retail stores, and skip wholesale sites such as Alibaba. Two types of stores Before I get the list of stores, it’s important to consider there are two types of stores: E-retailers (B2C) – In this case, you buy directly from the retailer which collects payment, […]

March 25, 2014March 25, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Discounts on Smartphones, Tablets, and mini PCs with Shopping Festivals on Aliexpress & GeekBuying

Spring shopping festivals are currently taking place on GeekBuying and Aliexpress, where you can get coupon, and/or discounted products. Aliexpress shopping festival has actually started a few days ago, and right now (25th of March) there are sales with discounts up to 50% for smartphones, tablets, and TV Sticks. You can actual search for anything you want, with “On Sale (3/25 Only)” enabled to check product for sale, add them to your cart, and do the actual purchase on the 25th. Discount varies, but most of the time they offer about 15% discount, and sometimes they just allow you to purchase products using the coupons. Deal include MK808B $34.74 for instead of $40.86, Tronsmart T1000 EZcast dongle for $23.84 (16% discount – instead of $28.39), MK908 for $47.6, and so on. Octacore smartphone deals include ThL W200C for $259.69, and ZOPO 990+ for $277. GeekBuying have their own Shopping Carnival running […]

December 6, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Tronsmart T1000 Mirror2TV EZCast, Miracast, Airplay, DLNA HDMI Dongle Sells for $29.99

There has already been several dongles released to the mark that support Miracast, Airplay, and DLNA, either a subset, or a combination of the standards. One of the cheapest is iPush that now sells in the low $20, but there are different models, and one of them is only supporting DLNA. A couple of months later, EZCast was released with support for DLNA, as well as Miracast and Airplay (with some limitations), and their own EZCast support. EZCast is supported on several hardware dongles that often sell for about $35 to $45, and although it’s not outrageously expensive, you can get full single or dual core Android HDMI TV for this price. I’ve just come across a new product called Tronsmart T1000 Mirror2TV sold for $29.99 including shipping by GeekBuying, and a couple of sellers on Aliexpress, that appears to be another EZCast dongle with support for Miracast, Airplay, and DLNA. […]

November 26, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

International Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals for Chinese Gadgets

Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving in the US, and starts the Christmas shopping season with very deep discount. The next Monday is called Cyber Monday is supposed to be the day for Online deals. This is mainly a US “tradition”, but Chinese retailers have joined in to try to boost their end-f year sales, and the good thing is that their discount are available to (almost?) anyone around the world. DealExtreme has not started deals yet, but a lottery is taking place between the 21st of November and the 1st of December. People who have purchased from them can spin the wheel using their order number in order to win prizes ranging from $3 coupons to iPhone 5s phones. “Black Friday Shopping Carnival” with discounts up to 50% for consumers electronics, tablets, smartphones, etc.. will begin on Friday 29th. Pandawill will have Thanksgiving deals for twelve items on […]

May 14, 2013May 19, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments

Tronsmart T428 mini PC Review

Geekbuying was kind enough to send me another RK3188 mini PCs for review. Tronsmart T428 is very similar to MK908 I reviewed earlier, with 2GB RAM and 8GB flash, but the latest device runs Android 4.2.2, its Wi-Fi module supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies, and T428 can also be used as a Miracast Display. Geekbuying sells for the device for $96.99 including shipping, but before to buy the device I strongly recommend you read the review. I’ll post some unboxing pictures first, then carry on with my first impressions, video playback capabilities, Wi-Fi performance and some benchmarks. Tronsmart T428 Unboxing I received the device is in the package below. T428 comes with a short HDMI cable, a 5V/2A power supply, and a USB to microUSB cable for power. A close look at this mini PC shows the casing is made of plastic and metal (on the lengths), comes with […]

April 27, 2013April 28, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Tronsmart MK908 Quad Core HDMI TV Stick Review

Yesterday, I published some pictures of MK908, and this morning I updated it to the latest firmware, so it’s time to review this mini PC powered by Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 SoC. First Boot, Settings, and First Impressions First of all, the firmware update has not changed the Home Screen, and we still get a standard Android Home Screen with an animated wallpaper. Screenshot and volume buttons are shown in the status bar, but there’s no soft power button, and no full screen button. Hopefully the power button can be added in next firmware update, and as we’ll see later the lack of full screen button is not really an issue. As usual, I’ve gone to the settings menu to configure Wi-Fi, and I had no problem to connect. The device also supports Bluetooth (built-in), and you can setup to device with VPN, as a hotspot, and add […]