mini pc News - Page 130 of 149 - CNX Software

March 19, 2014May 25, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

EZCast App is Now Supported by ChromeCast

EZCast is a decent Wi-Fi display solution using a proprietary protocol to show your local or online content on your TV via EZCast HDMI dongles powered by Action Semi ATV SoC. I’ve already reviewed two devices with Tronsmart T1000 and WiDiCast EC-E2, and found it to be fairly good with Android devices, but not so good with Windows PCs. Since the release of GoogleCast SDK for the ChromeCast, some people have asked support for ChromeCast protocol in EZCast dongle. However, it’s my understanding the SDK does not allow ChromeCast emulation on other devices yet. So instead the EZCast team has ported the app to support ChromeCast, which means if you own a ChromeCast you don’t need to buy an EZCast dongle to play around with EZCast and access your local content. However, as you can see from the comparison tablet above,. EZCast for ChromeCast is not quite able to support […]

March 5, 2014November 23, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

The New $50 Roku Streaming Stick Drops MHL, Gets a micro USB Port, and a Wi-Fi Remote

The first Roku Streaming Stick was announced early 2012 with an HDMI/MHL port. It turns out MHL did not take as Roku and others, including myself, expected, and even today MHL is not a prominent feature in new TVs, and seldom listed in the specifications. So they’ve just announced a new Roku Streaming Stick, HDMI version, that can be powered via the USB port of your TV, or a standard USB power adapter. The processor and memory have not been disclosed, but we can assume it’s probably based on a Broadcom processor. The rest of the specs are as follows: Video Output – HDMI (720p or 1080p) Audio Output – HDMI with 7.1 and 5.1 surround pass-through support Connectivity – 802.11 dual-band (a/b/g/n compatible) with WEP, WPA, and WPA2 support Misc – Status light, reset button Power Consumption – Less than 2W (typical) when streaming HD video Power Input – […]

March 4, 2014March 4, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

$37 GK328 Android mini PC Powered by Rockchip RK3028 Dual Core Processor

Rockchip RK3028 is a low cost dual core Cortex A9 processor pin-to-pin compatible with RK2928 single core Cortex A9, I first heard about at Hong Kong Electronics Fair 2013. It’s now found in a few kids tablets, as well as GK328, an Android 4.2 HDMI TV dongle, that sells for about $37, or a few dollars cheaper than similar AllWinner A20 or Rockchip RK3066 based devices. GK328 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3028 dual core Cortex A9 @ 1.0 GHz with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 512MB RAM Storage – 4GB NAND flash + microSD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI Connectivity – 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi USB – 1x USB HOST 2.0, 1x micro USB OTG, 1x micro USB for power Misc – Fn button (for recovery?) Power – 5V/1A via micro USB port The device runs Android 4.2 and sells with a power adapter, a USB cable, an HDMI […]

February 26, 2014February 26, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Compulab Fit-PC4 Fanless mini PC Powered by AMD GX-420CA Quad Core G-Series SoC

CompuLab has just announced fit-PC4, a miniature fanless PC based on AMD GX-420CA G-Series SoC with four “Jaguar” cores clocked 2.0GHz,and Radeon HD 8400E graphics, and supporting up to 16 GB RAM, and storage via SATA, mSATA or a micro SD card. This if for the Pro version, but there’s also a Value version powered by A4-1250 APU. Fit-PC4 specifications: SoC / APU fit-PC4 Pro – AMD GX-420CA quad core processor @ 2.0 GHz with AMD Radeon HD 8400E Quad-core (25W TDP) fit-PC4 Value – AMD A4-1250 dual core APU @ 1.0 GHz with amd Radeon HD 8210 (8W TDP) System Memory – Up to 16 GB DDR3/DDR3L/DDR3U (2 SODIMM) Storage – Internal 2.5” HDD/SSD + mSATA + micro-SD Display – 2x HDMI 1.4a up to 1920 x 1200 + CEC support Audio – S/PDIF 7.1 input/output + stereo line-out / MIC in Connectivity 2x Gbit Ethernet (Intel i211 Ethernet controllers) […]

February 13, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Webee Boss is Both an Android TV Box and an Home Automation Gateway (Crowdfunding)

Lots of Android TV Boxes and HDMI dongles have hit the market last year, and low cost home automation systems have been launched, or are in development, such as Ninja Sphere. Webee Boss combines both to make your TV and your Home smart, as part of the Webee home automation platform, also composed of “Bees” (Smart Plug, Smart Lamp Holder, Smart Host, Presence Tag, Open/Closed sensors, etc…), Hive m3 development board, and an Android app. Webee Boss specifications: SoC – ARM Cortex A9 Microprocessor @ 800MHz System Memory – 1 GB RAM Storage – 2 GB NAND Flash, micro SD card slot up to 32GB Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet 802.11 b/g/n WiFi IEEE 802.15.4 – ZigBee. Mesh networking. Home Automation profile. Z-Wave. Mesh networking. Home Automation standards compatible in most countries. Wireless Range – Outdoor: 45 to 90 meters, Indoor 45 – 60 meters Video Output – HDMI 1.3 (up to […]

February 6, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

Wibtek TJ1800G & TJ1900G “Thin mini-ITX” Boards with Bay Trail-D Processors for DIY All-in-One Computers and mini PCs

Intel has made great progress in the low cost low power computer space thanks to Bay Trail based mini-ITX motherboards such as MSI J1800i and BIOSTAR J1800NH both with an Intel Celeron J1800 processor (10 W TDP) and selling for around $60, or the latest Intel NUC mini PC selling for $140 with a 7.5W TDP Celeron N2820. One of the requirements of mini-ITX specifications suggest boards to feature 20- or 24-pin “original ATX” power connectors, which requires a an ATX PSU, and adds to costs. One reader pointed out that another type of mini ITX boards dubbed “thin mini-ITX” do not require an ATX power supply, and could be powered by a standard 12V power supply just like Intel NUC. Thin mini-ITX Standard Thin mini-ITX has been defined by Intel a couple of years ago, and target the DIY market for All-in-One PC where you can buy an AIO […]

February 4, 2014February 4, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Google Cast SDK Officially Released for Chromecast

Since it’s release in July 2013, Google Chromecast HDMI TV stick has been very popular thanks to its low cost, and despite of its lack of feature, it does what it ‘s supposed to do – multi-screen experience across mobile devices and large screen displays – reasonably well. A Google Cast API preview was released at launch time for both the receiver (Chromecast) and sender (Android, iOS or Chrome) but the license terms prevented developers to release apps without written permission by Google as the API could still evolve. This restriction has just been lifted, as Google has now officially released Google Cast SDK for Chromecast and other upcoming Google Cast devices. The Sender SDK is available for Android, iOS, and Chrome on the sender side, and the Receiver SDK allows you to run an app on the Chromecast. Google claims the Google Cast SDK is simple to integrate because […]

February 3, 2014February 3, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Tivizen USB Dongles Bring Digital TV (DVB-T, ATSC, 1Seg) to Your Android or iOS Devices

If you want to watch digital terrestrial TV on your Android tablet / phone / mini PC, or your iPad / iPhone, I’ve already written about Geniatech WiTV / Yeshgo Meron, as well as Geniatech PT115m / PT115e. The former are battery powered DVB receiver sending TV channel to your mobile via Wi-Fi, and is already available for purchase. The latter are micro USB or USB DBT-T dongles that you can insert into your Android or iOS devices, but they still do not seem to be available for purchase. Today, I’ve come across Tivizen USB dongles that appears to be very similar to PT115m/PT115e except there are several models with support for DVB-T, DVB-H (iOS and PC), ATSC (iOS only), 1Seg, and SBTVD standards, and they’ve been available since 2012… I won’t list the available technical specs for each device (mainly connector, dimensions, and weight), but here are the key […]