smartphone News - Page 31 of 74 - CNX Software

June 22, 2017June 22, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

OnePlus 5 Smartphone Linux Kernel & Android Source Code Released

OnePlus 5 is a premium smartphone powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 6 to 8 GB LPDDR4x RAM, 64 to 128 GB UFS 2.0 storage and a 5.5″ Full HD display, as well as the usual LTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS.. connectivity. It was launched yesterday for $479 with 6GB RAM/64GB storage, $539 with 8GB RAM/128GB storage, and today, I’ve just read on XDA developers that the company had already released the source code for the phone. Beside the official Google Nexus/Pixel smartphones, many manufacturers will drag their feet before they eventually open the source code that they are legally required to release. Some companies will release the source code as tarballs, which works, but OnePlus has done better with Linux 4.4.21 source code available on Github. You should also be able to get the Android 7.1 Nougat source code as indicated here:

repo init -u git://github.com/OnePlusOSS/android.git -b oneplus/QC8998_N_7.1
repo sync

1 2	repo init -u git://github.com/OnePlusOSS/android.git -b oneplus/QC8998_N_7.1 repo sync

The source code should lead to improvements […]

June 15, 2017June 15, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

UBPorts Project Announces its First Stable Ubuntu Touch Release for Supported Smartphones

Canonical may have stopped working on Unity, Mobile & Convergence for Ubuntu last April, but since then, at least two teams have worked on Unity and mobile convergence alive with respectively yunit and UBPorts projects. There has not been much activity on the former, but UBPorts has recently announced the first OTA-1 stable release for supported devices, minus Nexus 4 and 5 for now. This release brings bug fixes, experimental AGPS support, he UBports Welcome app, the OpenStore, and the Terminal and File Browser are preinstalled. It should work on OnePlus One, FairPhone 2, Optimus L90, BQ Aquaris M10 HD / FHD, and possibly some other models. They also mentioned work on Halium – a project aiming to standardize the Android hardware compatibility layer between many Linux distributions – has been progressing nicely, and it can now boot both Ubuntu Touch and Plasma Mobile. Convergence still needs some work, but […]

June 7, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Open Source Code Released for Hisilicon Kirin 960 Based Huawei Mate 9 and Huawei P10 Smartphones

Manufacturers of products using open source software are normally required to release the source code with their modifications to follow licenses such as the GPL, but not all comply with the license. Huawei has now released the source code with Linux and other open source libraries and programs for their Huawei Mate 9 / Mate 9 Pro and Huawei P10 / P10 Plus models powered by Hisilicon Kirin 960 processor. With the release of Hikey 960 development board most of the source code for Kirin 960 should already be available, but it’s possible some drivers/modules specific to Huawei phones may be found instead of in the Huawei release. You’ll find the download in Huawei’s open source page for: Huawei Mate 9 (MHA) / Mate 9 Pro (LON) – Link to downloads Huawei P10 (Victoria) / P10 Plus (Vicky) – Link to downloads I picked up the LON-NG_EMUI5.0_opensource.tar.gz tarball for Mate […]

May 16, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

HTC U11 Android Smartphone Adds “Edge Sense” Squeeze Input, Ranks Best at DxOMark Mobile Camera Benchmark

We’ve come so far in the smartphone market that most hardware releases are rather boring with a processor a little faster, maybe a higher resolution screen and so on, without real exciting innovations. HTC U11 does change that somewhat as the smartphone allows to interaction by squeezing the edges for example to quickly take a picture. The company calls that “Edge Sense” technology. HTC U11 specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor @ up to 2.45 GHz System Memory – 4GB / 6GB RAM Storage – 64GB / 128GB flash, micro SD slot up to 2TB (shared with SIM2 slot), flex storage (aka adoptable) supported Display – 5.5″ Quad HD (2560 x 1440 pixels) Super LCD; 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Cellular Connectivity Dual nano SIM 2G/2.5G – GSM/GPRS/EDGE @ 850/900/1800/1900 MHz 3G – UMTS @ 800/900/1900/2100 (B5/B8/B2/B1), HSDPA 42, HSUPA 5.76 4G LTE – Cat 15 LTE up […]

May 9, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Qualcomm Introduces Snapdragon 630 and 660 “Mobile Platforms” for Mid-Range Smartphones & Tablets

Qualcomm has announced two new Snapdragon SoCs Mobile Platforms, namely Snapdragon 630 and 660, with the aim of introducing “high-end features” to mid-range devices. Both chips come with eight cores, an Adreno GPU, and are manufactured with 14nm FinFET technology. Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 Key features: CPU – 8x ARM Cortex A53 clocked at up to 2.2 GHz (low power cluster up to 1.8 GHz) GPU – Adreno 508 with support for OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.0 full,Vulkan, DX12 DSP – Hexagon 642 DSP Memory I/F – LPDDR4, dual channel up to 1333MHz, 8GB RAM Storage I/F – eMMC and UFS flash Display – Up to 1920×1200 resolution; DisplayPort and USB type-C support Video – Up to 4K @ 30 fps playback and capture; H.264, H.265 and VP9 codecs Audio – Qualcomm Aqstic audio codec and speaker amplifier; Qualcomm aptX audio playback Camera – Up to 24MP single camera, up to […]

May 3, 2017May 3, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

$59 HDFury Universal PSU Doctor Supports Power Monitoring via iOS or Android

We’ve recently covered Cambrionix PowerPad 15S, a high-end 16-port USB hub that can deliver 5V/2.1A on each port, integrates power monitoring function, and an API to control and monitor each port individually. That’s a very cool device, but it’s also expensive at around $600, and even the cheaper PowerPad 15C without data pins, come at $200. If you don’t need the complete set of features offered by Cambrionix devices, but you’ll like to get a reliable multi-port USB charger with power monitoring function, HDFury Universal PSU Doctor could be an interesting option. HDFury Universal PSU Doctor specifications: MCU – Renesas RL78 16-bit MCU USB – 3x USB ports with 2x 5V ports up to 5V/2.14A, 1x USB QC 2.0 port supporting 5V/2.14A, 9V/1.6A or 12V/1.2A output ADC – Up to 11 channels, 10-bit resolution for power monitoring Sensor – n-chip temperature sensor Power Supply Built-in 100 ~ 240V AC with […]

April 27, 2017April 28, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Selecting a Micro USB Cable to Power Development Boards or Charge Phones

Yesterday one person contacted me on Facebook asking me whether there was any chance of me doing a “which usd-micro usb cable is best”, as there’s not much clear information on the Internet. His purpose was to charge his phone, but many development boards come with a micro USB port, and I’ve read many comments about powering the board. It also happened to me, and the main cause can either be the power supply which does not work as rated (usually 5V/2A), or the micro USB cable which may have a resistance a little to high leading to voltage drops. You’ll know you may have a power problem when the board refuses to boot, and usually boot loop, or randomly reboots especially under high load. The first solution is to get a power supply that provide the right voltage and amperage, and you can test that with USB Charger doctor […]

April 20, 2017April 20, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Phablet: Up to 8GB RAM, Up to 256 GB Storage, Bezel-free 6.4″ Display, $1,095

Yesterday, Xiaomi introduced Mi 6 smartphone, in what looked like to be their premium model, but it turns out they have a more powerful (and expensive) model with Mi MIX 2 Phablet/Smartphone boasting the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, but equipped with up to 8GB RAM, 256 GB flash, and a 6.4″ display with 2560×1440 resolution and virtually without any bezels. Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 preliminary specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snpadragon 835 octa-core Kryo 280 processor with 4x cores @ 2.45 GHz, 4x cores @ 1.9 GHz, Adreno 540 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.0 full, Vulkan, DX12, Hexagon 682 DSP System Memory – 4, 6 or 8 GB LPDDR4X dual channel memory Storage – 128 or 256 GB UFS 2.0 flash; NO micro SD card Display – 6.4″ capacitive touch AMOLED display with 2560×1440 resolution Audio – Speakers; microphone; 3.5mm audio jack Cellular Connectivity 2G – […]