source parts News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 29, 2023 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Popcorn Computer PopStick – A $29 USB Linux computer powered by an Allwinner F1C200s ARM9 processor

Popcorn Computer’s Popstick may look like a USB flash drive, but it’s actually a USB computer running Linux on an Allwinner F1C200s ARM9 processor with 64MB RAM on-chip. The PopStick support USB gadget mode so it can appear as all sort of USB devices such as a scriptable USB Keyboard and Mouse, a mass storage device, or even an Ethernet-connected computer using USB Ethernet which you can access with SSH. PopStick specifications: SoC – Allwinner F1C200s ARM926EJ-S (ARMv5TE) processor @ 533 MHz with 64 MB Embedded DDR1 Storage 128 MB SPI NAND Flash for OS Micro SD Card Slot Both storage devices are bootable USB 1x USB Type-A connector with support for USB Gadget mode, so the board can be seen as a USB Ethernet, Serial, Mass Storage, HID (keyboard/mouse), etc… 1x micro USB connector for serial Console Power Supply – 5V via USB Type-A port Dimensions – N/A If […]

April 21, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

POP32 & POP64 SIPs combine Allwinner A33 and A133 with SDRAM into a single package

Kettlepop is a board based on Allwinner GR8 system-in-package (SiP) with an Allwinner R8/A13 Arm Cortex-A8 CPU and 256MB RAM, and itself a derivative of the CHIP Pro board from Next Thing Co that closed doors a few years ago. Source Parts has just posted an update explaining that the GR8 SiP is not available anymore, so they worked on their own SiPs: POP32 and POP64. POP32 combines an Allwinner A33 quad-core Cortex-A7 processor with 128MB DDR4, while POP64 features an Allwinner A133 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor with 1GB LPDDR4. POP32 system-in-package POP32 highlights: SoC – Allwinner A33 quad-core Arm Cortex-A7 processor with Arm Mali-400 MP2, 1080p60 H.264, VP8, MPEG 1/2/4, JPEG/MJPEG video decoding, 1080p60 H.264 video encoding Memory – Built-in 128MB DDR3 Peripherals from SoC Storage I/F – NAND flash, 3x SD/MMC Display – MIPI DSI, LVDS, RGB LCD up to 1280×800 resolution Camera I/F – Parallel camera interface up […]

October 1, 2021October 13, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Pocket P.C. devkits ship, U-blox GNSS module replaced by SIMCom SIM33ELA

The Pocket P.C. (aka Popcorn Computer) is a handheld Linux computer based on Allwinner A64 with 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, a 4.95-inch Full HD display, and a QWERTY keyboard that was introduced in 2019, and reminds me of PocketCHIP from a few years also with an Allwinner processor, a display, a keyboard, and a battery. The initial plan was to start shipping the device by May 2020, and there are been delays for reasons we’ll explain below, but the good news is that Source Parts has just announced the developer units had been shipped. So what happened exactly, besides the COVID-19 pandemic, government lockdowns, and supply chain disruptions? Source Parts first encountered issues with the quality of PCBs delivered by the manufacturer, which ended up with them having to switch to a new manufacturer. Getting the display to work was also a challenge, and Icenowy, a developer involved with linux-sunxi […]

November 26, 2019November 26, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Pocket Popcorn Computer Handheld Linux Computer Looks Like an Improved, Faster PocketCHIP (Crowdfunding)

PocketCHIP was a Linux handheld computer powered by Allwinner R8/GR8 Cortex-A8 based CHIP board. The battery-powered device came with a small resistive display, 512 MB RAM, 4GB NAND flash, and a keyboard allowing to run Debian with PICO8 GUI so you could play retro games, access the terminal and so on. But since Next Thing Co folded last year the products are not available anymore. Since the designs were open source, Source Parts first tried to resurrect the board via their slightly modified Popcorn Computer but the Kickstarter campaign was unsuccessful. The company is now attempting to bring back PocketCHIP (sort of) with Pocket Popcorn Computer (abbreviated as Pocket P.C.) with a new design, and a much more powerful quad-core Cortex-A53 processor and overall better specs. Pocket Popcorn Computer specifications: SoC – Allwinner A64 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 CPU with Arm Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 RAM Storage – […]

June 7, 2019November 26, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments

C.H.I.P. is Back via PopCorn Computer with Allwinner or Amlogic Processor (Crowdfunding)

C.H.I.P was a $9 Linux computer launched in 2015 by Next Things Co., and followed by the $16 C.H.I.P Pro in 2016. Sadly the company eventually encountered financial troubles and had to fold last year. But the design was open source hardware, Source Parts managed to get hold of several original Allwinner GR8 systems-in-package, and in April we reported that they sold Kettlepop, a limited edition of a CHIP Pro derivative fitted with 8GB eMMC flash. Source Parts is now back with three CHIP lookalikes: Popcorn Original based on Allwinner R8/A13 Arm Cortex-A8 processor with 512MB RAM, and 32GB eMMC flash and 100% software compatible with the original C.H.I.P computer Super Popcorn Computer powered by Amlogic S905D quad-core Cortex-A53 processor Super ‘8’ Popcorn Computer powered by Amlogic S912 octa-core Cortex-A53 processor Popcorn Original is basically the same as C.H.I.P board except for the 32GB eMMC flash storage replacing the 4GB […]

April 8, 2019November 26, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Kettlepop is a Limited Edition of a CHIP Pro Derivative with 8GB eMMC flash

Next Things Co. CHIP was a $9 Arm Linux board based on Allwinner R8 processor that become fairly popular due to its low price, built-in WiFi & Bluetooth connectivity, open source hardware design, and integration into fun kits such as PocketCHIP portable gaming console/ Linux handheld computer. Later the company expanded their product line with CHIP Pro featuring Allwinner GR8 system-in-package, and designed as a low profile system-on-module to make it more suitable for integration into commercial products. Sadly, the company eventually ran into financial problems, and had to fold later in 2018. However, later that year, a company called Source Parts announced they were working on Popcorn Computer, a derivative of C.H.I.P. board, and appears to have sold it through Amazon US for a time. But this morning, I was informed that a board called Kettlepop was added to HackerBoards database with Next Things Co. GR8 SiP, and also […]