t-chip News - Page 2 of 2 - CNX Software

June 21, 2016June 21, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Fireduino Arduino Compatible Board Features Rockchip RKnanoD Dual Core Cortex-M3 MCU (Crowdfunding)

Rockchip RKNanoD dual core Cortex M3 micro-controller was introduced last year for IoT and audio applications, and the Firefly team, known for their FirePrime or Firefly-RK3288 development boards, has designed an Arduino compatible board based on the MCU with lots of audio ports, Arduino headers, and WiFi connectivity. Fireduino specifications: MCU – Rockchip RKnanoD dual core ARM Cortex M3 MCU @ up to 250 MHz (system core) / 500 MHz (calculate core) with respectively 640 KB and 384 KB RAM Storage – 4 or 8MB SPI flash + micro SD slot Audio 24-bit/192 KHz audio codec (built in MCU) with HW accelerator for APE, FLAC, OGG, and MP3 audio decoding 1x 3.5mm analog audio jack 2x 3.5mm LINE In jacks 1x On-board microphone DLNA wireless audio support Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi via Ampak AP6181 module Expansion Arduino header with I2C, SPI, ADC, GPIO, PWM, UART LCD interface (Intel 8080 […]

March 7, 2016March 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Firefly-RK3288 Reload Board Features a SoM + Baseboard Design, Supports SATA, Three HDMI Ports, and More

Firefly-RK3288 was one the first boards powered by Rockchip RK3288 quad core Cortex A17 processor, and now Firefly team, part of T-Chip technology, has provided a new version called Firefly-RK3288 Reload with the same processor, but more features, and thanks to design comprised of a carrier board and system-on-module (SoM) – connected via an MXM connector – suitable to people or companies wanting to create their own board without handing the complexity of the processor, memory, and storage part. The table below shows Firefly-RK3288 and Firefly RK3288 Reload specifications side-by side. Parameter Firefly-RK3288 (Plus) Firefly-RK3288 Reload SoC Rockchip RK3288 ARM Cortex-A17 quad core processor up to 1.8GHz with ARM Mali-T760 MP4 GPU RAM 2GB Dual-Channel DDR3 (Plus version is 4GB) 2GB Dual-Channel DDR3 Storage 16GB eMMC (Plus version is 32GB) MicroSD (TF) Card Slot 16GB eMMC MicroSD (TF) Card Slot SATA 2.0 (Suggest 2.5 inch SSD or HDD) PMU ACT8846 […]

June 10, 2015November 18, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

FirePrime Board Features Rockchip RK3128 Quad Core Cortex A7 Processor

The team behind Firefly-RK3288 development board has designed a new board with the less powerful but cheaper and more power efficient Rockchip RK3128 quad core Cortex A7 processor. FirePrime comes with 1GB RAM, 8GB Flash, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and various other ports and expansion headers. As with many other new development boards, Firefly team has gone with a baseboard + system-on-module design (mini PCI-e connector), and will certainly sell the module separately to companies who want to design their own baseboard. Fireprime board specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3128 quad core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.3 GHz with ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1 GB LPDDR2 @ 533 MHz Storage – 8 GB NAND flash + micro SD slot Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 (AP6212 module) Video Output – HDMI 1.4 output, CVBS (AV) as well as MIPI and LVDS via expansion headers […]

May 14, 2015May 14, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

FireWRT is an OpenWRT 802.11ac Board Powered by Mediatek MT7621A Processor

There are plenty of low cost 802.11n routers or boards supporting OpenWRT, even starting at $10 or less such as A5-V11 mini router, but if you’re looking for something a bit more powerful with 802.11ac connectivity, options are much more limited, especially if you need something at a lower cost. One option is Xiaomi MiWiFi router based on Mediatek MT7620A with 64MB RAM, and T-Firefly team is now working on FireWRT board based on the more powerful MT7621A processor coupled with 512 MB RAM, and 16 MB SPI flash. FireWRT specifications: Wi-Fi SoC – Mediatek MT7621A dual core MIPS 1004Kc processor @ 880MHz System Memory – 512 MB DDR3 (Beta version: 256 MB) Storage – 16 MB SPI flash memory, 2x SATA 3.0 ports, micro SD card slot Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n @ 2.4GHz up to 300Mbps 802.11 a/n/ac @ 5 GHz, up to 867Mbps (AC1200 class router) External High-Gain Antennas […]

January 20, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Independent Dual Display Support on Firefly-RK3288 Development Board (Video)

From time to time, I’m being asked which platform can support dual independent displays, and although I noticed Mele A1000 (Allwinner A10) did support dual displays in Linux, I never really investigated how well it handles it, so I normally recommend to have a look at x86 platforms with AMD or Intel processor that specifically claim support for dual independent display. But today, I’ve noticed a developer working for T-Chip posted a nice demo on T-Firefly forums with two displays connected via HDMI and VGA. The demo shows Firefly-RK3288 development board running Android with two displays in three configurations: Display Mirroring – The same content is shown on both display. Especially useful for digital signage application, where one board can drive two displays with the same content Extended Desktop – The user interface is extended on both monitors. It’s like having a single large monitor with a 32:9 aspect ratio […]

November 27, 2014November 27, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

Firefly-RK3288 Development Board in Mass Production, Selling for $140

Firefly-RK3288 development board has been an interesting, yet confusing story, at least to me. We’ve first heard about the Firefly board on July, but I was privately told in September that the board would only be sold in China by a T-Chip sales person, only to see it become available for $189 on Ebay, as well as on Taobao a few days later. But those first boards may have only been engineering sample, or more likely from a limited trial runs, as the company has now announced mass production had started. Let’s refresh our memory with the specifications: SoC – Rockchip 3288 quad core ARM Cortex A12 / A17 up to 1.8 GHz with Mali-T764 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0 /3.0, and OpenCL 1.1 System Memory – 2G DDR3 Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot Video Output HDMI 2.0 up to 3840×2160@60p VGA out (D-SUB connector) Dual MIPI, Dual LVDS and and […]

September 27, 2014April 5, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Firefly-RK3288 Development Board is Now Available for $189

Three days ago, a T-chip representative informed me privately that Firefly development board (Rockchip RK3288) would not be available on foreign websites, and that it was unclear when the board would be selling in China. So either I’ve been lied to, or there’s poor internal communication within the company, as they’ve now listed Firefly-RK3288 board on Taobao for 800 CNY (~$130), and it’s also available on GeekBuying for $159 including shipping, possibly by somebody unrelated to T-chip, especially there are only 3 units for sale. Let’s go the specifications that have slightly changed since the original announcement: SoC – Rockchip 3288 quad core ARM Cortex A12 / A17 up to 1.8 GHz with Mali-T764 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0 /3.0, and OpenCL 1.1 System Memory – 2G DDR3 Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot Video I/O HDMI 2.0 up to 3840×2160@60p VGA out (D-SUB connector) Dual MIPI, Dual LVDS and and EDP […]

September 24, 2014September 24, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Rockchip RK3126, RK3128, and “MayBach” Octo-core Cortex A53 Processor Could Be Found in Tablets in Q4 2014

T-chip, the company behind Firefly-RK3288 development board and HPH NT-V6 media player, has sent me their latest company brochure this morning. The brochure mentions the company history since 2005, various tablets solutions they have done over the year, and new and upcoming products. One of the slides particularly caught my attention. RK3288 is pretty popular right now, but I had never heard about RK3126 and RK3128 SoC with four ARM Cortex A7 core with a Mali GPU supporting HEVC decoding up to 1080p resolution. Both processors are manufactured using 40nm technology, so I’d guess these target ultra low cost tablets, which should become available in October and November 2014. Even more interesting is the mention of “MayBach” Tablets. I’ve been told MayBach, which could just be a temporary codename, is an upcoming Rockchip SoC. Based on the information in the slide, it should be an Octa-core Cortex A53 processor with […]