usb News - Page 25 of 28 - CNX Software

February 29, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Hubpixed is a Neat and CableFree USB Hub for the Raspberry Pi Zero (Crowdfunding)

While the Raspberry Pi Zero is not exactly broadly available, there are still several tenths of thousands who own, and I’ve seen several use a USB to OTG adapter combined to a USB hub to add USB devices such as a WiFi dongle, or/and keyboard. This works, but it’s quite messy. That’s why Vikas Shukla created Hubpixed USB hub for the Raspberry Pi that does not require any cables and cleverly uses the test pins on the back of the board for USB data and power. The board’s spring pins are the only electrical connections between Raspberry Pi Zero and the hub, with both boards attached with spacers, screws and bolts using the four mounting holes of RPi0. Vikas also showed the hub in action with a USB WiFi dongle. I’m not sure how it would fare with a USB hard drive however. Hubpixed is on Kickstarter, and has already exceeded […]

January 26, 2016January 28, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

MeegoPad T09 Cherry Trail mini PC Features a USB Type C Port with DisplayPort, Data & Power Capabilities

MeegoPad T01 was one of the first Intel based TV Stick, having launched months before Intel’s own Compute Stick, and over the last couple of years, the company has introduced a dozen of Intel Bay Trail and Cherry Trail mini PCs and TV Sticks. MeegoPad has now unveiled three new Cherry Trail devices with MeegoPad T09, MeegoPad T10, and T05 Pro. While the last two models look more of the same with MeegoPad T10 mini PC, and MeegoPad T05 Pro TV stick powered by Intel Atom x5 processors with 2 to 4GB RAM, and 32 to 128 GB storage, I find MeegoPad T09 more interesting with a thin form factor with an Ethernet port, and a USB type C connector that supports data at USB 2.0 speeds, DisplayPort over USB-C, and USB Power Delivery. MeegoPad T09 specifications: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8300 or x5-Z8500 quad core processor with Intel 12EU […]

January 21, 2016January 22, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

USB Power Delivery Advantages Explained (Video)

USB 3.0 and greater specifications not only promise higher speeds, up to 10Gbps for USB 3.1, but also the ability to deliver up to 100W over USB to power your laptop, display, and printer via equipment, usually a USB hub, that supports USB Power Delivery, or USB PD, via a USB Type C connector. So far very few products appear to support it, and I could only find the Macbook and ChromeBook Pixel, and a few USB PD chargers on Amazon. So basically in the future, the need for power supplies should decrease sharply, simplifying connections, and decreasing the cost of products and shipping since devices will only need a USB port that’s compatible with USB PD, meaning your computer, printer, and display won’t need an extra power supply as long as they consume less than 100 watts combined. The reasons I’m writing about this today, is that completely forgot […]

January 11, 2016January 11, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Multi-function Power Banks Can Jump Start Your Car Beside Charging Your Phone

Many people carry a USB power bank with them to make sure their smartphone does not run out of battery, but based on my experience failing to start your car because of a depleted or dead battery will bring ever more anxiety. Interestingly/funnily enough, while this happened to my neighbors last week-end, today I was informed that TM08 multi-function power bank was designed to both charge your phone or laptop, and help start your car. TM08 specifications: Input – 12V/1A Output – 5V-2A via USB and 12V jump starter for car with 200A starting current, and 400A peak current Battery Capacity – 12000mah Charging Time – 3 to 4 hours Life cycle – Over 1,000 cycles Dimensions – 130x70x25 mm Weight – 311 grams Operating Temperature – -20℃-85℃ The kit comes with adapters to charge your phone or other devices, as well as cables to connect to your car’s battery. […]

August 20, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

NextDrive Plug Adds Wireless Storage or a Surveillance Webcam to Your Smartphone (Crowdfunding)

There are several wireless storage options on the market that allows you to add storage to your smartphone, such as WiFi USB flash drives, wireless SD card readers, or WiFi HDD enclosures. These inexpensive solutions are are quite portable since they come with a battery, so it’s like your have your own portable NAS or Cloud storage in your pocket. The Next Drive plug is a tiny computer with a single USB port and WiFi connection, that will add wireless connectivity to your USB device such as hard drives, including USB RAID arrays, but also others like USB webcams. Next Drive technical specifications: Processor – ARM Cortex A9 @ 1GHz System Memory – 128MB DDR3 Storage – 16MB NOR flash for firmware only Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port USB Output – 5V @ 2.1A Support File Systems – FAT, FAT32, […]

August 19, 2015August 19, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Ascella USB 3.0 Camera Reference Design Kit Supports 4K Recording at 30 fps

Cypress Semiconductor and THine Electronics have recently introduced Ascella USB 3.0 camera reference design kit based on Cypress EZ-USB CX3 USB 3.0 camera controller and THIne THP7312 ISP that supports 13-megapixel resolution at 21 frames per second, and 3840x2160p recording at 30 fps using MJPEG compression. The kit is composed of 5 boards with an OV13850 13MP camera board, an LED board, the ISP board, Cypress CX3 board, and a debug board with USB 3.0 and a debug interfaces. Main specifications and features: Cypress EZ-USB CX3 ARM9 based Programmable MIPI CSI-2 to USB 3.0 Camera Controller THine THP7312 image signal processor based on a 32-bit RISC CPU OmniVision OV13850 Image sensor interfaced through a four-lane MIPI CSI-2 interface High Intensity LED Board for Low light environment SPI Flash for firmware storage Supports auto-focus, auto-exposure, auto-white-balance and the ability to select from 20 picture resolutions Support for streaming of live […]

April 29, 2015April 29, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

USBminiPower USB Power Supply Delivers 3 Outputs: 5V, 3.3V, and a Variable Output up to 14.3V (Crowdfunding)

Yesterday, I found out about a cheap 5V/3.3V USB power supply board, YwRobot MB-102, selling for $1 shipped on Ebay, but one person lamented the lack of 1.8V output, which may be required for example for modules like AsiaRF AWM002 that takes both 3.3V and 1.8V. One way is make your own power board, and get an expensive lab power supply, but I got a solution in my inbox this morning, with USBminiPower, as tiny USB power supply board with three output: 5V, 3.3V and a variable pin between 1V and 14.3V, as well as a 4 digit LED display showing the voltage and intensity just like Charger Doctor. USBminiPower specifications: MCU – Microchip PIC16 MCU (several are supported) Voltage outputs – 5V (from USB port), controllable 3.3V, and controllable & adjustable 1V … 14.3V Display – 4 Digit red LED to display intensity and voltage Max Power – 2.45 […]

April 1, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

This Multi-function Capacitive Stylus Includes a USB Flash Drive

If you have fat fingers, or somehow capacitive touchs creens don’t work that well with your fingers, or you simply need more accuracy, you may have purchased one of those cheap capacitive stylus, many of which come with a real ball-point pen and/or a flash light. However, I’ve just noticed GeekBuying listed a few USB multi-functional 6-in-1 touch pens with 4 to 32GB internal flash with prices ranging from 8 to 19 dollars. Based on the picture above, you can open the stylus to take out a USB flash drive that you can insert into your computer, laptop or mobile’s micro USB OTG port via an OTG adapter. Specifications include: Use with touchscreen of smartphone or tablet PC Ball-point pen Files storage (USB flash drive) Money inspection (ultra-violet light) Pointer (red laser) Mini flash-light Dimensions – 143 x 12 mm Weight – 25 grams I find the USB drive-in-a-pen idea […]