Hardware Category - Page 1028 of 1132 - CNX Software

December 28, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

$5.40 CHARGER Doctor Makes USB Power Measurements Easy

One way to make power measurement for USB powered devices is to make your own USB cable to allow for current measurement via a multimeter, but if you think it’s just too much hassle, I’ve found and purchased a small test device called CHARGER Doctor that shows voltage and current on a 4 digit display, and sells for $5.40 on DealExtreme. The device features a USB female out port, and a USB male input port, that you can place between your USB power adapter, and the cable to your device to alternatively display voltage (4 seconds) and current (9 seconds). It can be used for power consumption measurements, to test if your charger is working normally, or finding out the power adapter that will charge your phone the fastest. It’s said to support measurement between 3.5 to 7V and 0 to 3 A, with an accuracy of +/- 1%. I’ve […]

December 28, 2013December 28, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Rezence Wireless Charging Standard Gets Rid off Charging Pads, Leverages Bluetooth 4.0 LE

I’ve just found out via my twitter feed that Nordic Semiconductor had announced the availability of the Bluetooth LE-based S120 8-link central protocol stack and nRF51 Wireless Charging SDK for wireless charging applications based on a new wireless charging standard called Rezence. The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) gave their wireless power technology the name Rezence a couple of weeks ago. Rezence uses magnetic resonance, instead of inductance used in first generation products, and bring several key improvements: Greater charging range – Your device does not need to be placed on a charging pad, but it can be placed anywhere within range (I could not find data yet). Multiple device charging – Ability to charge multiple devices with different power requirements at the same time, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and Bluetooth headsets. Up to 8 devices with Nordic Semi solutions mentioned in the introduction. Ready for the real world […]

December 27, 2013December 28, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

WiDicast EC-E2 Wi-Fi Display (EZCast / Miracast / DLNA) HDMI Dongle Review

After my review of Tronmart T1000, an EZCast / Miracast / DLNA HDMI adapter, I’ve received another EZCast dongle with the same features called WiDiCast EC-E2 sent to me by Shenzhen EC Technology, the manufacturer of the device. In case you are not familiar with this type of device, they allow you mirror and control your smartphone / tablet (Android, iPhone, iPad) or computer (Windows, Mac OS X) display on an HDMI TV. Today, I’ll go through the specifications, show some pictures including a comparison with T1000, and try it with an Android smartphone. WiDicast EC-E2 Specifications Like all other EZCast adapters,WiDicast is based on Actions Semi SoC: SoC- Action Semi AM8251 @ 600MHz (MIPS) System memory – 128 MB DDR3 RAM Storage – 128 MB NAND Flash Video output – HDMI Wi-Fi – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi Standards – Miracast, Airplay, DLNA, and EZCast Video container formats – avi, .divx, […]

December 27, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Mini Review of Jynxbox Live, a $350 Android Live TV Streaming Box

A few days ago I showed some unboxing pictures and videos for Jynxbox Android M6 and Jynxbox Live, followed by Jynxbox Android M6 review, and today I’ll quickly review Jynxbox Live, an Android TV Box that based on Rockchip RK3066 (full specs available in unboxing post) that can stream over 200 live TV channels after install a Live TV app / crack, and happens to cost a “mere” $350 allegedly because it give access to these live TV channels. From the outside, Jynxbox Live looks very much like any other Android TV box, with HDMI, Ethernet, S/PDIF, three USB ports, a micro SD slot, a few LEDs, and a Wi-Fi antenna. To get started I’ve connected the provided HDMI cable to the box and my TV, as well as an Ethernet cable, before powering up the device with the USB power supply. After a few seconds wait, you’ll get the […]

December 24, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Crowdfunding Report 2013 on CNXSoft Blog

Crowdfunding has really took off in 2013, with sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, as they enable start-ups to launch new and innovative products, and some established, even large companies, I’m thinking Canonical with Ubuntu Edge here, have also tapped into that market, actually shifting part of the risks from shareholders, to customers / individual funders. In this post, I’ll go through all the crowdfunding projects, 16 Indiegogo and 25 Kickstarter campaigns, featured on cnx-software.com between the beginning of December 2012 till the end of November 2013, to find out which ones have been a stellar success in terms of funding and on-time delivery, and those that have failed in one way or another, with some being close to looking like scams. There was a wide range of products with dealing home automation, the Internet of things, wireless Arduino compatible boards, Linux development boards, media players and more. Let’s go straight […]

December 23, 2013November 23, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 23 Comments

Hardkernel Unveils $59 ODROID-U3 Board Powered by Exynos 4412 Prime Quad Core SoC

Hardkernel ODROID board family already features of the most cost effective development / hobbyist boards in the market. But the company has done it again, with ODROID-U3 a quad core board, software compatible with ODROID-U2, that sells for just $59 + shipping. ODROID-U3 specifications: SoC – Samsung Exynos 4412 Prime @ 1.7 Ghz with ARM Mali-400MP4 GPU @ 440MHz System Memory – 2GB @ 880MHz Storage – microSD slot, eMMC module socket USB – 3x USB 2.0 Host ports, 1x USB 2.0 device for ADB/mass storage Ethernet – 10/100Mbps (LAN9730) Video Output – micro HDMI Audio Output – 3.5mm Jack, micro HDMI System Console – UART (1.8Volt) DC Power – 5V/2A PCB Dimension – 83 x 48mm Weight – 48g with heatsink The company provides images and source code for Xubuntu 13.10, Android 4.x with u-boot 2010.12 and kernel 3.8, as well as the schematics (PDF). Support is available on […]

December 22, 2013April 6, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

SliceCase is a Modular & Customizable Case for Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and Soon More (Crowdfunding)

When you design hardware around Arduino or Raspberry Pi boards, most likely that not, the enclosures available on the market won’t be usable with your project, and you’ll have to design your own which may end up not quite looking as nice as you expected. Two Hornets, a startup based in the Netherlands, is trying to provide a solution with SliceCase, a modular and customizable casing system, that at first looks similar to some other enclosures like Pimoroni PiBow case. But there’s more than meets the eye, as SliceCase is composed of standard components, that allow you to build the casing around your hardware, and even order custom top covers and sides online. At first, they’ll focus on the most popular boards such as Arduino Standard and Mega boards, and the Raspberry Pi, but if this concept takes off more boards will be added. The enclosure system is composed of […]

December 21, 2013December 21, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

OLIMEXINO-85S Arduino Compatible Board is About the Size of a micro SD Card

Several Arduino boards have been designed to be as small as possible this year, including Microduino (25.40 x 27.94mm) and OLIMEXINO-NANO (30 x 30 mm). But Olimex has gone a step further, or should I say smaller, with OLIMEXINO-85S that just a little bit bigger than a micro SD card at 16.9 x 12.7 mm, and may currently claim the title of the smallest Arduino compatible board ever. A board that tiny comes with pretty short specifications: MCU – Atmel ATTiny85 @ 20MHz with 8 KB Flash, and 512B RAM. Misc – two LEDs one for power supply and one user programmable I/O – All 6 I/O pins (I2C, SPI, up to 4 ADC), as well as power pins, available via through holes Power – Via USB micro connector or by LiPo battery The board will be programmable by the Arduino IDE made by Digispark. OLIMEXINO-85S will be available at […]