CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

May 23, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

HiPo S905X Amlogic S905X Android TV Box is Available for Pre-order for $40 and Up

Amlogic S905X processor adds a few features over Amlogic S905 such as 4K VP9 hardware video decoding and HDR support, but thanks to better integration including built-in 10/100M PHY and audio codec, as well as support for 2-layer PCB, products with the new processor could potentially also be slightly cheaper, all other hardware specs being equal. We can now get a first idea of the price as one company has listed HiPo S905X TV box for pre-order on Aliexpress for $39.99 with 1GB RAM/8GB flash (Type 1), and $49.99 with 2GB RAM/16GB flash (Type 2). HiPo S905X (preliminary) specifications – Type 1 & Type 2 models: SoC – Amlogic S905X quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 2.0GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU @ 750 MHz System Memory – 1GB (Type 1) or 2 GB (Type 2) DDR3 Storage – 8GB (Type 1) or 16 GB (Type 2) eMMC flash + […]

May 22, 2016May 23, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Project Ara Modular Smartphone is Not Dead After All, Just Not Quite as Modular as One Would Wish For

A few weeks ago, one person asked me if Project Ara, Google ATAP project aimed to design a modular phone was still going on. I did not know, but it surely did not seem good with the official website showing a black page at the time, many developers claiming they’ve yet to receive the development kit, a lack of communication, and Google ATAP latest tweet was dated December 2015. That’s until Google I/O, where a project update was given during the event, and the developer kit will be provided in Q4 2016, while a consumer version will be for sale in 2017. That’s the plan at least. If you have 10 minutes, you may want to watch the part of Google I/O 2016 video about Project Ara on YouTube. The developer phone supports up to 6 hot pluggable modules, meaning you can just insert or replace a module, and use […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

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

Getting Started with Beaglebone Green Wireless Development Board

SeeedStudio introduced BeagleBone Green Wireless based on BeagleBone Green, but replacing the Ethernet port by a Wilink8 WiFi and Bluetooth module, and providing 4 USB ports in total. I’ve also ready taken some picture of the board, and Grove Base Cape to addition the company’s add-on boards via I2C, UART, analog, or digital interfaces. So today, I’ll report about my experience getting started with the board. First Boot of BeagleBone Green Wireless Since the board comes with a Debian image installed on the internal 4GB eMMC flash, checking out the board should be really easy. The Wiki may help, but for a first try to check the board is indeed working, you can simply connect it to a 5V power supply, or the USB port of your computer to port it up. I’m using a development machine running Ubuntu 14.04 with both Ethernet connected to my router, and a WiFi […]

May 20, 2016May 20, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

$35 NanoPi M3 Octa Core 64-bit ARM Development Board is Powered by Samsung S5P6818 Processor

A few weeks after introducing NanoPC-T3 single board computer based on Samsung S5P6818 octa-core Cortex A53 processor, FriendlyARM is now launching a cost-down version called NanoPi M3 for just $35 with 1GB RAM, and booting from a micro SD card. NanoPi M3 board specifications: SoC – Samsung S5P6818 octa core Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.4GHz with Mali-400MP GPU System Memory – 1 GB 32-bit DDR3 Storage – 1x micro SD card slot Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet (RTL8211E), 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth LE 4.0 (Ampak AP6212) with on-board chip antenna and IPX antenna connector Video Output / Display I/F – HDMI 1.4a up to 1080p60, LVDS, parallel RGB LCD Audio I/O – HDMI, 3.5mm audio jack, 7-pin I2S header Camera – 1x DVP interface USB – 2x USB 2.0 type A host ports; 1x micro USB 2.0 client port; 2x USB 2.0 host ports via 8-pin header Expansions […]

May 20, 2016May 20, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Amlogic S905X Boards Showing Up for Eny Technology and Inphic TV Boxes

While NEXBOX A5 was the first Amlogic S905X TV box to be announced, it’s still not available, and others has started to show off their products such as Xiaomi Mi Box (US), and I got specs and pictures of boards for Inphic Spot i7 Pro and Eny TV box. Eny TV Box Board and Specifications That’s actually two boards before separation, and fitted with Amlogic S905X-H processors. If you look closely are the “silkscreen” however, you’ll find that it has been edited in a photo editor to add ENY_X_V0.93. I’m not quite sure why they felt they had to do this… Eny TV box specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905 or S905X-H quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5GHz or 2.0 GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU @ 750 MHz System Memory – 1 or 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8 or 16GB flash + micro SD card slot Video Output – […]

May 20, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

STAR OTTO Arduino Board is Based on STMicro STM32 32-bit Cortex-M4 MCU & ESP8266 WiFi SoC

Thanks to STMDuino32 community, there was already support for the Arduino IDE on board based on STMicro STM32 ARM Cortex-M micro-controllers, but STMicroelectronics and Arduino Srl have introduced the STAR program to bring official support, and unveiled their first board with STAR OTTO Arduino board powered by STM32F469 Cortex M4 MCU at Maker Faire Bay Area 2016. Key features of STAR OTTO board (ARD-OTTO-STM32): MCU – STMicro STM32F469BIT6 ARM Cortex-M4 MCU @ 180 MHz with 2 MB Flash memory, 384 KB SRAM, Chrom-ART graphics accelerator System Memory – 16 MB SDRAM Storage – 128 KB EEPROM, microSD slot Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n @ 2.4 GHz via Espressif ESP8266 Display I/F – MIPI DSI display interface Camera – Camera connector Audio – 2x MEMS digital microphones, headphone and speaker output USB – 1x micro USB host interface Expansion – Arduino Uno, Due, Mega connectors including 8x ADC, 2x DAC, 32 digital […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025

May 20, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Google Play and Android Apps Are Coming to (Recent) Chromebooks, Chromeboxes, and Chromebases

There’s been talks about Android and Chrome OS merging for many years, and while it’s unclear whether it will ever happen, both operating systems’ features are converging, with the latest development officially bringing Android apps and the Google Play store to Chromebooks. Developers will have very little to modified on their Android apps, except possibly setting touchscreen support, and a few other options in the manifest file. Google listed a few benefits of Android apps on Chromebooks: Android Apps can be shown in 3 different window sizes Users can multi-task with multiple Android apps in moveable windows along with a full desktop browser within Chrome OS interface. Keyboard, mouse, and touch input will seamlessly work together Users will get Android notifications on their Chromebooks Android apps benefit from the Wifi or Bluetooth connectivity setup by the user or the administrator File sharing is seamless between Chrome and Android apps through […]

May 19, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Arduino Primo Board Supports WiFi, Bluetooth LE, and NFC

A couple of weeks after unveiling Arduino UNO WiFi with ESP8266 and Atmel AVR, Arduino Srl has introduced Arduino PRIMO board with Nordic Semi nRF52 MCU with Bluetooth Smart and NFC, ESP8266 for WiFi, and STM32 to handle GPIOs and USB UART during May Faire Bay Area 2016. Arduino Primo board (A000135) specifications: Service Micro-controller STMicro STM32F103R8T6 ARM Cortex-M3 MCU @ 72 MHz with 64KB flash, 20KB SRAM USB/Uart converter & CMSIS-DAP GPIO expander, IrDA Board power management Operating Voltage – 2.0 to 3.6 V Arduino Micro-controller Nordic nRF52832 ARM Cortex-M4F MCU @ 64 MHz with 512 KB flash, 64KB SRAM Analog I/O Pins – 6 + 1 DAC DC Current per I/O Pins – 7 mA Bluetooth Smart – Up to +4 dBm output power, -96 dBm sensitivity Other features – PDM interface, AES HW enc, NFC tag WiFi Micro-controller Espressif ESP8266 Tensilica Xtensa LX106 WiSoC @ 80 MHz […]