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BDD Group Announces AllWinner A10 Computer-on-Module

BDD Group (Black Dragon Development Group), a US based technology startup, has recently announced an AllWinner A10 Computer-on Module (CoM) targeting the industrial embedded market with support for Linux, Android and WinCE operating systems. The company did not provide complete specifications for the CoM/SoM, and they basically listed A10 specifications and added an RTC: SoC – AllWinner A10 ARM Cortex-A8 CPU + Mali-400 GPU VPU – Support for 2160P video decoding, 3D video decoding, various codecs such as VP8, AVS, H. 264 MVC, VC-1, MPEG-1,2,4, etc, and H.264 HP video encoding up to 1080p @ 30 fps or dual-channel 720p @ 30 fps. Display Multi-channel HD display Integrated HDMI 1.4 YPbPr, CVBS, VGA Multiple LCD interfaces, including CPU, RGB, LVDS up to Full HD Memory 32-bit DDR2/DDR3 up to 2GB SLC/MLC/TLC/DDR NAND up to 64 GB Boot Devices – NAND Flash, SPI NOR Flash, SD Card,USB RTC – Real time […]

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Latest Tronsmart Prometheus Firmware Features Android 4.2 and XBMC with Video Hardware Decoding

Last month I reviewed Tronsmart Prometheus, and I was pretty satisfied with the device except some bugs. There’s no a firmware update that should fix AC3/DTS static noise issues in this set-top box. Prometheus also becomes one of the first set-top boxes to support the latest Android Jelly Bean 4.2, and comes with an XBMC version supporting hardware decode using XBMC user interface, and not an external media player such as DicePlayer or MX Player. You can download the firmware ( 2013-3-08(4.2_root_ac3_dts_market_xbmc).zip), and install it using the upgrade procedure on Tronsmart website. I’m on the road, so I can’t try the firmware myself right now (which also explains why I haven’t posted in the last few days), but Geekuying has upload a short video showing XBMC with video hardware acceleration on the device. (Previous firmware in Android 4.1.2).

Khadas Edge2 Arm mini PC
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Review of Egreat H5 mini PC Powered by Nufront NS115

W2COMP sent me a new toy to play with: Egreat H5 mini PC built around Nufront NS115 dual core Cortex A9 SoC with 1GB RAM and 4GB Flash, and (theoretically) running Android Jelly Bean (4.1). Since it’s the first time I write about this device, let’s start with the specifications as shown in W2COMP: SoC – Nufront NS115 dual core Cortex A9 @ 1.0GHz + Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4GB Nand Flash  (2 GB for OS, 2GB available space) + micro SD slot. Video Output – HDMI (720p / 180p) Video Containers- AVI, RMVB, MKV& FLV Audio Codec – Dolby, DTS, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, PCM (DTS-HD MA, RAW not supported), MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC and OGG Connectivity – Built-in WI-FI 802.11 b/g/n USB – 1x USB host port, 1x micro USB Misc – 1 IR port Power – 5V/2A Dimensions – 122 […]

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CloudnetGo CR9 is an HDMI TV Stick Based on Rockchip RK3188 Quad Core SoC

Rockchip RK3066 based mini PCs are clearly the most popular in the market, and after the discovery of one AllWinner A20 HDMI dongle, and one AllWinner A31 mini PC earlier this week, it’s time for the first mini PC based on Rockchip R3188 quad core Cortex A9 processor called CloudnetGo CR9. Here are ClounetGo CR9 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 @ 1.8Ghz + Mali-400MP4 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8 to 16GB internal flash + micro SD slot (up to 32GB) Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n Video Output – HDMI (male) up to 2160p Video Codecs – VP8, AVS, MJPEG, RV8/9/10, H.263, H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DIVX Video Container Formats – AVI, RM, RMVB, PMP, FLV, MP4, M4V, VOB, WMV, 3GP, MKV, ASF, 3G2M4V. Audio Codecs/Formats – MP1/2/3, WMA, OGG, AAC, M4A, FLAC, APE, AMR, RA, WAV. USB – 1x USB Host 2.0, […]

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The Mojo – $65 FPGA Development Board Powered By Xilinx Spartan 6

Embedded Micro has started a kickstarter campaign to fund an FPGA board called “the Mojo”, “designed to be user friendly and a great introduction into digital design”. The board is powered by a Xilinx Spartan 6 FPGA that comes with over 9,000 logic cells, and will allow you to design digital circuits composed of a bunch of logic and, or, nor, etc… gates connected together to perform a specific task. Here are the features of “The Mojo”: Spartan 6 XC6SLX9 FPGA – 9,152 logic cells for your largest designs 84 general purpose digital IO pins (3.3V logic level) 8 analog inputs 8 user controlled LEDs A USB connection (new revision) to configure the FPGA and send receive data from your design On board voltage regulation (4.5V – 12V input, 3.3V and 1.2V outputs) 8 MHz on-board clock (can be multiplied internally by the FPGA) A reset button to be used in your designs […]

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Linaro Connect HK Greg Kroah-Hartman Keynote: “I Don’t Want Your Code!”

If you are a developer interested in getting your code into mainline, Greg KH keynote at Linaro Connect 2013 Hong Kong is probably worth a watch. In this presentation entitled “I Don’t Want Your Code! Linux Kernel Maintainers, why are they so grumpy?”, he first describes the large amount of patches they receive (7.28 patches per hour for kernel 3.8.0), gives some statistic about developers and companies involved with the kernel (about 20% is done by individuals), tells the audience they should submit the kernel code during SoC emulation/simulation stage, so that it’s accepted and ready to use when customers get the silicons (like Intel does), and quotes Intel and IBM executives saying “Working upstream saves time and money”. He then moves on what he does not want to see (and gets a lot): patch series with missing patches, email signature saying it’s confidential (since Linux development is done publicly, […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs
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$49.90 MarsBoard is Yet Another AllWinner A10 Development Board

After the tablet based Gooseberry and Hackberry boards, as well as Cubieboard and the upcoming A10-Olinuxino development boards, here’s another development board based on AllWinner A10 called the MarsBoard that looks very similar to the Cubieboard. Here are the key features of the board: SoC – AllWinner A10 Cortex A8 @ 1 GHz + Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1GB DRAM Storage – 4GB Flash + 1x microSD card (up to 32GB) Video Output – HDMI Audio Output – 3.5mm stereo jack USB – 2x USB host port + 1x microUSB Connectivity – 10/100 M Ethernet SATA Connector Headers – 2x 2.0mm GPIO headers. (140 pins in total) Power Supply Requirements – 5V/2A Dimensions – 80mm x 55mm There’s also a 3.5mm jack but I’m not sure if it’s just for audio in or out, or for composite output. The website is still in construction (basically a modified copy of […]

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UNUIGA U28 Android 4.1 mini PC Powered by AllWinner A31

I wrote about AllWinner A20 mini PC and media players yesterday, but Gabe, a regular reader and commenter, informed me that at least one quad core Cortex A7 mini PC is now available. UNUIGA U28 HDMI TV dongle is powered by AllWinner A31 SoC, and comes with 2GB RAM, and 8GB flash, as well as U03 wireless keyboard. The device sells for $101 including shipping in a new (without any feedback) shop in Aliexpress. Here are the specifications of this AllWinner A31 HDMI TV dongle: SoC – AllWinner A31 quad core Cortex A7 + PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 8GB NAND Flash + microSD Connectivity – WiFi 802.11b/g/n + Bluetooth 2.1 USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 2x mini USB ports Video Output – HDMI Video Codecs – Mpeg1/2/4.H.264,VC-1,Divx,Xvid,RM8/9/10,VP6 Video Container Formats – MKV, TS, TP, M2TS, RM/RMVB, BD-ISO, AVI, MPG, VOB, DAT, ASF, […]

Khadas VIM4 SBC