Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on One2Touch Softpad C1 and S1 are NFC Keyboards for Android Devices

One2Touch Softpad C1 and S1 are NFC Keyboards for Android Devices

It’s pretty easy to find Bluetooth keyboards if you want to a keyboard to type more easily and faster on your phone. They have two small inconveniences however: they need to be paired, and need to be recharged. The first one is not really a problem, but the second can be. If your phone supports NFC, you can now get One2Touch Softpad C1 or S2 wireless keyboard using NFC technology. These do not require pairing, nor charging (but uses CR2025 batteries). Softpad S1 is similar to C1, expect there’s space in the middle of the keyboard to insert your phone. S1 has recently been (quickly) reviewed by Android Central. To make the keyboard work with your Android smartphone, you’ll need to download the drivers from Google Play, and you’re ready to go. You can watch the video below for some of the use cases with Softpad C1. I could not […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Silicon Labs Unveils EFM32 Zero Gecko MCU Family Based on ARM Cortex M0+

Silicon Labs Unveils EFM32 Zero Gecko MCU Family Based on ARM Cortex M0+

Silicon Labs, who bought Energy Micro earlier this year, has recently introduced a new family of 32-bit MCU based on ARM Cortex M0+ called EFM32 Zero Gecko, as well as the corresponding starter kit. These ultra low power MCUs (currently 16 products) are destined to be used in  IoT applications such as mobile health and fitness products, smart watches, activity trackers, smart meters, security systems and wireless sensor nodes, as well as battery-less systems powered by harvested energy. The key features of this family include: ARM Cortex-M0+ core @ 24 MHz 4kb to 32 kB flash and 2kb to 4 kB RAM memory 17 to 37 GPIO Single 1.85–3.8 V power supply 5 Power modes Hardware AES (Some models only) -40° to 85 °C operation range Package options: QFN24, QFN32 and QFN48 EFM32ZG222F32, the Zero Gecko MCU with the most memory and features, has the following specifications: ARM Cortex-M0+ CPU […]

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on AllWinner Roadmap Until 2015: A23, A6X, A7X, A8X and A9X

AllWinner Roadmap Until 2015: A23, A6X, A7X, A8X and A9X

AllWinner has recently unveiled their products roadmap until 2015. They’ve got big.LITTLE cortex A7/A15 processors, as well as a processor for wearable planned for 2014, and a big.LITTLE Cortex A53/A57 processor, as well as another Octa-core bit.LITTLE processor (cores unknown) for 2015. There’s also a new processor for 2013, called A23, which is a cost down version of Allwinner A20 dual core Cortex A7. Let’s have a look at the different upcoming processors. AllWinner A23 – Dual core cortex A7 @ 1.5 Ghz with Mali-400MP2 GPU, and 40nm process. Planned for Q3 2013, and tablets will be available this month (More below) AllWinner A6X – Quad-core cortex A7/A15 (big.LITTLE) @ 2.0GHz with a GPU offering 1.7x more performance (compared to SGX544MP2 in A31?). Planned for Q2 2014. AllWinner WX – Quad-core processor for wearable devices (e.g. smartwatches). Q4 2014. AllWinner A8X (A80) – Octa-core cortex A7/A15 @ 2.0GHz with a […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Google Announces LG Nexus 5 Smartphone with Android 4.4 KitKat

Google Announces LG Nexus 5 Smartphone with Android 4.4 KitKat

Google has partnered with LG and Nestle to bring to market the latest Nexus 5 smartphone featuring Android 4.4 “Kitkat”, the latest, and brand new, release of Android. Let’s first have a look at the device, and then we’ll go through the new features and improvement brought by Android 4.4. LG Nexus 5 Nexus 5 has the following technical specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 @ 2.26GHz with Adreno 330 GPU @ 450MHz System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 16 to 32 GB flash, but no microSD slot Display – 4.95″ touchscreen display with 1920×1080 resolution, Gorilla Glass 3 Connectivity – Dual band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi (2.4G/5G), Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, and GPS Celullar Networks – 2G/3G/4G LTE. GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, and LTE in North America, and GSM, WCDMA, and LTE for the rest of the world. Camera – 8MP rear camera with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and 1.3MP front camera […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on ARM Unveils Mali-T720 and Mali-T760 GPUs

ARM Unveils Mali-T720 and Mali-T760 GPUs

ARM has recently announced two new Mali GPUs: Mali-T760 for high-end smartphones and tablets, and Mali-T720 for entry-level devices, but with better performance and energy performance compared to previous cost-optimized Mali GPUs, as well as OpenGL ES 3.0 support. These new GPUs have already been licensed by companies such as MediaTek, Rockchip, Samsung and LG Electronics.   Mali-T760 GPU ARM lists the key benefits and features of the ARM Mali-T760 GPU as follows: An increase in energy efficiency and performance of approximately 400 percent over the ARM       Mali-T604 GPU; Scaling to 16 shader cores, which doubles the previous generation, plus an increase in both performance per shader core and overall performance; Reduction of internal and SoC bandwidth utilization, significantly reducing energy consumption, enabled by ARM Frame Buffer Compression (AFBC), and Smart Composition, delivering more than 50 percent reduction in total memory bandwidth utilization; Simplified implementation through reduced wire count and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on VIA Announces $99 Springboard Platform for Android and Linux Development

VIA Announces $99 Springboard Platform for Android and Linux Development

Back in May 2013, VIA unveiled VAB-600 Pico-ITX board powered by WonderMedia WM8950 with an ARM Cortex A9 processor @ 800 MHz and a Mali-400 GPU. At the time they provided a starter kit with a 7″ display. The company has now announced the VIA Springboard Platform based on VAB-600 that is available without Wi-Fi for $99 or with Wi-Fi for $129. Here are the items included in the kits: VAB-600 Pico-ITX board with WM8950, 1GB DDR3 SDRAM, 4GB eMMC Flash memory and microSD slot. See VAB-600 post for detailed specifications. VIA VAB-600-A I/O extender card: 1 x Line-Out jack 1 x Mic-In jack 2 x USB 2.0 A-type ports 1 x Suspend LED power indicator 1 x Power On/Off button 3 x board-to-board connectors 1 x USB board-to-board connector VIA VNT9271 Springboard USB WiFi module (Wi-Fi Kit only) – Supports IEEE 802.11b/g/n standards and 802.11e WiFi Multimedia (WMM). Based […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments on Lenovo A10 Android Laptop is Powered by Rockchip RK3188

Lenovo A10 Android Laptop is Powered by Rockchip RK3188

Lenovo has recently announced the Lenovo A10, an Android 4.2 netbook featuring a 10″ touchscreen display, and powered by Rockchip RK3188 quad core ARM Cortex-A9 processor coupled with 2GB RAM, and up to 32GB storage. Here are the specifications of this laptop: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad-core Cortex A9 processor System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – Up to 32GB storage + microSD card slot Display – 10.1″, 1366 x 768 display with 10-point multitouch Video Output – HDMI port USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports Webcam – 0.3MP webcam Audio – Stereo speakers Battery – Up to 9 hours of video playback Dimensions – 17.3mm maximum thickness Weight – Less than 1kg The screen can be flipped around 300 degrees so that the device can be used in “laptop mode” or “stand mode”.  In “laptop mode”,  the company has designed a customized user interface, with an app launcher, task […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on ISEE Introduces IGEPv5 Board Powered by TI OMAP5432 Processor

ISEE Introduces IGEPv5 Board Powered by TI OMAP5432 Processor

ISEE made a call to developers late 2012, asking them what features they’d like for an OMAP5 board. IGEPv5 board is now nearly completed, and people can register their interest to receive the development board in January 2014. IGEPv5 Specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments OMAP5432 dual core Cortex A15 up to 2GHz with POWERVR SGX544 dual-core GPU, and TMS320DMC64x DSP System Memory – 2GB DDR3 RAM expandable to 4GB Storage – Up to 32GB eMMC i-NAND, microSD socket, and mSATA2.0 Interface Connectivity: Ethernet controller: 1 x 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet PHY controler (RJ45) Wifi: 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth v4.0 Antenna: Internal Wifi/BT Antenna USB – 1 x USB 3.0 OTG (miniAB receptable),  4 x USB 2.0 Host (Type A receptable) Video – 1 x microHDMI (Video + Audio) Audio – 1 x Stereo Audio In (Stereo minijack), 1 x Stereo Audio Out (Stereo minijack) Debugging – DEBUG SERIAL CONSOLE via RS232 (DB9), […]

Boardcon Rockchip and Allwinner SoM and SBC products