CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

August 8, 2011August 8, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Archos 80 and 101 G9 are now available on Amazon France

Archos Gen9 Android 3.1 Tablets are now available for pre-order on Amazon France. They come in four versions: Archos – 101 G9 – Tablet PC 10″ – OMAP 4 ARM Cortex Dual Core A9 – 250 Go Turbo – Wifi – Android – 399.99 Euros Archos – 101 G9 – Tablet PC 10″ – OMAP 4 ARM Cortex Dual Core A9 – 16 Go Turbo – Wifi – Android – 349.99 Euros Archos – 80 G9 – Tablet PC 8″ – OMAP 4 ARM Cortex Dual Core A9 – 8 Go – Wifi – Android– 249.99 Euros Archos – 80 G9 – Tablet PC 8″ – OMAP 4 ARM Cortex Dual Core A9 – 8 Go Turbo – Wifi – Android – 279.99 Euros If you are not yet familiar with the generation 9 products, have a look at the official Archos G9 presentation video below. There are also a […]

August 5, 2011August 5, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Linaro 11.07 Release with Linux Kernel 3.0

Linaro has just released version 11.07, the first version that makes use of Linux 3.0. Here are the highlights of the release: Linaro Evaluation Build (LEB) for Android on PandaBoard is built on Linux 3.0 kernel with gcc-linaro 4.6 as the default compiler which is used for all official Linaro Android Platform builds. This Linaro Android monthly release exhibits the first official Linaro Android Toolchain release based on the most recent gcc-linaro 4.6, and the first Linaro Android release for ST Ericsson Snowball using Landing Team kernel based on linux-linaro-android. On top, Linaro Android 11.07 comes with the more advanced more visually appealing Launcher2 by default. Android GCC benchmark results for 11.07 release can be found on http://wiki.linaro.org/Platform/Android/AndroidToolchainBenchmarking/2011-07 Linaro Evaluation Build (LEB) for Ubuntu also uses the most recent linux-linaro kernel based on Linux 3.0 and includes the latest Linaro Cross Toolchain available for Ubuntu Lucid and Natty. ARM DS-5 […]

August 4, 2011August 7, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

List of Wireless Standards for Local and Personal Area Networks

While designing your embedded system, you may have to choose between different wireless standards to match your needs. I’ll provide a list a short and mid-range wireless standards, their description and links to open source software stacks (when available) to help you better understand the different options available. Wide Area Network wireless network such as LTE, Wimax, etc.. won’t be discussed in this blog entry. Mesh and IP Networks: Wifi (IEEE 802.11): Wifi is probably the most used wireless standard in consumer electronics devices today as it allows users to connect their device to their LAN wirelessly. An access point has a typical range of about 20 meters indoors and up to 100m outdoors. There are 4 standards 802.11a 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n. The latest has a theoretical throughput of 300 Mbps. Check out Wikipedia Wifi page for details. The Wi-Fi stack is part of the Linux kernel but you […]

August 3, 2011November 22, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Wearable Android Development Kit

WIMM Labs recently announced a wearable Android-based reference platform and software development kit designed for mobile, sports, health, fashion, finance and consumer electronics applications. The WIMM One platform feature a 1.4″ Bi-modal display, a capacitive touch screen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, an accelerometer, a magnetometer, audible and tactile alerts, up to 32GB memory. It is water-resistant, its dimensions are 32×36×12.5mm and it only weights 22g. Wimm Labs also said the device supports GPS in their twitter account. The platform is not currently available, but will be in Q3 2011. The price would be between 200 USD and 2000 USD depending on the licensee according to Wimm Twitter account, with the Wimm One Developer Preview platform closer to the lower end which still makes it a relatively pricey platform. Wimm Labs will also launch a store for applications and accessories later this Fall, where people will be able to find, purchase, and install […]

August 2, 2011August 28, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Dvico TViX XROID A1 Specifications, Firmware and Manuals

Back in November 2010, Sigma Designs and Dvico announced the first Android Set-top Box based on SMP8656 series would be available by Q1 2011. However, porting Android to a media player platform is rather time consuming and TViX XROID A1 is not yet available (August 2011). Digital Versus got a pre-release version, but the firmware is still not stable enough for them to provide a meaningful review. Dvico has nonetheless setup a webpage for XROID A1 with the specifications, features, firmware and user manual for the lucky ones that could get a pre-release hardware. Here’s a summary of the specifications: Main Chipset Sigma Design SMP8657 + Android 2.2 (Froyo) Memory Main: 512MB DDR SDRAM / Flash: 512MB Maximum Resolution up to 1920 x 1080P Video Formats (Containers) MKV, AVI, VOB, ASF, WMV, MPEG1/2/4 Elementary, MPEG1/2 PS: M2P, MPG, MPEG2 Transport Stream: TS, TP, TRP, M2TS, MTS, MOD, and TOD, ISO, […]

August 1, 2011August 7, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Calao Snowball Development Boards Are now Available

Earlier in February, ST Ericsson had announced the availability of development boards running Linaro based on their Nova A9500 processor. 4 different development kits based on this platform can now be purchased online on Calao store: SKY-S9500-ULP-C22 (SNOWBALL SDK LITE – Without WLAN/BT/GPS) – 155.73 Euros SKY-S9500-ULP-C32 (SNOWBALL PDK LITE – Without WLAN/BT/GPS) – 226.22 Euros SKY-S9500-ULP-C12 (SNOWBALL SDK) – 164.59 Euros SKY-S9500-ULP-C02 (SNOWBALL PDK) – 241.47 Euros The differences between the SDK (Software Development Kit) and PDK (Production Development Kit) are that the former has no expansion connectors, no battery backup for RTC and only support serial over USB port (for Linux console). Finally, the PDK has a larger e-MMC (8GB vs. 4GB). The price mentioned above exclude VAT (if applicable) and shipping costs. Please note that the boards can be shipped to many countries but not anywhere worldwide (e.g. Shipping is not available to Thailand) and you’ll need to […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

May 19, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

NXP to release “Internet of Things” source code

Up to now, mainly people were using the Internet, but now things connect to the internet without human beings intervention for data collection (sensors) in order to improve the efficiency of different systems, this is what is called the “Internet of Things”. Watch IBM introduction to the Internet of things if you are not familiar with the concept. NXP recently announced the JenNet-IP software will be available under an open-source licence in Q4 2011. JenNet-IP is an ultra-low-power, IEEE 802.15.4-based wireless connectivity network layer software stack. Key features of the JenNet-IP networking software include: Highly robust, easily scalable, self-healing tree network proven at over 500 nodes Proven in a variety of residential and industrial applications, including asset management, lighting, solar and building control IP-based networking to enable the Internet of Things Gateway or non-gateway options for connection to the Internet or stand-alone operation Easy-to-use, elegant and extensible SNAP object-oriented API […]

May 12, 2011May 12, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Ziilabs announced the ZMS-20 aimed at Android 3.0 Tablets

Here’s how Ziilabs describes their new dual core processor aimed at tablets running Android honeycomb: The ZMS-20 has been engineered for high-resolution tablet computing and combines ZiiLABS’ StemCell media processing array with dual 1.5GHz ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processors (with Neon) to deliver stunning 1080p high profile video playback, immersive OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics, HD video calling and a rich desktop browsing experience including Adobe Flash Player. With multi-core application acceleration and dynamic power management for longer battery life the ZMS-20 delivers the efficient, high-performance platform required for the next generation of devices, including Android 3.0 based tablets. ZMS-20 Key Features: Dual 1.5GHz ARM Cortex A9 cores with Neon ZiiLABS flexible Stemcell media processing capabilities Low-energy SIMD architecture for high performance media acceleration 48 x 32-bit floating point media processing cores for 26GFlops of compute High Profile H.264 video playback at 1080p@30fps Wide range of accelerated video codecs including H.264, […]