CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

November 24, 2016July 25, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Himedia Q5 Pro & Q10 Pro TV Boxes Get Android 7.0 Nougat Firmware

The majority of TV boxes sold today are running Android 4.4 to Android 6.0, but with the release of Android 7.0 for smartphones and tablets earlier this year, it was just a question of time before the OS got ported to TV boxes. Himedia appears to be the first company to have released Android 7.0 for their Hisilicon Hi3798CV200 based TV boxes, namely Q5 Pro and Q10 Pro. The changelog for the new firmware includes: Android N OS running stable and smooth Support for Android N Google Play version Support for Samba UPnP System function perfectly upgraded from 5.1 to Android N with compatibility Youtube updated to 4.10.7 and Netflix to 1.3.11 Homepage, Application Management, Media Center optimized, focus movement are more swift and smooth Media Player upgraded and support mouse operation Local Media Playback Improved; Certain rare videos black screen, display ratio of 3D to 2D abnormal, and occasional […]

November 24, 2016May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 43 Comments

PINEBOOK ARM Linux Laptop Powered by Allwinner A64 Processor to Sell for $89 and Up

Following up on Pine A64 board powered by Allwinner A64 quad core Cortex A53 processor, Pine64 has decided to work on a software compatible laptop based on the processor. PINEBOOK comes with 2GB RAM, 16 GB flash storage, a 11.6″ or 14″ display, and the usual ports you’d expect on such device. PINEBOOK specifications: SoC – Allwinner A64 quad core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ 1.2 GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3L Storage – 16GB eMMC 5.0 flash and micro SD slot up to 256 GB Display – 11.6″ or 14″ IPS LCD display with 1280 x 720 resolution (no touchscreen) Video Output – mini HDMI port for external display Audio – HDMI, 3.5 mm headphone jack, built-in microphone and stereo speakers Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Camera – 1.2 MP camera User Input Devices – Full size […]

ArmSoM CM5 - Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC

November 24, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

39 Euros FiPy Board Supports Sigfox, LoRa, LTE Cat M1/NB1, Bluetooth 4.2, and WiFi (Crowdfunding)

Long range LPWAN solutions have just started to hit the market, and there are so many standards such as Sigfox and LoRa that it’s difficult to know who will eventually be the winner, or if different standards will co-exist over the long term, and in a general sense it might not be so easy to decide which one is best suited to your project without experimenting first. Pycom has a solution to this problem, as they’ve made a board similar to LoPy with WiFi, Bluetooth, and LoRa, but instead included 5 long and short range IoT protocols: Sigfox, LoRa, LTE Cat M1 & Cat NB1, Bluetooth, and WiFi. Pycom FiPy board specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32 dual core Tensilica L108 processors @ up to 160 MHz with BT 4.2 and WiFi System Memory – 4MB RAM Storage – 8MB flash memory Connectivity WiFi 802.11 b/g/n @ 16 Mbps up to […]

November 23, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Geniatech ATV1960 Octa-core Android TV Box Comes with a Dual TV Tuner (ATSC or DVB-T2)

We now have so many Amlogic S912 Android TV boxes on the market, it becomes hard for companies to differentiate, but Geniatech is offering something different with their Geniatech/Mygica ATV1960 model thanks to a dual TV tuner support either ATSC or DVB-T2 and allowing you to watch a program, while recording another. Geniatech/Mygica ATV1960 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S912 octa-core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-820MP3 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot + 2.5″ SATA bay (cover on the bottom of the case) Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60 Hz Audio Output – HDMI, and optical S/PDIF Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports Tuner – Dual Digital TV Tuner (ATSC/T2); one for live watching, another for recording; EPG and PVR supported. Misc […]

November 23, 2016November 25, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Zidoo Releases Digital Signage SDK for X8 and X9S Android TV Boxes

Zidoo X9S and X8 are Android 6.0 + OpenWrt TV boxes powered by Realtek RTD1295 processor with HDMI input supporting PIP, UDP broadcasting and video recording, which works reasonably well despite some 4K video decoding limitations. The company has now released a “digital signage SDK” – which I’d rather just call a digital signage demo – working on either device on github, but you can still study the source code in order to build your own. Some of the possible features showcased in the demo include: Digital Signage (AD) player as shown above with video, picture and scrolling text Multi Views display (HDMI IN + Video playing + Web browsing) Multi Videos decode Screen rotation Screen zoom in / out Display output resolution switch HDMI IN player HDMI IN picture in picture (PIP) So it’s not a total solution, just an “SDK” showing what can be done with media files, and you’d still have to write your own app managing content updates (from storage or network), as well as some content management software. Two apks are used: […]

November 23, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

OnChip Open-V Open Source 32-bit RISC-V Processor Launched on CrowdSupply

Open source hardware gives mostly full control over software and hardware, but there are different levels of openess, with some companies wrongly claiming their product to be open source hardware – with a nice accompanying logo – once they dump some source code somewhere and publish the PDF schematics, while others are doing it right with the release of schematics and PCB layout in source format, as well as software and proper documentation. However even for the latter group, the actual chips are closed source bought directly from silicon vendors or their distributors. So the good news is that you now have the opportunity to bring the meaning of open source hardware to a whole new level thanks to OnChip Open-V 32-bit processor that is open source, and getting launched on Crowd Supply crowdfunding platform. OnChip Open-V is based on RISC-V (pronounced “risk-five”), comes with peripherals, and should be competitive […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

November 23, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

International Black Friday 2016 Deals and Coupons

Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2016 are coming up in the next few days, and while people living in the United States will surely have plenty of local deals, people living in the rest of the world can also benefit from the festival thanks to deals provided by Chinese online sellers. I’ll go through a list of event from some of the major shops for Black Friday 2016. GearBest Black Friday 2016 will offer some discounts (but certainly not 80% off) as well as coupons: US Warehouse – 10% OFF with GBNY10 coupon – Validity: October 31 – December 31 Site-wide (New Buyers Only) – 10% OFF with GBNEWNOV coupon – Validity: November 21 – 29 Site-wide – 8% OFF with GBAFFNOV coupon – Validity: November 21 – 29 EU Warehouse – 8% OFF with EUK10off coupon – Validity – November 11 – 29 2% discount for payment by Paypal […]

November 22, 2016November 22, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Voyo VBook A1 Laptop Comes with Intel Celeron N3450 Apollo Lake Processor, 11.6″ Full HD Display

Voyo recently introduced one of an Apollo Lake mini PCs called Voyo VMac, and powered by either Intel Celeron N3450 or Pentium N4200 processor combined with 4GB RAM and 32GB eMMC flash + 128 GB SSD storage. The company will soon launch an Apollo Lake laptop based on Intel Celeron N3450 quad core processor with the same 4GB RAM + 160 GB storage configuration, and an 11.6″ display with 1920×1080 resolution. Voyo VBook A1 laptop specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N3450 quad core “Apollo Lake” processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.2 GHz (Burst frequency) and 12 EU Intel HD graphics 500 @ 200 MHz / 700 MHz (Burst freq.); 6W TDP System Memory – 4GB DDR3L Storage – 32GB eMMC flash + 128GB M.2 SSD (Supports dual SSD extension, up to 512GB) + micro SD slot up to 128 GB Display – 11.6″ IPS capacitive touch screen with 1920 x […]