CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

November 4, 2016November 6, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 190 Comments

Giveaway Week – Coowell V4 TV Box with Camera

It’s Friday, and Coowell V4 giveaway day. The device is an Android TV box powered by Rockchip RK3368 octa-core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, and a retractable HD camera with video conferencing. I have not fully reviewed the device, instead focusing on the camera review with Skype and Hangouts, and I could use it without issues with Skype, but video calls in Google Hangouts were not that stable, and frequently lost video. I also quickly benchmarked the device with Antutu and found the score was rather low, so if your ambient temperature is high the device may throttle easily… I’ll send the package to one lucky winner with all accessories shown above. To enter the draw simply leave a comment below. Other rules are as follows: Only one entry per contest. I will filter out entries with the same IP and/or email address. Contests are open for 48 hours starting […]

November 3, 2016September 23, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 30 Comments

Anet A8 DIY 3D Printer Could Be a Worthwhile First 3D Printer for $147

You probably have wished getting started with 3D printer, as I did, but you may have been put off with the high cost associated with 3D printers even the cheaper ones for several hundred dollars, especially if you are unsure whether you’re going to use it often. But there’s now a very affordable 3D printer kit based on Prusa i3 printer that sells on GearBest for $146.99 including shipping with A8PRINT coupon. Anet A8 3D printer specifications: Print Area: 220 x 220 x 240mm Print speed – 100 mm/s Nozzle diameter – 0.4 mm Layer thickness – 0.1 – 0.3 mm XY-axis positioning accuracy – 0.012 mm Z-axis positioning accuracy – 0.004 mm Supported materials – ABS, PLA, TPU, Luminescent, Nylon PVA, PP, Wood??? Material diameter – 1.75mm Frame material – Acrylic plate Platform board: Aluminum Base 2004 LCD screen for configuration SD card for offline print Supported file formats – […]

ArmSoM CM5 Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC

November 3, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Zidoo A5 and A5S Android TV Boxes Powered by Amlogic S905X SoC Sell for $62.99 and Up

Zidoo never stops pushing new hardware, and today I’ve come across the company’s two new models powered by Amlogic S905X processor with Zidoo A5 and A5S sold on GeekBuying for respectively $62.99 and $79.99. Zidoo A5 & A5S models look exactly the same but have different hardware specifications under the hood: SoC – Amlogic S905X quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5 GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – A5: 1GB DDR3; A5S: 2GB DDR3 Storage A5 – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot A5S – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a, AV Video Codec – 4K@60 Hz video decoding 10-bit HEVC and AVS+ codec support; H.264 up to 4K,VP9 up to 4K,support HDR Connectivity A5 – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 A5S – 10/100M Ethernet, Dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 USB – […]

November 3, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Outernet Introduces Standalone & DIY Internet Satellite Kits for C.H.I.P Board, Raspberry Pi 3 Board, and Laptops

Outernet goal is to bring knowledge and/or emergency info to places without Internet either to remote places, or where Internet has been temporary shutdown due to natural disasters or political reasons through a satellite feed. In some ways, it works like a typical FM radio, but instead of receiving audio, you’ll get data. The first hardware was based on WeTek Play TV box, and called Lighthouse, but they now have a DIY kit that will work with Next Thing C.H.I.P, Raspberry Pi, or Laptops running Windows 7/10 or Linux, as well as a standalone Outernet Satellite kit including C.H.I.P Allwinner R8 development board. Let’s first check out “Basic Outernet DIY Kit” comprised of three items: L-Band Antenna Frequency: 1525 – 1559 MHz (Center frequency: 1542 MHz) 8dbi 4″ SMA Male connector Dimensions – 12 cm x 12 cm x 1.5 cm Weight – ~100 grams RTL-SDR Blog Software Defined Radio/Tuner […]

November 3, 2016November 5, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 268 Comments

Giveaway Week – Star Cloud PCG02U Ubuntu TV Stick

The fourth device for this giveaway week will be MeLE Star Cloud PCG02U TV stick powered by Intel Atom Z3735F quad core processor, but instead of running Windows 10, the device is sold with Ubuntu 14.04, which I upgraded to Ubuntu 16.04. I found out that the device was running pretty well (minus Bluetooth support) in my PCG02U review, and for the price at the time ($70) it was really a good deal. The device has even become the best selling devices on MeLE Aliexpress store, outselling all other Windows devices. However, MeLE ethics are questionable since they used Ian Morrison (Linuxium)’s image in their devices without giving any credits. The package will come with all accessories above, minus the “Caution Hot” sticker which must have gone to sticker heaven…. Simply leave a comment below to enter the draw. Other rules are as follows: Only one entry per contest. I […]

November 2, 2016July 31, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 80 Comments

Orange Pi Zero Allwinner H2+ Board with WiFi and Ethernet is Up for Sale for $7 and Up

Orange Pi Zero development board powered by Allwinner H2+ quad core Cortex A7 processor with 256 to 512MB RAM, Ethernet, and USB ports is now available for sale on Aliexpress for just $6.99, with shipping adding $3.39 in my case bringing the total to $10.38. Orange Pi Zero specifications: SoC – Allwinner H2(+) quad core Cortex A7 processor @ 1.2 GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU @ 600 MHz System Memory – 256 to 512 MB DDR3-1866 SDRAM Storage – micro SD card slot Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet + 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (Allwinner XR819 WiFi module) with u.FL antenna connector and external antenna USB – 1x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG port Expansion headers – Unpopulated 26-pin “Raspberry Pi B+” header + 13-pin header with headphone, 2x USB 2.0, TV out, microphone and IR receiver signals Debugging – Unpopulated 3-pin header for serial console Misc – 2x LEDs Power […]

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

November 2, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Remix IO+ Android TV Box Features Rockchip RK3399 Processor, 4GB RAM, 32GB Storage for $129 (Crowdfunding)

Jide Technology launched a Kickstarter campaign for Remix IO TV box a couple of weeks ago, and now they’ve added a very interesting device with Remix IO+ TV box running the company’s Remix OS operating system powered by Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor with 4GB RAM, 32 GB storage. The case design will be the same, but the hardware much more powerful than the Rockchip RK3368 based modek. Remix IO+ specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 Hexa core processor with 2x ARM Cortex-A72 cores @ up to 2.0 GHz, 4x ARM Coertex A53 cores, and Mali-T860MP4 GPU System Memory – 4 GB RAM Storage – 32 GB eMMC flash + microSD card slot up to 128GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0s port up to 4K @ 60 Hz, VGA port Audio Output – HDMI, 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet port, dual band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x […]

November 2, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

RabbitMax Flex IoT Board for Raspberry Pi Supporting up to Five I2C Sensors Launched on Indiegogo for 20 Euros and Up

RabbitMax Flex is an add-on board, compatible with HAT specifications, for Raspberry Pi 2 /3 boards and other Raspberry Pi models with a 40-pin GPIO header. It includes headers for up to 5 I2C sensors, as well as an RGB LED, a buzzer, a relay, a button, infrared receiver and transmitter, and an optional LCD display, and as we’ve seen in my RabbitMax Flex getting started guide, a nice way to learning about hardware programming using either C or Python, or to used in home automation or IoT projects. The project has just been launched on Indiegogo. RabbitMax Flex specifications: Relay – Songle SRD-05VDC-SL-C supporting 125V/250VAC up to 10A, 30VDC up to 10A Storage – EEPROM with some system information for identification IR – IR LED, IR receiver Misc – Buzzer, Button, RGB LED Expansion Header for LCD character display + potentiometer for backlight adjustment 5x 4-pin headers for I2C […]