Cubietruck, aka Cubieboard 3, is a development board powered by AllWinner A20 dual core processor, with 2GB RAM, gigabit Ethernet, VGA and HDMI and more. There’s now a complete kit for demanding environment such as server, automotive, and industrial applications that including a rugged metal case, a 128GB SSD and a 5,300 mAh battery. The kit includes: Cubieboard3 (Cubietruck) development board with Allwinner A20 processor, 2GB RAM, HDMI & VGA video out, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi+Bluetooth, SATA interface, 2x USB 2.0 host, 1x micro USB, optical S/PDIF, IR receiver, 128GB SSD, model KingSpec C3000.6-M128 based on installation instructions. 5300mAh Li-battery Rugged metallic case for cubietruck Power cable, USB cable, USB OTG cable, and an optional power adapter with 2.5A@5V output “CubieTruck Metal Case” kit can be purchased for $169 on Seeedstudio, or 149 Euros exc. VAT on EmbeddedComputer.nl. Considering that individually CubieTruck board goes for $89 to $95. and KingSpec 128GB […]
With HP SlateBook 14, Hewlett Packard already had a Tegra (4) based notebook with a 14″ display, but running Android 4.3, which may not be the best OS on such device. The company has now announced their new Chromebook 14 featuring an Nvidia Tegra K1 processor, 2 to 4GB RAM, and 16GB eMMC or 32GB M.2 SSD. The previous version of HP Chromebook 14 was based on Intel Celeron 2955U. HP Chromebook 14 specifications: SoC- Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core Cortex A15 processor with Kepler GK20A GPU System Memory – 2 to 4 GB DDR3L @ 1600MHz depending on model Storage – 16GB eMMC, or 32 GB M.2 SSD, and 100GB Google Drive Storage Display – 14″ display (1080p according to press release, 1366×768 according to product page). Video Output – HDMI Audio – 3.5mm headphone-out/microphone-in combo jack Camera – HD webcam with integrated microphone Connectivity – 802.11 b/n/g/ac Wi-Fi […]
We now have all sorts of USB receptacles and connectors, but this is supposed to eventually change thanks to type-C connectors, which are small and robust enough to be used in laptop, computer, smartphones, and other type of devices, and will replace the USB type A, micro and mini USB ports. Type-C connectors will also be reversible, so there won’t be a way to insert the cable upside down. The USB 3.0 Promoter Group has just announced the completion of the USB Type-C specification, and transferred it to the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) for ongoing management and the establishment of a compliance and certification program. Key features of Type C specifications include: Entirely new design Tailored for emerging product designs Robust enough for laptops and tablets; slim enough for mobile phones Similar to size of USB 2.0 Micro-B Usability enhancements – Reversible plug orientation and cable direction Supports scalable power charging […]
When I review media player or development boards, I’m often asked about power consumption figures. One way to measure power consumption is to use a Kill-a-Watt, but for low power devices it’s not always accurate enough, and it also includes the heat dissipation from the power adapter, which may or may not be useful depending on what you want to measure. For USB powered devices or boards, an easy way to measure power consumption is to use CHARGER Doctor, a small $5 USB dongle that displays both voltage and current alternatively. Unfortunately, most products I’ve received lately use barrel type connectors, so this little tool has not been as useful as I hoped. The only solution is then to measure voltage and current with a multimeter. Voltage is measured in parallel, so you just need to point the multimeter’s leads where you want to perform the measurements. However, the current […]
We’re now starting to get quite a few players with ARM Cortex A15 cores on the market, as well as some with ARM Cortex A17. So a comparison table of different quad and octa SoCs might be a useful thing to do. I’ve put aside SoCs such as HiSilicon K3V3, and OMAP5, and focused on the four latest processors: Nvidia Tegra K1 (32-bit), Samsung Exynos 5422, Rockchip RK3288 and AllWinner A80. I haven’t included Mediatek MT6595 and Qualcomm SnapDragon 805, because the two companies mainly focus on smartphones and tablets (although it appears to be slowly changing for Qualcomm), documentation is usually difficult or impossible to find, and in the case of Qualcomm they use their own ARMv7 Krait cores. I’ve highlighted some features in green, in case a particular SoC appears to have an edge. Rockchip RK3288 AllWinner A80 Nvidia Tegra K1 Samsung Exynos 5422 CPU 4x ARM Cortex-A17 […]
Throughout all articles in this blog, I use a lot of technical terms and acronyms that you may not be familiar with. This glossary will include technical terms used in Android and Linux devices, development boards, and embedded platforms. If one or more relevant terms or acronyms is/are missing, please let me know in the comment section or via the contact form. 0-9 – A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z 0-9 1-Wire – A single-wire (plus ground) communications protocol used for memory products, interface solutions, and by SW tools. 10GbE – 10-Gigabit Ethernet 10Base2 – So-called Thin Ethernet, using RG-58 coax cables and BNC connectors […]
Until now, if we talked about mini PCs in stick form factor that always meant some ARM or MIPS processor were powering the devices. Intel is not yet into this type of form factor, but with ICE xPC (Indiegogo), you can now find an x86 computer module with the CPU, RAM, and SSD as well as connectivity modules and sensors into a box as small and thin as a smartphone. ICE xPC will also support other low power processors including Core i5 processor and/or ARM SoCs if the concept is gaining traction. ICE xPC modular computer specifications: SoC – Intel Bay Trail 4-cores Atom processor with Intel HD graphics System Memory – 4GB RAM Storage – 64 GB SSD Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi module + Bluetooth module Camera – 720p Sensors – Accelerometer, Gyro sensor Power Supply – 20 Watts. Energy used claimed: between 3 and 11 Watts. Dimensions […]
I’ve just found out via my twitter feed that Nordic Semiconductor had announced the availability of the Bluetooth LE-based S120 8-link central protocol stack and nRF51 Wireless Charging SDK for wireless charging applications based on a new wireless charging standard called Rezence. The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) gave their wireless power technology the name Rezence a couple of weeks ago. Rezence uses magnetic resonance, instead of inductance used in first generation products, and bring several key improvements: Greater charging range – Your device does not need to be placed on a charging pad, but it can be placed anywhere within range (I could not find data yet). Multiple device charging – Ability to charge multiple devices with different power requirements at the same time, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and Bluetooth headsets. Up to 8 devices with Nordic Semi solutions mentioned in the introduction. Ready for the real world […]
