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Microchip Introduces $11 RN2483 & RN2903 LoRa Modules and $70 LoRa Evaluation Kits for IoT & M2M Applications

LoRa is one of those long range low power WAN standards used for the machine to machine (M2M) and Internet of things (IoT) applications. I already featured a Semtech Lora module here with a line-of-sight range of up to 20 to 30km, and the company has just partnered with STMicro to deploy LoRa solutions, but today, I’m going to have a look at Microchip Lora modules and development kits that I discovered in the company’s Micro Solutions Nov/Dec 2015 publication. The company has launched two modules for the European and North American markets with respectively RN2483 LoRa 433/868 MHz R&TTE Directive Assessed Radio Modem and RN2903 915 MHz North American modem. Apart from the different frequencies, both modules have similar features: On-board LoRaWAN Class A protocol stack Tx/Rx Power RN2483 – 40 mA (14dBm, 868MHz) Tx, and 14.2 mA Rx @ 3.6V RN2903 – 124 mA Tx max, and 13.5 mA […]

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Review of MINIX NEO U1 Media Hub

We’ve already seen that MINIX NEO U1 has some impressive hardware to offer with a good thermal solution, and high-end chips for storage and WiFi, as well as some neats additions like RTC support. But obviously the most important is to find out how the box performs, so I’ve put it through it spaces with video playback and features testing, as well as some benchmarks. First Boot, OTA Firmware, Settings and First Impressions The device has three full-sized USB 2.0 ports, which become four once we had the provided USB OTG adapter to the remaining micro USB port. So I’ve connected a USB 3.0 hard drive, the RF dongle for NEO A2 Lite air mouse, a USB hub with a USB webcam, a USB keyboard, and the RF dongle for Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad, as well as USB powered speakers to the micro USB port. After inserting HDMI, optical audio […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM
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Light Biz OS Firmware, Android and Ubuntu Image, and Android SDK Released for GeekBox (RK3368)

GeekBox is an upcoming Android TV box based on Rockchip RK3368 octa-core processor that doubles as a system-on-module and development board. The company has now uploaded the Android 5.1 SDK, including Linux 3.10.79 kernel, on github. It’s not for the Android SDK for RK3368, but at least it’s not just an outdated tarball, and will hopefully be regularly updated directly on github. Beside the source code, the company also released three firmware image including Rockchip’s Light Biz OS desktop operating system based on Lollipop: Biz OS for GeekBox – V151208 (8th of December 2015) Android and Lubuntu dual boot image  – V151129 (29th of November 2015) Android 5.1 image – V151129 (29th of November 2015) It’s quite possible those images will also work on other Rockchip RK3368 platform with some modifications, e.g. an updated device tree file for a given hardware. I’ve downloaded Biz OS adn the dual boot image, […]

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Allwinner A64 Android 5.1 SDK and Linux Source Code

Allwinner A64 is likely to become quite popular as it will be used in PINE A64 board, Olimex open source hardware laptop featuring A64-OLinuXino board, and some low cost tablets. We’ve already got some documentation such as Allwinner A64 datasheet and user’s manual, but AFAIK, there was no source code released for the board. The good news is that you can now download Android 5.1 SDK and Linux source code on Baidu with four files available: lichee_A64_A5.1_V1.0.tar.gz – Linux source code android_A64_A5.1_V1.0.tar.gz– Android 5.1 SDK android_prebuilts_A64_A5.1_V1.0.tar.gz – Some pre-built binaries for Android A64硬件资料.zip – Documentation including the datasheet, product brief, and user’s manual which we’ve already got, but also some hardware with reference schematics, PCB layout files, and BoM for an Allwinner A64 tablet. That’s about 7.4GB to download, and apart from the documentation, the download is not quite complete yet, so I could not look into the details of […]

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MINIX NEO U1 Android Media Hub and NEO A2 Lite Air Mouse Unboxing and Teardown

MINIX NEO U1 Android TV box, which the company prefers to call “media hub for Android”, has been announced last week, and has started shipping. The company sent me one sample of the Amlogic S905 device, as well as MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse which can be included with the box as part as some bundle. I’ll check out the media hub and air mouse today, as well as get a close look at the internals, before testing the device, and published a full review of MINIX NEO U1 lateron. MINIX NEO U1 Unboxing MINIX sent me the packages via Fedex and I received it within 2 or 3 days. The devices comes with a simple infrared remote control, a micro USB to USB cable, a USB OTG adapter, an HDMI cable, a WiFi antenna, a 5V/3A power supply, a setup guide in English, German, Chinese and Russian, and […]

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MXQ S905 / G9C 4K Android Media Player Unboxing and Teardown

Beside Tronsmart Vega S95 Telos, I’ve received another Amlogic S905 device with MXQ G9C, which was the first Amlogic S905 TV box to have surfaces in the news back in June, and a sample has been sent to me by Shenzhen Tomato. Since the company provides ODM/OEM services instead of catering to end users, the specs are flexible, but the device I received is with the default configuration namely 1GB RAM and 8GB flash, and with similar specs to Beelink MINI MX or KI Plus for example. Today, I’ll start by checking out the hardware, before reviewing the full package a little later. MXQ S905 / G9C TV Box Unboxing I received the parcel via DHL, with the device in a retail white brand package reading “MXQ”, “S905”, and “IPTV box”, with some features on the back such as Airplay, DLNA, Miracast, or Widewine, Playready, and Verimatrix. But I’m pretty […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
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Tronsmart Vega S95 Telos TV Box Unboxing and Teardown

Tronsmart Vega S95 Telos is an Android mini PC powered by Amlogic S905 quad core Cortex A53 processor, but contrary to the two other S905 device I previously reviewed, namely K1 Plus and MINI MX, it’s not been designed for the ultra low end, as it comes with 2GB RAM, 16 GB eMMC flash, 802.11ac WiFi, Gigabit Ethernet, and a SATA port. GeekBuying sent me one sample for review, and I’ll start with some pictures of the package, device, and board, before running it through a full test procedure. Tronsmart Vega S95 Telos Unboxing I got the box via DHL in the following package with makes it clear it’s a 4K media player. The box comes with a simple IR remote control requiring two AAA batteries, an HDMI cable, a SATA cable for laptop drives, a 12V/2A power supply, and a user’s manual in English. The device looks somewhat like […]

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Fleye is a Safe, Robust and Developer Friendly Drone Powered by NXP i.MX6 Processor (Crowdfunding)

In most cases, it’s a pretty bad idea to touch a drone while it’s flying, as you could potentially hurt yourself and others with the blades, so a startup based in Belgium has decided to design a safe drone with the blades hidden under a shell surrounded by protective grids, and with features such as obstacles avoidance. The design also makes the drone sturdier, and less prone to breakage should it fall or hit obstacles. The drone, dubbed Fleye, is based on NXP i.MX6 dual core processor, runs a Linux OS built with the Yocto Project, and the company also plans to provide APIs, and mobile SDKs to allow the developer community to experiment with the drone, and/or create mobile apps. Main hardware features of Fleye drone: SoC – Freescale NXP i.MX6 dual or quad core ARM Cortex A9 processor @ 800 MHz with Vivante GPU System Memory – 512 […]

Boardcon CM3588 Rockchip RK3588 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications