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Review of Tronsmart Orion R28 Meta 4K/H.265 Android TV Box

It’s been a little while since I unboxed Tronsmart Orion R28 Meta Android TV box, but since the product was still consider “beta” by GeekBuying, I wanted to wait for a OTA firmware update (109k4), which was released at the beginning of the week. Since I’ve already listed the technical specifications, and showed pictures of the board and device, I’ll focus on feature tests and benchmarks results in the review. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions I quickly tried the basic infrared remote control, inserting two AAA batteries, and it does the job, but for Android, you really need a pointing device, so I switched to Mele F10 Deluxe air mouse during testing. I’ve connected a whole bunch of cable, and peripherals to the box including an HDMI cable, a USB hard drive, an Ethernet cable, a USB webcam, and a USB hub with RF dongles for my air mouse […]

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ARM Announces mbed OS for ARM Cortex-M Micro-controllers and mbed Device Server for the Cloud

ARM has just announced two new software products for mbed development boards at ARM Techcon 2014: mbed OS, an operating system for Cortex-M MCUs, and mbed Device Server to handle IoT data in the cloud. Together with existing mbed hardware, these form what ARM now calls mbed IoT Device Platform. mbed OS is a free operating system for ARM Cortex-M processor with security, communication and device management features necessary to enable IoT devices. It will provide a C++ application framework, and the software stack includes support for Bluetooth Smart, 2G, 3G, LTE and CDMA cellular technologies, Thread, Wi-Fi, 802.15.4 / 6LoWPAN,  TLS/DTLS, CoAP, HTTP, MQTT and Lightweight M2M. No need to look for your mbed board, planning to try it out just yet however, as mbed OS (alpha) will be available to partners in Q4 2014, and there will be alpha and beta releases during the course of 2015, before […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM
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STMicro STM32F4 (Cortex M4) vs STM32F7 (Cortex M7) Graphics Demo

STMicro announced their latest STM32F7 micro-controller family based on ARM Cortex M7 last week. As ARM Techcon 2014 is now taking place, the company has uploaded an infomercial on their YouTube account, where STMicro and ARM representatives are interviewed about the new family, and talk about its performance, power consumption, target applications, business prospects, and so on. But there’s also an a short demo with two development kits one with a STM32F4 cortex M4 micro-controller, and the other with a STM32F7 micro-controllers. Since both MCU families are pin-to-pin compatible, the hardware is identical except for the MCU. Both kits are pre-loaded with a 3D graphics demo (ray tracer), and the board with STM32F7 completes the demo in about half the time of the one with STM32F439, allegedly with about the same power consumption (7 coremarks / mW). The video is about 8 minutes long, and the demo starts at 1:25. […]

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$18 Matchstick is an HDMI TV Stick Running Firefox OS (Crowdfunding)

A few month ago, a Firefox OS HDMI streaming stick (codenamed netcast) by Mozilla that would compete with Google Chromecast was previewed. It is now called Matchstick, based on Rockchip RK3066 and has just been launched on Kickstarter. MatchStick technical specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3066 dual core Cortex A9 processor @ 1.2 GHz with Mali-400 MP4 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 (micron) Storage – 4 GB flash.  (FORSEE, NCEFES86 eMMC) Video Output – HDMI Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi (AP6181?), but the board supports other Wi-Fi modules include AP6210 and AP6330, and many people are asking for dual band Wi-Fi in comments, so maybe a stretch goal… USB – 1x micro USB port for power Power – 5V via micro USB port. TPS659102 PMIC. Dimensions – 110 x 40 x 11 mm The Firefox OS dongle will come with an HDMI extension Cable, a micro USB Cable, and a […]

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Finally… An Android TV Stick with an Ethernet Port

Ever since MK802 hit the market in April 2012, I’ve been expecting HDMI TV Sticks with Ethernet ports, but it never really materialized. There have been many small TV boxes, but AFAIK none of which could simply be insert in the back of your TV. Thanks to MK802 V we now have an HDMI TV dongle, powered by Rockchip RK3288 quad core Cortex A12/A17 processor, featuring an Ethernet port. MK802 V specifications: SoC – Rockchip 3288 quad core ARM Cortex A12/A17 up to 1.8 GHz with Mali-T764 GPU System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 8 GB NAND flash (16GB optional) + micro SD slot (up to 32GB) Video / Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 (male) Video Codecs – MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.263, H.264, H.265, AVS, VC-1, RV, VP6/VP8, MVC (1080p) Sorenson Spark, MVC up to 4K2K @ 60fps Audio Formats – MP1, MP2, MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, OGA, […]

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Review of Nagrace HPH NT-V6 Android Mini PC Powered by RK3288 with 4GB RAM, 32GB Internal Storage

Last week-end, I finally received TP-Link TL-WDR7500 router (Chinese variant of Arched C7) router, so I could complete my review of Nagrace HPH NT-V6 including 802.11ac Wi-Fi. I’ve already listed the specifications, and taken a few pictures of the device and the board, and today I’ll focus on the test results. I’ll start by giving my first impressions, going through the user interface and settings, before testing video playback, as well as benchmarking networking, storage and overall system performance, playing some games, and testing most hardware features of this mini PC. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions A simple infrared remote control is provided with the device, and I’ve quickly tried it by inserting two AAA batteries, and it works fine, but for the rest of testing I switched to Mele F10 Deluxe air mouse to control the device, as it’s much more user friendly than any IR remote. Before […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
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Arduino Compatible Microduino JoyPad with TFT Display Lets You Play Games, Control Devices, and More (Crowdfunding)

Last year, Microduino successfully launched their tiny Arduino board and shields via Kickstarter, and they are now back on Kickstarter with Microduino Joypad, an other Arduino compatible board that also happens to be a gamepad with a small OLED display. It can be used in standalone to control games on the tiny display, as a gamepad for PC or game console, a control interface for quadcopters and robots etc… Microduino Joypad (main board) specifications: MCU – Atmel ATMega328p/1284p/644p or 32U4 via Microduino Core, Core+, CoreUSB boards. (Not part of board but included in all perks) Display I/F – TFT and OLED headers. Separate TFT display board included in all perks. Controls – Left and right joysticks, 4 buttons, and left and right switches. Audio – Microphone Sensors – Light sensor, temperature sensor USB – 2x micro USB ports: one for power and one for charging Expansions – 2x UPin27 headers for […]

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FVIEW U2 Rockchip RK3188 Media Player with 2GB RAM, Ethernet, and Camera Sells for $53

If you are looking for deals, when new products come to market, older devices are usually sold at a deep discount, and sometimes you also have the advantage of getting a firmware that has gone through various iterations, and that’s  more stable than the ones pre-loaded on new devices. We’ve already seen MK813 quad core TV box selling for less than $50, but it lacks Ethernet, and today I’ve been informed of another Rockchip RK3188 device with similar specifications but with an Ethernet port called FVIEW U2 that’s currently selling for $53 on Buyincoins. FVIEW U2: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad Cortex-A9 CPU @ 1.6 GHz + Mali-400 MP4 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND Flash +  SD slot (Up to 32GB) Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet WiFi 802.11 b/g/n with external antenna Bluetooth 3.0 Video Output – HDMI Audio Output – HDMI + optical S/PDIF Video Codecs […]

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