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Open Hardware System on Module Project

“JM” has started working on a system-on-module project with the goal “to create a whole range of SoM boards and motherboards that can handle a large number of embedded projects”.  He has just released schematics and layout files created with Kicad for a dual NXP LPC1764 SO-DIMM module and the baseboard under GPL3 license.  The next goal is to release an AllWinner A10 SoM and corresponding baseboard. Kicad is an open source schematics capture and PCB layout software that can run in Windows, Linux and Mac. If you want to read the schematics or try it out, you can freely download it. In Ubuntu you could just use apt-get:

The hardware files for the module and carrier board are available here. JM explains that the LPC module and baseboard have already been manufactured and tested, so it could just be a matter of adapting the module for AllWinner A10/A20. […]

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HI802 HDMI TV Dongle (Freescale i.MX6) is Now Available

After many delays allegedly due to Freescale i.MX6 CPU delivery issues, Hiapad HI-802 mini PC appears to be now available for purchase on Aliexpress for $99 including shipping. This HDMI dongle features Freescale i.MX6 Quad, 1GB RAM and 8GB Flash. The specs on Aliexpress are similar to the original announcement, except the internal NAND flash size is 8GB instead of 16GB: SoC – Freescale i.MX6 Quad Core Cortex A9 @ 1.2GHz with  Vivante GC2000 System Memory – 1GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 8GB Nand Flash + microSD card socket Connectivity 802.11b/g/n Build-in Bluetooth 2.1 No 3G support. Video Output – HDMI (Up to 1080p60) Video Container Formats – 3GP,MPEG4,AVI,RMVB,MKV,FLV etc. support 1080P HD Resolution Audio Formats – MP3/WAV/AMR/AAC; USB – Micro USB 2.0 OTG + USB 2.0 Host Power Supply – 5V/1.5A Dimensions – 102 x 38 x 10 mm Weight – 45 g This Android 4.0 (ICS) mini PC […]

ArmSoM CM5 Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC
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TI Releases TI-RTOS, a Free Real Time Operating System for MCUs

Texas Instruments announced TI-RTOS, a complete real-time operating system based on a preemptive multithreading kernel for its MCU platforms. TI-RTOSs includes SYS/BIOS real-time kernel and network developer kit (NDK) TCP/IP stack. TI expects this new OS to speed-up software development by eliminating the need to write complex system software such as schedulers, protocol stacks, and low-level drivers. TI-RTOS features and benefits: Complete embedded operating environmentthat provides full middleware and drivers including: Deterministic, real-time multitasking kernel (SYS/BIOS) TCP/IP stack, including network applications USB, EMAC, MMC/SD host and device stacks and class drivers FAT-compatible file system fully integrated with C RTS file I/O functions Ethernet, USB, UART, I2C and SD device drivers Low overhead core-to-core communication mechanism for dual-core devices Ability to move functions between dual core devices to optimize performance by using the same TI-RTOS kernel on both the ARM and C28x DSP cores. Documentation and examples to augment designs, including examples and […]

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Droid Stick A2 mini-PC Unboxing

Droid Stick A2 is an HDMI TV Stick based on AMLogic AML8726-MX dual core Cortex A9 processor, and together with HI-802 (aka GK802) mini-PC based on Freescale i.MX6Q, is the most likely platform to get proper Linux support, as AMLogic AML8726-MX source code is somewhat open, and video playback in Linux is supported in the older AML8726-M1 processor (Cf. XBMC Linux in Pivos STB). Kimdecent sent me a sample for evaluation, but as the Android firmware is not really ready for prime-time at this time, I’ll just show some pictures of the device, as well as the user interface, and will review the device once a firmware update is available. Since this is still a sample, I received the device in a white box with the Droid Stick A2, a mini USB to USB cable, a small 5.2V/1A power supply and a plug adapter. There are plenty of ventilation hole […]

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Direct Insight TRITON-TX6Q System-on-Module Powered by Freescale i.MX6Q

Direct Insight, a British company, has recently announced the TRITON-TX6Q, a SODIMM system-on-module based on Freescale’s iMX6Q quad core Cortex-A9 processor running at 1 GHz with 1 to 2GB RAM and 128 MB flash. This module targets embedded applications including medical devices, digital signage, and industrial multimedia products. Here are the TRITON-TX6Q specifications: SoC – Freescale i.MX6Q 4x ARM Cortex-A9 up to  1GHz + Vivante GC2000, GC355 and GC320 graphics co-processors System Memory – 1GB or 2GB 64-bit DDR3 @ 1066MHz Storage – 128MB NAND Flash, 2 SD card receptacles on baseboard Display Connection – LCD controller 24-bit parallel up to 1080p, dual LVDS (optional). Resistive & capactive touch screen support. Connectivity – Ethernet 10/100 BaseT with PHY on module. USB – USB Host + USB OTG Peripherals and Interfaces: Up to 5x UART (RS232) with pin sharing 2x I2C, 1x 1-wire and 2x SPI interfaces SSP (synchronous serial /digital audio): […]

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AllWinner A10s Processor Overview

Between the AllWinner A10 and AllWinner A13 processors, there’s now an alternative. AllWinner A10s is based on AllWinner A13 architecture (sun5i), but adds HDMI and Ethernet MAC which makes it suitable for mini PCs and set-top boxes. The first time I heard about this processor was in August with IP878 mini PC, and in October, one reader (Alex) informed me AllWinner had posted more details about his new processor. Here are the key features of this (relatively) new SoC: CPU/GPU – ARM Cortex-A8 Core with 32KB D-Cache/ 32KB I-Cache / 256KB L2 Cache, and Mali-400 VPU HD Video Decoding 1080p@30fps of VP8/6, H.264/H.263, WMV9/VC-1, WMV7/8, MPEG-4/2/1, Xvid codecs HD Video Encoding 1080p@30fps with H.264 codec Video Out – HDMI 1.4 (1080p), Memory Up to 1GB DDR2/DDR3 up to 533MHz (16/32 bits Data Bus) MLC/TLC/SLC/EF-NAND ECC 64-bit Peripherals: USB2.0 OTG, USB2.0 HOST （OHCI/EHCI） SD Card V.3.0, eMMC V.4.2 SPI, TWI and […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
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ZOPO ZP900S Leader Smartphone Unboxing and Review

I’ve just received ZOPO ZP900S smartphone from Pandawill by Fedex. This phablet features a 5.3″ display, MediaTek MTK6577 dual core cortex A9 processor with 512 MB RAM, 4GB flash and runs Android 4.0 (upgradable to Android 4.1 once the firmware is released). This is the lite version of ZOPO ZP900 which comes with 1GB RAM. Both devices look like low cost versions of the Samsung Galaxy Note as you can see from the comparison table below between ZOPO ZP900S, ZOPO ZP900 and Samsung Galaxy Note N7000. ZOPO ZP900S & ZP900 Specifications ZOPO ZP900S Leader ZOPO ZP900 Leader Samsung Galaxy Note CPU Mediatek MTK6577 @ 1GHz Samsung Exynos 4210 @ 1.4 GHz GPU POWERVR SGX531T ARM Mali-400MP RAM 512 MB 1GB 1GB Storage 4 GB Flash + microSD 16GB/32GB Flash + microSD Display 5.3″ IPS 960×540 (qHD) 5.3″ super AMOLED 1280×800 Camera 8MP Rear, 2MP Front 8MP Rear, 2MP Front Wi-Fi […]

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Kontron Unveils ULP-COM-sA3874i Module Powered by TI Sitara AM3874

Kontron introduced ULP-COM-sA3874i, another family of computer-on-module based on ULP-COM standards, based on Texas Instruments Sitara AM3874 Cortex A8 processors that aims to drive down system costs for ultra-low power SFF (small form factor) solutions in military, industrial automation/HMI, digital signage and medical markets. Here are the technical specifications of this module family: CPU – Texas Instruments Sitara AM3874 Cortex A8 @ 800 MHz Main Memory – On-board 1 or 2 GB DDR3 depending on model. Flash – Onboard Up to 32GB NAND FLASH build option Graphics – Single Channel 18bit,24bit (18bit compatible) LVDS, and HDMI with dual independent displays support. Ethernet – 10/100/1000 MBit Ethernet USB – 2x USB 2.0, USB OTG SATA – 1x SATA Interface Interfaces – GPIO, I²C, 4x I²S, 2x CAN, 2x SPI, 4x UART Camera input – 10bit parallel interface PCI Express / PCI support – 1x PCI Express x1 Lanes Power Supply – […]

Boardcon EM3562 Rockchip RK3562 SBC with 8 analog camera inputs