CNXSoft – Embedded Software Development

Rockchip first showcased a tablet prototype with RK3168 dual core processor at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair in April, showing lower power consumption compared to RK3066. At the time, tablets based on this processor were still in development, but this has changed as a few RK3168 tablets are now showing up in Aliexpress. Prices for 7″  Android tablets such as Cube U25GT PRO, are now about $110 as low as $75 including shipping, but this should come down as more sellers provide the devices.

Cube U25GT PRO is an updated version of the U25GT pictured above. Here are the specifications of the PRO version:

• SoC -  Rockchip RK3168 @ 1.2 GHz with PowerVR SGX540 GPU
• System Memory – 512 MB RAM
• Storage – 8GB NAND Flash + micro SD card slot
• Display – 7″ 5 point touch capacitive screen (1024×600)
• Camera – 0.3MP front camera
• Connectivity – Wifi 802.11b/g/n + 3G via external USB dongle
• Video Output – HDMI
• Audio I/O – HDMI, speaker and earphone jack
• USB – 1x USB OTG
• Battery – Built-in 2500mAh rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
• Dimensions – About 191x116x11.2mm
• Weight – About 303g

The device comes with a charger, an earphone, a USB OTG Cable,  a user’s manual, and some kind of gift bag.

One of the first things I’ve noticed is the 1.2 GHz frequency, so you’ll have to expect lower CPU performance compared to RK3066 which is normally clocked at 1.6 GHz. The advantage of RK3168 over RK3066 is that it’s manufactured using 28nm process technology vs 40nm process, so it will offer better battery life. The GPU is also different as RK3168 comes with a PowerVR SGX540 compared to a Mali-400 MP4 for RK3066. I’m not sure which one has the best performance, but the benchmarks belows seem to prove the quad core Mali-400 has better performance than SGX540.

kilwatablet.com has run some benchmarks to compare Rockchip RK3168 with AllWinner A20.

AllWinner A20 vs Rockchip RK3168

The Antutu score for RK3168 is about double compared to AllWinner A20, with the biggest gaps being with RAM, CPU floating-point performance, and 3D GPU performance. They also claim A20 and RK3168 are in the same price range, but I don’t quite believe this, as A20 is about the same price as A10, and I’ve read it sells for $7.5 per unit in quantities. RK3066 usually scores between 11,000 to 12,000 in Antutu, so this confirms RK3066 should have the edge in term of performance, and the real selling point of RK3168 is its low power consumption, for decent performance.

Thanks to onebir for the links.

iPazzPort SY-20-19VC, aka iPazzPort Pearl, is an Android 4.1.1 set-top box powered by Rockchip RK3066 that comes bundled with with a dual sided RF remote with a QWERTY keyboard, touch pad, and voice support. That’s pretty common these days. The design however, is somewhat original, as once you’re done watching videos or playing games, you can put back the remote into an opening in the set-top box to store it and recharge it, and it may prevent you from losing the remote under the pillows, and the remote will be fully charged most of the time.

Here are the specifications of this media player:

• SoC – Rockchip RK3066 @ 1.6GHz + Mali-400 MP4 GPU
• System Memory – 1GB DDR3
• Storage – 4GB + micro SD card slot (up to 32GB, or is it 16GB?)
• Connectivity
  • 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
  • 10/100M Ethernet
  • 3G via external USB 3G dongle
• Video Output – HDMI 1.4 + AV (3.5mm jack)
• Audio Output – HDMI + AV
• Video Codecs – H.264, VP8, RV, WMV, AVS, H.263, MPEG4
• Audio Formats/Codecs – MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG/OGA, FLAC, APE, AAC/M4A, RM
• USB – 2x USB 2.0 + 1x mini USB
• Camera – Built-in 1.3MP or 2.0 MP camera
• Power Supply – 5V / 2A
• Dimensions – Base: About 120 mm x 80 mm (height). Remote: 158x60x15.4 mm

The device (also referred to as iPazzport Command Center) comes with an HDMI cable (151cm), a composite cable (97 cm), a power adapter (100~240V / 110cm), a USB cable (120cm), an air mouse, and a user’s manual in English. The air mouse comes with a 400mAh battery, which is said to good for 400 hours use on a charge.

I’ve first seen the device on DealExtreme where it’s available for $135.90, but it’s also available on Amazon and Newegg for similar prices, and as low as $109 on Aliexpress including shipping. Considering this type of RF remote with microphone and speaker costs about $30 to $40, the price on Aliexpress seems quite OK.

Further information, including the user’s manual, is available on iPazzport SY-20-19VC page.

Thanks to joey6666 for the tip.

Although there are now many Rockchip RK3188 mini PCs, full sized quad core Android STB are not so common, especially with VGA output, and Giayee TVB103 is the only quad core media player providing both HDMI and VGA output that I know of.

Here are Giayee TVB103 specifications:

• SoC – Rockchip RK3188 ARM Cortex A9 28nm Quad core 1.8GHz CPU + Quad-core GPU Mali400
• System Memory – 1 to 2GB DDR3 RAM
• Storage – 8/16/32GB NAND Flash + micro SD card slot (up to 64GB)
• Connectivity:
  • Built-in WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n module supporting dual band (2.4GHz & 5GHz)
  • 10/100 Base-T Ethernet
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Video Output – HDMI, VGA, and AV (Note the latter can’t be seen on any pictures)
• Audio – L and R Output (RCA), S/PDIF, earphone jack & MIC input
• USB – 2x USB Host ports, and 1x Mini USB OTG port
• Dimensions – 155 x 90 x 32mm
• Power – 5V/3A

The device runs Android 4.2, and comes with a power adapter, an HDMI Cable, a composite cable, and a VGA cable. Other features include Miracast and Android Remote App support, but those two are now pretty common to most RK3188 devices.

Availability and price are unknown. More information may eventually be available on Giayee TVB103 page.

Via Mini PCs G+ Community.

In the last year or so, we’ve started using Android set-top boxes or mini-PCs to make our TV smart and play games, and some products such as Ouya and Gamestick, using similar hardware, have been specifically designed for game play. But Unu Tablet, which can be used as a tablet (really), can also transform your TV into a gaming platform, and a smart connected TV, thanks to a docking station, and a game controller.

Here are the known specifications for Unu tablet:

• SoC – 1.6 GHz quad-core chip (I’m guessing Rockchip RK3188).
• System Memory – Unknown
• Storage – 8GB NAND Flash + microSD card slot
• Display – 7″ IPS display, 1280×800 resolution.
• Connectivity – WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0
• USB – 2 microUSB ports
• Video Output – mini HDMI jack
• Camera – 5MP rear camera, 2MP front camera

This Android 4.2.2 tablet comes with a docking station that handles charging and video output, an air mouse with a QWERTY keyboard (similar to Mele F10), an HDMI cable, and an optional Bluetooth game controller.

This concept is not really new, as you can actually already do all that by yourself by purchasing different items, but it’s the first time I’ve seen 3-in-1 package sold and marketed that way.

You can watch an hands-on video shot by Engadget at E3 below.

The Media edition (Tablet + remote + docking station) should cost $200, whereas the Gaming edition with the Game controller should go for $250, with the device becoming available later this year.

Via Liliputing and Engadget

Variscite announced DART-4460, a new system-on-module based on Texas Instruments OMAP4460, with up to 1GB LPDDR2 RAM and 8GB eMMC flash. The key differentiating point of this module is its size (17 mm x 52 mm), which could make it the world smallest dual core module, although Logic PD’s DM3730 / AM3730 Torpedo SOM might be the smallest of all in single core configuration.

DART-4460 system-on-module specifications:

• SoC – Texas Instruments OMAP4460 dual core cortex A9 @ 1.5 GHz max + PowerVR SGX540 GPU
• System Memory – 512 to 1024 MB LP-DDR2
• Storage – Up to 8 GB eMMC + 2x SD / MMC
• Video – 1080p30 H.264 Encode / Decode
• Camera Interfaces – 2x CSI, 1x CPI
• Display
  • HDMI 1.3a 1920 x 1080
  • 24-bit RGB 1400 x 1050
  • 24-bit DSI 1400 x 1050
  • 4-wire resistive touch
• Connectivity
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 4.0
• Audio – Headphone, digital microphone, S/PDIF, Line In and Out
• USB – 1x Host, 1x OTG
• I/O – 3x UART up to 3.6 Mbps, 2x I2C, 2x SPI, 1-Wire/HDQ
• Misc – RTC + GPMC bus
• Dimensions – 17 mm x 52 mm x 4.7 mm
• Power
  • 3.3 – 4.5 V supply voltage
  • 1.8V digital I/O voltage
  • Consumes 5 mA in suspend and 44 mA with a 3.7 V Li-Po battery while running at 400 MHz
• Temperature range – Commercial temperature (0 to 70°C) and Industrial temperature (-40 to 85°C)

Variscite DART-4460 Block Diagram

The company provides support for Android 4.1.2, Linux 3.4, and Ubuntu 12.04. DART-4460 can use the same “VAR-OM44CustomBoard” carrier board as its larger sibling (VAR-SOM-OM44) via an adapter (DART-4460-ADAPTER) that makes it mechanically and electrically compatible. The module datasheet and mechanical files (DXF and 3D files),  as well as the carrier board datasheet and schematics are all available for download.

I could not find availability nor pricing information. Further details may be available on Variscite’s DART-4460 page.

Via Linux Gizmos

Last year, we started to see Android cameras with 3G/4G connectivity such as Samsung EK-GC100 Galaxy Camera, but it was not possible to make phone calls. Samsung has just fixed that by announcing the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, a camera phone or phone camera, depending on your point of view, with a 4.3″ qHD youchscreen and Android 4.2, and a 16-megapixel CMOS with a 10x optical zoom lens.

Other details about the camera includes support for ISO 100-3200, a lens with 24-240mm zoom, F3.1-F6.3, and optical image stabilization. A Xenon flash can also be used to take picture in low-light conditions. There’s also another more discreet 1.9 MP front camera on the device.

Other specifications:

• SoC – Dual core processor @ 1.5GHz (Exact processor will depend on the market)
• System Memory – 1.5 GB RAM
• Storage – 8GB NAND flash with around 5GB user-available.
• Network – GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 21 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps, LTE (market dependent), Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL.
• Connectivity:
  • WiFi a/b/g/n (5GHz)
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • NFC
  • A-GPS and GLONASS
• Sensors – Accelerometer, digital compass, proximity sensor, gyroscope, and a light sensor.
• Battery – 2,330 mAh battery
• Dimensions – 125.5 x 63.5 x 15.4 mm
• Weight – 208 grams

The phone will run Android 4.2 with TouchWiz, including S Voice and S Translator.

Availability and pricing information have not been disclosed, but we may know more at Samsung’s “Premiere 2013″ event in London, on June 20,2013.

Via Android Community.

Compulab, an Israeli company specialized in embedded computing, has just released CM-T335, a family of low cost computer-on-module powered by Texas Instruments Sitara AM335x SoC, and sells for as low as $27 per unit for the AM3352 version (no GPU) for 1k orders. The module is available in commercial, extended and industrial grades, and features up to 512 MB RAM, and 1 GB Flash.

Compulab CM-T335

Specifications:

• SoC -  Texas Instruments AM3352 CPU @ 275MHz, or AM3354 @ 600MHz + PowerVR SGX530 GPU
• System Memory – 128MB to 512MB DDR3-1066, 16-bit bus width
• Storage – 128MB to 1GB on-board NAND flash, 8bit, SLC
• Display – 24-bit Parallel display interface – up to 1366 x 768
• Touchscreen – 4/5/8-wire resistive touch-screen support, capacitive touch-screen support through SPI interface
• Connectivity:
  • Ethernet – 1000Base-T Ethernet interface implemented with AM335x integrated MAC and the Atheros AR8033 RGMII PHY
  • WiFi – 802.11b/g/n implemented with TI WL1271 chipset
  • Bluetooth 4.0
• USB – 1x OTG USB2.0 high-speed port, 4x USB2.0 host high-speed ports
• Serial Ports – Up to 5 UART ports, TIA/EIA-232-F compatible, 3.3V interface, up to 5.0 Mbps
• CAN bus – Up to 2 CAN bus interfaces, 3.3V levels
• MMC / SDIO – Up to 2 MMC/SD/SDIO interfaces, support for HC MMC and SDHC up to 32GB
• Audio – I2S interface, on-board audio codec with analog stereo output, stereo input and electret microphone support
• Misc – Up to 2 I2C interfaces (up to 400Kbps), Up to 2 configurable SPI bus interfaces (Slave/Master modes), up to 70 multifunction signals that can be used as GPIOs, up to 8 ADC, and RTC with provided lithium battery
• Power – 3.3V
• Dimensions – 68 x 30 x 8 mm with 204-pin SO-DIMM edge connector
• Temperature range – Commercial (0° to 70° C), Extended (-20° to 70° C), or Industrial (-40° to 85° C)
• Relative humidity – 10% to 90% (operation)

Compulab CM-T335 Block Diagram

The company provides support for Linux, Android ICS and Windows Embedded Compact 7. SBC-T335 Evaluation Kit is available for development, and includes CM-T335-D256-C600G-N1G-E-A-U4-WB CoM (That’s AM3354 + 256MB Flash, 1 GB Flash, etc…), SB-T335 carrier board, an LCD panel with capacitive touchscreen, a WiFi antenna, lots of cables, and a 12V power supply. Technical support is available for 12 months with this kit, and there’s a 45-day evaluation period where you can return the kit if it does not fit your needs.

$27 (in 1k order) will get you a module with TI AM3352, 128 MB RAM, 128 MB flash, and a USB OTG. As I discovered with Compulab AMD module, the company publishes the options price list publicly, so you get get a good estimation of the price for the options you need. An industrial grade module with all options will cost $123. Further information is available on Compulab CM-335 page.

Via LinuxGizmos