ics

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Porting Android 4.0 to a Custom Industrial Board Based on TI OMAP 3 – ELCE 2012

Porting Android 4.0 to a Custom Industrial Board Based on TI OMAP 3 – ELCE 2012

Matthias Brugger, embedded engineer at ISEE, describes the steps the company had to follow (referred to as a “war story”) to port Android 4.0 to a custom industrial board at ELCE 2012, Barcelona, on November 5, 2012. Abstract: This talk will explain the lessons learned by giving a step-by-step introduction of porting Android to a custom board which was designed for an industrial environment. This includes an introduction to the Android build environment, first board bring-up and peripheral integration. The talk will cover bootloader integration, power management. It will focus on the peculiarities configuring Ethernet and Wi-Fi in Android. Also button and display integration, as well as integration of third-party accelerator support will be explained. Android devices are getting popular not only in the mobile market but although in the industrial environment. Porting Android to a custom board can be challenging, especially as little information about Android internals are available. […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Android Cortex A8 Keyboard / Advanced Remote for TV

Android Cortex A8 Keyboard / Advanced Remote for TV

Remote Solution,  a small technology company based in Hong Kong South Korea, has shown off an Android 4.0 powered keyboard controlling an Android STB at CES 2013. The device is designed to be used as an advanced TV remote control, looks like a small tablet with 8 control button, and can be inserted into a full sized QWERTY keyboard for faster typing. The specifications are as follows: SoC – ARM Cortex-A8 processor @ 720 MHz (I’d guess a TI OMAP3 or Sitara processor at this freq) System Memory – 512MB RAM Storage – 2GB flash Display – 3.5″ touchscreen display (480 x 320) Connectivity – WiFi and Bluetooth Misc – IR port to be used as a universal remote. The touchscreen allows you to launch apps on your TV, move a cursor by using a virtual touch-pad, use an on-screen keyboard (when the screen is not connected to the keyboard), […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 37 Comments on Smallart U-Host AllWinner A10 mini PC is Available for $20

Smallart U-Host AllWinner A10 mini PC is Available for $20

Last July, I reviewed Smallart U-Host (U1A), an Android TV stick based on AllWinner A10 with 1GB RAM and 4GB RAM. At the time, I had a positive opinion of the device as the Android firmware was stable, and mostly did it was supposed, and it was feasible to run Linux distributions on the device. At that time, it was sold for $70, but this morning, Clint, one of my reader, informed me he spotted an AllWinner A10 device selling for $20.50 on Dealextreme. This device and the user interface resembles very much to Smallart U-Host, but the model name reported on Dealextreme is U2. According to Smallart U2 page, this device is based on Rockchip RK3066, so it’s just another naming mistake on DealExtreme. The rest of the specs are identical to Smallart U-Host: SoC – Allwinner A10 (Cortex A8) @ 1.5GHZ System Memory – 1GB DDR3 RAM Storage […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on XBMCHUB to Give Away Jynxbox Android HD Media Players

XBMCHUB to Give Away Jynxbox Android HD Media Players

XBMCHUB has announced the launch of a giveaway to promote XBMCHUB.com and expand this community that provides third party add-ons for XBMC, and the most active members of the community will get one of the 4 Jynxbox Android HD media players available. But before going into details about XBMCHUB “competition”, let’s have a look at the hardware. Specifications: SoC – Amlogic AML8726-M3 Cortex A9 CPU @ 1.2GHz with Mali 400 GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM DDR3 Storage – 4GB Nand Flash + MicroSD slot (Up to 32GB) USB – 3x USB 2.0 Host ports Connectivity Wifi – 802.11b/g/n 10/100 Ethernet Video Output – HDMI 1.3 Misc – IR Sensor for remote Video container formats – AVI, MKV, TS, TP, TRP, M2TS, MPG, MP4, MOV, M4V, VOB, IFO, DAT, WMV, ASF, RM, RMVB, FLV, XVID, DIVX 3/4/5 up to 1080p resolution Audio formats – MP3/ OGG/ WMA/ WAV/ AAC/ FLAC […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Ramos W32 Android Tablet Powered by Intel Atom Z2460

Ramos W32 Android Tablet Powered by Intel Atom Z2460

One of my reader, Alex, pointed me to Ramos W32 Tablet, which appears to be the first Android tablet built around Intel Atom Z2460 (Medfield), although the processor has been unveiled in January 2011, and smartphones such as Lenovo K800  have been available for nearly half a year. I suppose the delay between tablets and smartphones releases is because whereas the first smartphones could be based on Android 2.3.x (gingerbread), tablets would have to use Android 4.0.x (ICS) or greater to have a proper large screen interface. Here are Ramos W32 Tablet PC specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Z2460 @ 1.6GHz with PowerVR SGX540 GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 16GB Nand Flash, microSD card socket (Up to 32GB) Display – 10.1″ Capacitive Screen IPS Display (1280×800) Connectivity: Bluetooth WIFI 802.11 b/g/n 3G via external 3G dongles such as E1916, ZTE AC2736, HUAWEI E1750, HUAWEI EC122, HUAWEI EM770W […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments on MyGica A11 Android Set-top Box Powered by AMLogic AML8726-M3 Processor

MyGica A11 Android Set-top Box Powered by AMLogic AML8726-M3 Processor

Full-sized set-top boxes based on AMLogic AML8726-M3 processor have the potential to support XBMC Linux & Android with proper hardware support, but are not always priced very aggressively. But today, I’ve stumbled upon MyGica A11 Android 4.0 media player powered by AML8726-M3, with 1GB RAM and 4GB flash that sells for $65.10 on DealExtreme including shipping, and just 339 RMB (~55 USD) in China. Mygica A10 Specifications: SoC – AMLogic AML8726-M3 (Cortex A9) processor @ 1.0GHz with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4GB Flash + microSD slot (Up to 32GB) Video Output – HDMI 1.3 (Up to 1080p) Video Formats – AVI, RM, RMVB, Ts, TP, TRP, Vob, Mkv, Mov, WMV, IOS, AFS, FLV, DAT, MPG, MPEG & SWF Video Codecs – MPEG1/2/4, H.264, AVC/VC-1, Xvid ,DivX3/4/5/6, and Real Video 8/9/10 Audio Formats – MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, FLAC, ALAC, APE, AAC, AC-D, DTS & Real […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments on $49.99 Android 4.0 Smartphone Powered by Spreadtrum SC6820 Cortex A5 SoC

$49.99 Android 4.0 Smartphone Powered by Spreadtrum SC6820 Cortex A5 SoC

Forget about sub-$100 smartphones, there’s now a sub $50 smartphone (including worldwide shipping), some kind of mini Galaxy S3 clone with a 3.5″ touchscreen, powered by Speadtrum SC6820 Cortex A5 + Mali-400 SoC, with 256 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM and running Android 4.0.3 (ICS). Here are the specifications of the device as shown in Focalprice: SoC – Spreadtrum 6820 Cortex A5 @ 1.2GHz with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 256MB RAM Storage – 256MB NAND Flash + microSD socket (up to 8GB according to specs, 16 GB according to customer support) Display – 3.5″ capacitive touchscreen (480×800) Connectivity Bluetooth v2.0 Wi-Fi 802.11b Video Formats – MP4, 3GP Audio Formats – MP3, MIDI Camera – 0.3MP front camera & 1.3MP rear camera. Sensors – G-Sensor Network – GSM850/900/1800/1900, GPRS, EDGE Dual SIM card dual standby TV Support – Analog TV, PAL, NTSC, SECAM FM Radio Audio In – 3.5 mm […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 26 Comments on HI802 HDMI TV Dongle (Freescale i.MX6) is Now Available

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 […]