VIA Embedded Store Launches for Embedded ARM & x86 Boards and Systems

Most of the time for boards and systems targeting industrial or embedded applications, companies will not provide pricing information, and if you want a sample for evaluation, or want to order a few for a project requiring limited quantities, you’ll need to contact sales, talk about your project, volume, schedule, etc… But for VIA Embedded boards and systems, you won’t need to go through this loop anymore, as the company has just launched VIA Embedded Store where you can buy boards such as VAB-820 pico-ITX board or a rugged system such as AMOS-820 directly online without questions asked. I’ve gone through most of the checkout procedure and you can proceed as a guest or by registering, and they’ll just ask billing and shipping information, shipping method, and payment method selection (Only Paypal at this time).  It’s a simple as that, no need to fill some “I’m not a terrorist” forms […]

VIA VAB-1000 Pico-ITX Board Features VIA Elite E1000 Dual Cortex A9 SoC, Targets Embedded Android and Linux

Via has introduced VAB-1000 Pico-ITX board at Embedded World 2014. This new embedded board features VIA Elite E1000 dual Cortex A9 SoC together with 2GB DDR3 SDRAM, 4GB eMMC Flash memory, and numerous I/Os. The board targets interactive kiosk, digital signage and HMI (Human Machine Interface) applications running Android or Linux. VIA VAB-1000 Specifications: SoC – VIA Elite E1000 dual core Cortex A9 SoC with unnamed 2D/3D GPU with Unified Shader Architecture featuring 64 stream processors System Memory – 2GB DRR3 Storage – 4GB eMMC + microSD slot Back panel I/O 2x HDMI connectors for HDMI-in and HDMI-out 2x mini-USB 2.0 port 1x MicroSD slot 1x Gigabit Ethernet port 1x DC-in Jack. Front panel I/O 1x pin header for two additional USB ports 1x pin header for SPI and 8-pin GPIO 1x pin header for three I2C and two COM ports 1x pin-header for front audio (Line-in/Line-Out/Mic-In). Internal I/O 1x […]

Firefox OS Smartphones, Tablets and Reference Designs at Mobile World Congress 2014

Beside the $25 smartphone, Mozilla has also announced a number of smartphones and tablets running Firefox OS during an event at Mobile World Congress 2014. The first devices such as ZTE Open featured a single core processor, the new models come with more powerful dual and quad core processors, mostly from Qualcomm, but also WonderMedia and AllWinner, together with better screen and features. Let’s have a look. ZTE Open C and Open II ZTE Open C smartphone features a 4″ display (800 x 480 resolution), powered by Qualcomm Snadragon 200 SoC @ 1.2 GHz, 512MB of RAM, a 2MP camera, as well as a 1,200mAh battery. Engadget has an hands-on video. ZTE Open II sports a 3.5″ (HVGA -> 480×320) display, with a dual core Snapdragon processor @ 1.2 GHz, 256 MB, 2GB flash, a 2MP camera, and a 1150 mh, according to CNet. It also supports 3G networks. Both […]

VIA APC Rock and Paper Boards Now Officially Support Firefox OS

VIA has just announced a partnership with Mozilla for support and development of Firefox OS for APC Rock and APC Paper platforms based on WonderMedia WM8950 single core ARM Cortex A9 SoC. Firefox OS source code and documentation for the APC boards are available on the company’s apc-firefox-os github repository. To motivate the developer’s community, the company is also offering free APCs to developers that fix specific bugs. A first version was released on the 22nd of November 2013, with the following fixes: Updated firmware package to support HDMI hotplug as the solution from VIA Switched to latest base from Mozilla and using master branch for all Mozilla repos Support multiple hardware keyboard hot plug Fixed so that Mozilla soft home button can be enabled via settings Supports Ethernet cable hot plug Enabled SNTP with Ethernet network Set default display timeout to never Fixed some orientation bug due to migration to […]

Android 4.2 Laptop Boasts 13.3″ Display, Dual Core WM8880 SoC

Charbax has just found a 13.3″ laptop powered by WonderMedia WM8880 dual core Cortex A9 processor running Android 4.2 manufactured by Shenzhen Honlin, and selling for about $108 in China (retail or factory price?). That’s the first time I see a Chinese ARM based laptop with a somewhat decent screen, so I went to Aliexpress to find the device or a similar one, and after going through all the 13.3″ Android tablets, I found a no brand laptop, model GA1331F, sold by Shenzhen GA Technology Development with apparently the same specs for  about $170 including shipping via EMS. GA1331F Laptop specifications: SoC – WonderMedia WM8880 Dual-Core ARM Cortex A9 @ 1.5GHz with Mali-400 MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 RAM @ 1033MHz, with an option to get 2GB Storage – 8GB or 16GB MLC NAND flash, SD card slot (Up to 32GB) Display – 13.3″ LCD screen (1280 x 800) […]

VIA Unveils VAB-820 Pico-ITX Board Powered by Freescale i.MX6 Quad

About two weeks ago, VIA announced the VAB-820, which according to the company, is the first ARM based quad core Pico-ITX single board computer (SBC) on the market. A claim that looks to be incorrect by the way. The board is powered by Freescale i.MX6Quad quad core ARM Cortex A9 processor, and comes with 1GB DDR3 SDRAM and 4GB eMMC Flash. This is an industrial board targeting in-vehicle, surveillance and industrial applications, designed to work in an operating temperature range from -20°C ~ 70°, and with a seven years longevity support. VAB-820 Specifications: SoC – Freescale i.MX 6Quad ARM Cortex-A9 @ 1.0GHz with Vivante GC2000 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3-1066 SDRAM using 128M x16 memory devices Storage – 4MB SPI Serial Flash, 4GB eMMC Flash, and microSD slot (up to 64GB) Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet using Micrel KSZ9031RNX Ethernet transceiver with RGMII support Audio – Freescale SGTL5000 low power stereo […]

VIA Announces $99 Springboard Platform for Android and Linux Development

Back in May 2013, VIA unveiled VAB-600 Pico-ITX board powered by WonderMedia WM8950 with an ARM Cortex A9 processor @ 800 MHz and a Mali-400 GPU. At the time they provided a starter kit with a 7″ display. The company has now announced the VIA Springboard Platform based on VAB-600 that is available without Wi-Fi for $99 or with Wi-Fi for $129. Here are the items included in the kits: VAB-600 Pico-ITX board with WM8950, 1GB DDR3 SDRAM, 4GB eMMC Flash memory and microSD slot. See VAB-600 post for detailed specifications. VIA VAB-600-A I/O extender card: 1 x Line-Out jack 1 x Mic-In jack 2 x USB 2.0 A-type ports 1 x Suspend LED power indicator 1 x Power On/Off button 3 x board-to-board connectors 1 x USB board-to-board connector VIA VNT9271 Springboard USB WiFi module (Wi-Fi Kit only) – Supports IEEE 802.11b/g/n standards and 802.11e WiFi Multimedia (WMM). Based […]

$40 SunnyCube V7 Tablet Powered by WonderMedia WM8880 Dual Core SoC

There’s a war going on in China at this very moment, a war fought between Chinese tablet SoC manufacturers to get the cheapest dual core tablet on the market, and according to diverse reports, it seems VIA Wondermedia may have won a battle with WM8880 dual core SoC, as the upcoming SunnyCube V7 tablet will sell for 249 RMB (About $40 US), just 20 RMB (~$3) more than AllWinner A13 based tablets. The rest of the world should be able to get it for about $50 – $55 from websites such as Aliexpress, after paying for “free” shipping. SunnyCube V7 Specifications: SoC – VIA WM8880 Dual core Cortex A9 processor @ 1.5GHz + Mali-400 MP2 GPU System Memory – 512MB RAM Storage – 4GB Flash Display – 7-inch WVGA (800×480) display Video Playback – H.264, WMV, MPEG2/4, VP8 (up to 1080p) Camera – Front and rear cameras Battery – Unknown […]

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