If you thought the 74 USD MK802 Android mini PC was cheap, think again. One of my reader informed me that Pandawill started selling a similar product for 52.99 USD (inc shipping). The “CS-01 Mini Android TV Box” features a Telechips TCC8923 dual TCC8925 Cortex A5 processor clocked at 1 GHz 800 MHz with 512 MB RAM and 4GB NAND Flash, and runs Android 4.0.4.
Here are the specifications of the device:
- SoC – Telechips
TCC8923 (dual core Cortex A5)TCC8925 @1GHz800 MHz with Mali-400 GPU - System Memory – 512MB RAM
- Storage – 4GB NAND flash
- Video output – HDMI (Up to 1080p60)
- Video formats – AVI, RMVB, MKV & FLV (1080P)
- Audio formats – MP3, WMA, WAV, APE, AAC, FLAC, OGG
- Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- USB – 1 x USB 2.0 port + 1 x micro USB port
- Dimensions – 90 x 40 x 29mm
- Weight – 80g
The package is said to include one USB Cable, so it is apparently not sold with a power supply and you are expected to power it with your own or with the TV USB port.
Contrary to the MK802, it has a male HDMI connector and can just be plugged into the TV like that:
There are 2 main other differences compared to MK802 mini PC.
The first and most important one is that there isn’t any microSD card slot, which means you won’t be able to easily add external storage. After you’ve connected a USB wireless dongle for your mouse and keyboard, and the power supply, you won’t have any available USB ports for a USB Thumbdrive. The only solution would be to use a USB hub (preferably powered).
Whereas MK802 features an Allwinner A10 with an ARM Cortex A8 core, the Telechips SoC embeds a Cortex A5 core. I initially believed Cortex A5 was a low cost and low power version of the Cortex A8 that would yield lower performance. However, some synthetic benchmarks show that Cortex A5 may actually be faster than Cortex A8 and only slightly slower than Cortex A9.
The lack of microSD card slot and developer community around Telechips TCC8925 will also make it much more tricky to run Linux on that platform.
Nevertheless, if you are mainly interested in having an Android mini PC to browse the web, read emails and watch online videos, this product is really at the right price point which performance which should be similar to MK802. You can buy it for 52.99 USD on Pandawill Store including international shipping by China Post. However, if you don’t want your device to get lost on the way, it might be wiser to use registered mail with Hong Kong or Singapore post which only costs slightly more (about $2). If you are a distributor, you can also buy in quantities (500 to 1000 pcs) for about $30 per piece.
[Update: It’s now also available on Aliexpress for the same price with free international shipping via Hong Kong Post]
[Update 2: Dealextreme added it for $51 inc. shipping and they have both White and Black versions.]
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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has the usb boot?
@ florianoooo
Sorry, I don’t know about that. I haven’t check details about TCC8923 processor and development resources yet. The processor is relatively new, so there may not be much information available.
Telechips TCC8923 (Cortex A5) @ 1GHz with Mali-400 GPU ? Very low price for such a good CPU+GPU.
May be TCC8923 600MHz + Mali-400MP 395MHz ~= 1GHz ?
@ Different
I’m also very surprised with the price, although this type of device has a BoM cost around 20 to 25 USD, and IMHO 74 USD for the MK802 was not such a good deal. That’s true that some sites “tweak” the specs to make devices look faster than they really are. I suppose we’ll only know after somebody gets one and runs benchmarks.
@ cnxsoft
Everyone can find a mention about Telechips TCC8923, 1.2GHz, Cortex-A5 Dual Core. For example, the TCC8923 is referred to in the description of the tablet PC PD10.
May be this is a mistake in the description, and CX-01 has a TCC8925 in fact 😉
TCC8925 Based HDMI Dongle from Telechips: http://www.telechips.com/eng/news_notice/notice_view.asp?page=1&idx=108&nType=0&country=eng
Sorry for multiple posts, but you should see it here: RS-TV100-W from Shenzhen Raysun Electronics Co.
Frame of the device looks identical.
Telechips TCC8925 @ 1.0 Ghz (max) / Cortex-A5 (45nm CMOS) / 3D GPU Mail-400
Wireless: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n (AR6103)
DDR3: 512M (16bit) or 1024M
Internal 4G/8G/16G Nand Flash
Power consumption: Main Unit + 2.4G sender (Mouse) ≤700mA@5V
Link: http://www.touchpadtabletcomputer.com/china-android_iptv_html_stick_dongle_with_web_browser_gallery_viewer_adobe_flash_player-314441.html
@ Different
Yes, you’re right, I did not realize TCC8923 was a dual core processor. The price is just too low.
I’ve also asked Pandawill to run Antutu benchmark, and they say it gets 8923. http://www.pandawillforum.com/showthread.php?11641-New-Arrival-CX-01-Mini-Android-TV-Box-Android-4-0-Cortex-A5-HDMI-USB-4GB&p=64965&viewfull=1#post64965
That’s a massive score, I suppose they copied the 8923 in TCC8923 instead of the actual score…
Is it really run on this device Ubuntu or Puppylinux or Debian?
@ Alex
I don’t think anybody has ported Linux to this device yet. This is surely technically feasible, but you may not see Ubuntu / Debian run on this one for a while.
@ cnxsoft
Pandawill told me the specs are similar to PD10 Tablet with Telechips TCC8923 – http://goo.gl/m2XkW.
So it appears to really be a dual core cortex A5. The Antutu score for the tablet is about 2,900, which is similar to the score I get with my single core cortex A9 Tablet with the same resolution.
@ cnxsoft
But the PD10 Tablet has a frequency 1.2GHz, and the device CX-01 only 1GHz. Shamanism!
The CX-01 $52.99 + Free Shipping is already on Aliexpress.
MK802 vs CX-01 – who wins?
also found one here is this same? $52 http://www.chinabuye.com/c77-mini-android-pc-android-tv-box-android-4-0-cortex-a5-hdmi-usb-4gb
Some other stuff on this site got interesting pricing, like an aniol dualcore, 1gb ram, 1024×600 7″ for $119 http://www.chinabuye.com/ainol-novo-7-elf-ii-android-4-0-7-8gb-cortex-a9-dual-core-1-5ghz-1gb-ddr-hdmi-webcam-tablet-pc-black
Or may be I’m too greedy 🙂
@ Different
In terms of hype (and sales), the MK802 clearly wins.
In terms of performance, I think there are about equal (based on Antutu benchmark). So in terms of price / performance ratio, CX-01 clearly wins.
If CX-01 could just have a microSD card slot, it would have been a clear winner.
@ max
Yes, this is the same device.
Ainol Novo 7 Elf II tablet is also available on Aliexpress for $102 + shipping.
I’m wondering if there’s an app that would let me control this thing from my iPhone or iPad. That would make the deal for me, since it doesn’t come with a remote or thumb pad or anything.
Hello everybody! CX-01 is really interesting product. My friend is owner of Russian group-buying site togetho.ru (We already made several successful group-buying for interesting models (A7HD, Ten3, ThL V9, PD10 Freelander, etc.) . And he opened group-buying subscription for CX-01 for only $39.99 including Singapore post shipping on Pandawill.com !
This works in such way: on http://togetho.ru/cx01.html you can find input textbox. You need to enter your email to subscribe for group-buying deal. When deal will ON you will receive an email with discount coupon code for Pandawill.com. You can apply it with product from this link on Pandawill store: http://www.pandawill.com/cx01-mini-android-tv-box-android-40-cortex-a5-hdmi-usb-4gb-p63620.html
I already talked with him, he will prepare international page later.
Sorry for my English 🙂
Small correction: $39.99 including China Post shipping. But as mentioned before you can add several bucks to get HongKong or Singapore post shipping.
A benchmark for TCC8923 (Hyundai A7ART): “Comprehensive performance test tools Quadrant is run A7ART points results for 1080, slightly higher than the same program Freelander PD10, but the experience did not particularly clear distinction.”
Link: http://j.mp/MwFezE
Look closely at the 10 th image below in #4 post from pandawillforum.com. The photo shows a string: TCC8925_HDMI_DONGLE
No mention of TCC8923 🙂
@ Different
Yes, you’re right it’s very confusing and you may end up being right about the processor :).
Reading pandawill forum, it seem the product will only be released by the end of the month, so you can only pre-order now… I’ve also seen they sell it together with a wireless air mouse for $79.99.
http://www.pandawill.com/cx01-mini-android-tv-box-rii-r900-professional-air-mouse-presenter-p63991.html
@ cnxsoft
Yeah, I saw the CX-01 + Rii R900 yesterday. It is suitable for presentations.
I want to show you a new weblink. This is very interesting.
http://www.newmi.com/en/products/IP887-HDMI-Dongle.html
@ Different
It looks like the manufacturer of the device, and it uses Telechips 8925! At the same time, that one is said to run Android 2.3 and features a jack to be used with a cable with an IR sensor.
@ cnxsoft
Hi cnxsoft,
I found another the AnTuTu test of CX-01. The score is 2288. This seems like a good result, considering the clock speed of CPU does not exceed 808 MHz. But still it’s a synthetic test. Now I can see only one advantage of this device – low power consumption. This device can be powered from a single USB port (~750mA@5VDC).
I bought a similar device based on the chip TCC8925, but with microSD slot. It will be interesting to compare the results…
@ Different
Thanks. The Antutu benchmark score is about the same as the Mele A1000 (2337).
So, Pandawill clarified the issue of naming the chip. It’s really TCC8925. Link.
@ Different
Thanks, I’ve updated the post. That’s annoying that Chinese websites do not have reliable specs…
Telechips is also not doing a good job of publishing data about their CPU. I can see a lot of “dual core cortex A5 TCC8925” on the web, whereas it’s just a single core and TCC8923 is dual core.
@ cnxsoft
The CPU TCC8925 can operates from 625 to 833 MHz only…
@ Different
Since Valueplus Tizzbird TCC8925 is clocked at 800 MHz, you may be right. But Telechips does not release any info about their new chips, where did you get this info ?
A Google search found on the datasheet TCC8925 😉
I found an interesting video, which is clearly visible plate heatsink, exept on the CPU. Probably, the chip is still in need of cooling, even at a frequency of 800MHz. But I have not seen mention of overheating CX-01 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUfxhCBy1lM
This is another picture settings for the device CX-01. Note that the frequencies 531.66MHz!..
http://pic.yupoo.com/subor_v/C5JrwpSB/NrJ4x.jpg
@ Different
It’s possible the frequency will be reduced at idle times to decrease power consumption.
it’s our video! thanks for featuring it! you do a great job 🙂
@ Marco
Excellent video! It really heatsink in? How much heatsink is heated?
I just want to stick a heatsink on the CPU in my MK802… 🙂
@ Marco
@ Different
Yes, the CX-01 almost makes the Raspberry Pi look like a giant board.
I can’t see heat-sink, just an EMC shield, or maybe I’m wrong…
Does it get hot like MK802?
@ cnxsoft
Aluminum plate between the PCB so much in thickness that can serve as a heat sink completely, I think.
@ cnxsoft
there’s a tiny plate on the SoC, I don’t think we can consider it an heatsink
I did not test the MK802, so I don’t know about that
the CX-01 runs hot but the temperature is under control
Sorry for offtopic. I think it will be interesting. Although up to Christmas is still far, but still… 🙂
Mini PCs are becoming more beautiful. Meet the new model SP-FSD25 based on Cortex A5. A great gift!
Hey what’s the price of this thing? Nice to see inbuilt Bluetooth 4.0 , could have better if they had 1GB model with sale /shipping price
It looks like the manufacturer website, and they don’t provide pricing info publicly since they only sell in quantities.
I suppose there is no built-in Bluetooth (http://westca.org/photo/201205/sp-fsd25_en_.pdf), but it’s likely they support BT via an external BT USB Dongle.
@ max
The product is still very raw, a lot of bugs there. But still very interesting.
@ Marco
Do you have your device rooted? Mine isn’t. I’ve checked it using Root Checker, any other way to check it?
Here is the same device(by appearance and specifications) branded as ipazzport NC-812-16 by other manufacturer(unisen):
http://www.ipazzport.com/NC-812-16.html
@ Gabe
That’s interesting to see how they all market it as a 1GHz CPU even though the maximum frequency is 833 MHz, rounding error I suppose…
Seems like Telechips released some source code(I’ve uploaded them to minus.com because download from Telechips website is a little bit slow):
Telechips ICS Platform Source:
http://minus.com/lbio27onzzOakq
Kernel-3.0.8.tar.gz:
http://minus.com/l4YnNxZvSjwyR
A version with 8GB of internal memory has popped up on both Pandawill and DX for only a few dollars more.
@ NPS
That’s the one:
In this device really is a small heat sink on the CPU. Here are a few photos. Do not pay attention to another case, they have the same insides.
Hey, I’d like to point out that there is a misunderstanding going around that A5 is more speedy than A8. This is nonsense as A8 provides 2 DMIPS/MHz while A5 just 1.6 DMIPS/MHz. That’s just about core performance not about any additional chip performance like GPU, DSP etc. See table at http://www.arm.com/products/processors/cortex-a/index.php for reference.
Tweak patch. rom version – CX1-V1.0-v12.05_r1-4096-8189-en (BETA SCRIPT)
1 – Stable Android Market
2 – build.prop Tweaks
* Full Market
* GPU try to handle U
* Max events UI can handle in 1s
* Increase touch responsiveness
* Dalvik Tweak
* TCP optimizing settings
* OOM Settings
* OOM Adjustments
3 – Ads Blocks
4 – ” Google blocking apps writing to SD cards” (fix)
Download: http://www.sendspace.com/file/ds7x7u
How to install:
1 – Root the cx-01
2 – uncompress the cx-01 tewakfix.zip
3 – connect the cx-01 to the pc and wait some minutes untill is finished to boot.
4 – run the patch.bat file
5 – reboot
That´s all
@tatubias
Thanks, somebody informed me about your patch on Pandawill Forum, but I have yet to try it. Hopefully, it’s more stable now and we can play high bitrate videos over the network.
for the moment we have not being worked the network issue. due we were not able to compile a booting kernel.
yesterday a guy was able to it but he was not able to make the videoplayback work. so we need some work to be done.
you can check pandawill forum and share your knowledge.
New Telechips 8925 device with external WIFI antenna, it’s more expensive than other devices:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Flash-8GB-WIFI-HD-1080P-TV-BOX-Stick-HDMI-Stream-Player-Android-4-0-/310493703549?pt=US_Internet_Media_Streamers&hash=item484added7d
This might be the manufacturer homepage:
http://www.ipazzport.com/NC-812-16A.html
Youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6ISxi3HkMQ
Some hardware design files for Enrich TCC8925 HDMI stick found on a chinese site:
http://ge.tt/6Eh4vbm/v/0
http://ge.tt/5OVAvbm/v/0
@Richie Rich
Thanks, but the files are not available anymore.
@cnxsoft
I’ve uploaded them to a different site:
http://www2.zippyshare.com/v/66071455/file.html
http://www54.zippyshare.com/v/58849664/file.html