Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on VCON Adds IoT Cloud Connectivity to Existing STM32 & AVR Products

VCON Adds IoT Cloud Connectivity to Existing STM32 & AVR Products

mdash iot cloud

You can have a product based on a microcontroller and operating fully offline, for example, a washing machine. But you’d now like to update your appliance to connect to the cloud so it can upload data to the cloud, and help your customer access it. This is a non-trivial update as it requires you to add a communication module be it WiFi or Ethernet, or a new microcontroller that would require you to update your firmware to support networking and other new features. You’d also need to develop your own cloud platform, and potentially a smartphone app. Cesanta VCON platform aims to simplify the upgrade with firmware that can be flashed to ESP8266 or ESP32 module, and remotely upgrade the firmware on STM32 and AVR microcontrollers. On the hardware side, you’d need to wire your existing MCU to the ESP32 module with UART for data, BOOT/RESET for OTA firmware update. You don’t need to update your existing firmware at this …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Google Envelope Aims to Reduce your Smartphone Addiction

Google Envelope Aims to Reduce your Smartphone Addiction

Google Envelop Phone

Smartphones are useful tools, but they can also be addictive as people may start checking the phone each time they receive a notification, visit their Facebook page to check how many likes they got, or just want to check their emails a bit too frequently. Google has been working on addressing the issue with the Digital Wellbeing app launched as part of Android 9 aims to help you take some time away from your phone. The company has now launched a new Digital Wellbeing experiment with Google Envelope. Those are actual paper envelopes housing your phone in order to convert it either in a phone that can only make or receive phone calls, or camera with only the ability to take photos or shot videos. There’s also an accompanying app that will detect the taps on the button. You’ll need to start the app first, then slide your phone into the paper envelope and seal it up. The “Phone” Envelop …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on Mecool M8S Plus W TV Box Sells for Less than $15 (Promo)

Mecool M8S Plus W TV Box Sells for Less than $15 (Promo)

Mecool M8S Plus W

Mecool M8S Plus W is just another Amlogic S905W based Android 7.1 TV box fitted with 1GB RAM, and 8GB eMMC flash. I would certainly not recommend this device for the best user experience, but if you’d just like to play some videos or tinker with the box, the price is hard to beat as the TV box currently goes for $14.96 plus shipping (around $1 extra here) Mecool M8S Plus W specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905W quad-core Cortex A53 processor with Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash, no MicroSD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 output, AV port with composite video and stereo audio Video Decoding – H.265, H.264, and VP9 up to 4K @ 30 fps Connectivity – 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4, no Bluetooth, no Ethernet USB – 2x USB 2.0 port Misc – Power LED, IR receiver Power Supply – 5V/2A Dimensions – 100 x 90 x 16 …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on GOLE F7 Rugged Tablet Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Charging Dock

GOLE F7 Rugged Tablet Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Charging Dock

GOLE F7 Rugged Tablet Review

GOLE F7 is a rugged Windows 10 Pro tablet with a 10.1″ touchscreen display, an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 Cherry Trail processor,  and “triple-proofed” with resistance to shocks, waterproofness, and dustproofness (see full specs). The tablet also comes with various features that can be useful to industrial use cases. The company sent me a sample fitted with 4G, a QR and bar code scanner, and a fingerprint print, as well as a separate charging dock. I’ll first have a look at the device and its hardware features in the first part of the review before trying it out with Windows 10 Pro in the second part that will focus on special features and ruggedness. The tablet comes with a rubber cover to protect all sides. All ports are covered to make the tablet dust-and-waterproof, and I could easily pull those to reveal USB, Ethernet and a COM port on one side… … a 3.5mm audio jack, micro HDMI port, micro USB …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Lindenis V536 SoM & SBC Targets 4K Camera Applications

Lindenis V536 SoM & SBC Targets 4K Camera Applications

Lindenis V536 Specifications

Back in summer 2018, we wrote about Lindenis V5 single board computer based on Allwinner V5 quad-core Cortex-A7 processor with two MIPI CSI connectors and designed for 4K cameras. Allwinner has now come up with a new 4K camera processor very similar to V5, since Allwinner V566 comes with two Cortex-A7 cores, and a single MIPI CSI interface, and Lindenis designed a new SBC based on the new processor using a SoM + baseboard design instead. Lindenis V536 specifications: SoM SoC – Allwinner V536 dual-core Cortex-A7 processor @ 1.2 GHz; 4K H.265/H.264 video encoding & decoding @ 30 fps; 28nm process System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – SPI NOR flash or SPI NAND flash, bootable MicroSD card Video Output – Micro HDMI 1.4 port Video Input – MIPI CSI connector Audio – Digital microphone Connectivity – 802.11b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi 5 & Bluetooth 4.2 via AP6255 Baseboard Interface  – Castellated holes Power Supply – 5V/2A via micro USB port or castellated …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on Qualcomm Introduces Snapdragon 720G, 662, and 460 4G Mobile SoCs with NavIC GNSS

Qualcomm Introduces Snapdragon 720G, 662, and 460 4G Mobile SoCs with NavIC GNSS

Snapdragon NavIC SoC

While 5G is ramping up, 4G LTE handsets will still be dominant in terms of market demand for a few more years. So Qualcomm has unveiled three new mobile SoC for mid-range smartphones with Snapdragon 720G, Snapdragon 622, and Snapdragon 460 that also happen to be one of the first processors to support Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC). Snapdragon 460 Key features: CPU – 8x Kryo 240 cores up to 2.3GHz GPU – Adreno 610 GPU DSP – Hexagon 683 with vector extensions, hardware-accelerated TensorFlow Lite ISP – Spectra 340 ISP supporting 25MP camera, or dual 16MP camera Connectivity Cellular – Snapdragon X11 LTE modem WiFi 6 ready Bluetooth 5.1 with advanced audio via the Qualcomm FastConnect 6100 platform GNSS – Dual-Frequency (L1 and L5) GNSS for GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, NavIC Quick Charge 3.0 – 0 to 50% in 20 minutes Process – 11nm Snapdragon 460 is an update to the Arm Cortex-A53 based Snapdragon 450 processor with the …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on ODYSSEY-STM32MP157C SBC Feature STMicro STM32MP157C Cortex-A7/M4 SoC

ODYSSEY-STM32MP157C SBC Feature STMicro STM32MP157C Cortex-A7/M4 SoC

NPi-STM32MP157C

Seeed Studio has been working on a single board computer powered by STMicro STM32MP157C Arm Cortex-A7/M4 microprocessor, comprised of the Raspberry Pi inspired NPi-STM32MP157C baseboard, and SoM-STM32MP157C system-on-module. SoM-STM32MP157C SoM Module specifications: MPU (1) – STMicro STM32MP157C dual-core Arm Cortex-A7 processor @ 650 MHz, and Arm Cortex-M4F MCU System Memory (2) – 512MB DDR3 RAM Storage (4) – 4GB eMMC flash Host Connectors – 3x 70-pin board-to-board connectors with HDMI, USB, Gigabit Ethernet, audio GPIOs, etc… Misc – Power and USER LEDs PMU (3) – STPMIC1A power management IC Dimensions – 38mm x 38mm The module is said to targets consumer and industrial applications, white goods, medical equipment, and wearable devices. NPi-STM32MP157C baseboard   Key features and specifications: SoM Support – Compatible with SOM-STM32MP157C described above Storage – MicroSD card slot Display I/F – 1x MIPI DSI interface Audio – 3.5mm audio jack, WM8960 audio codec Camera I/F – 1x DVP camera interface Networking & Wireless Connectivity 1x Gigabit Ethernet …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments on TIL: Some 9V Batteries can be Recharged with a Simple USB Cable

TIL: Some 9V Batteries can be Recharged with a Simple USB Cable

9V Battery USB

9V batteries are/used to be popular for Arduino projects, as they can easily be connected via the power jack of the board. But now that most recent Arduino boards are powered by 5V via a USB Type-C port or Vin in, those are not an option. I thought I found a solution when I saw the following tweet earlier today which looks to provide a convenient way to connect a 9V battery to devices powered by USB. accidentally ran into another cursed adapter: 9v battery to USB pic.twitter.com/laKjIi6wUy — foone (@Foone) January 20, 2020 I was unable to find details about the board, but I suppose the chip close to the USB connector is a 9V to 5V regulator (e.g. LM7805), so this would indeed output 5V. Just don’t expect to fully charge your phone with it, as a typical 9V battery has a 500mAh capacity. [Update: It’s on Retrokits, but out of stock] If you are interested in unusual …

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