Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft), Author at CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

March 20, 2014March 20, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

OpenCL Accelerated SQL Database with ARM Mali GPU Compute Capabilities

We’ve previously seen GPU compute on ARM could improve performance for mobile, automotive and consumer electronics application. GPU compute offload CPU task that can be parallelized to the GPU using APIs such as OpenCL or RenderScript. Most applications that can leverage GPU compute are related to media processing (video decoding, picture processing, audio decoding, image reconigion, etc…), but one thing I did not suspect could be improve is database access. That’s what Tom Gall, Linaro, has achieved in a side project by using OpenCL to accelerate SQLite database operations by around 4 times for a given benchmark. The hardware used was a Samsung Chromebook with an Exynos 5250 SoC featurig a dual core Cortex A15 processor and an ARM Mali T604 GPU. CPU compute is only possible on ARM Mali T6xx and greater, and won’t work on Mali 400 / 450 GPUs. Other GPU vendors such as Vivante and Imagination […]

March 20, 2014March 20, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Xiaomi Unveils $130 Redmi Note Octa-core Android Smartphone

Xiaomi Redmi Note is an Android smartphone boasting a 5.5″ display, Mediatek MT6592 Octa-core clocked at 1.4 or 1.7 GHz, 1 to 2 GB RAM, and 8 GB Flash that is now available for pre-order in China for just 799 CNY or 999 CNY (~$130 and ~$160) depending on the versions. The only differences between the two versions are Mediatek CPU frequency (1.4 vs 1.7 GHz), and the RAM capacity (1 vs 2 GB). Xiaomi is a Chinese manufacturer, but they’ve recently started to sell phone overseas, so a similar phone may be soon available in more countries. Let’s check out the complete specifications: SoC- Mediatek MT6592 octa-core Cortex A7 processor @ 1.4 or 1.7 GHz with ARM Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1 or 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 8 GB NAND Flash + micro SD card up to 32GB Display – 5.5″ IPS display with 1280×720 resolution Cellular […]

March 19, 2014May 25, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

EZCast App is Now Supported by ChromeCast

EZCast is a decent Wi-Fi display solution using a proprietary protocol to show your local or online content on your TV via EZCast HDMI dongles powered by Action Semi ATV SoC. I’ve already reviewed two devices with Tronsmart T1000 and WiDiCast EC-E2, and found it to be fairly good with Android devices, but not so good with Windows PCs. Since the release of GoogleCast SDK for the ChromeCast, some people have asked support for ChromeCast protocol in EZCast dongle. However, it’s my understanding the SDK does not allow ChromeCast emulation on other devices yet. So instead the EZCast team has ported the app to support ChromeCast, which means if you own a ChromeCast you don’t need to buy an EZCast dongle to play around with EZCast and access your local content. However, as you can see from the comparison tablet above,. EZCast for ChromeCast is not quite able to support […]

March 19, 2014March 19, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Here Comes Android Wear, Android for Wearables

Google has just unveiled Android Wear, a project that extends Android to wearables, as well as the developer preview. At first, Google will start with watches, but the project may eventually support other wearables. The smartwatch will be smartphone companion with easy access to voice and contextual data. Google explains Android Wear will provide timely and useful information such as important social updates, or news. You’ll be able to use the familiar “Ok Google” to ask questions or complete tasks (call, SMS, alerts…) with your watch, Android Wear devices will be able to act as health and fitness bands, and they’ll also be used a smart remote to voice-control your phone, TV or Hi-Fi. Some of the first devices to use Android Wear will be Motorola Moto 360 and LG G Watch.But Google plans to work with Asus, HTC, and Samsung as well, chip makers Broadcom, Imagination, Intel, Mediatek and Qualcomm, […]

March 19, 2014March 19, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

MicroView is a Tiny Arduino Compatible Board with an OLED Display (Crowdfunding)

Last year, we’ve been presented with many small Arduino compatible boards such as MicroDuino, RFDuino, BLEDuino, Spark Core, Olimexino-Nano and more… All these boards have been own strength and connectivity options, but if you want to see what going on in your board, you’d either need to connect it to your computer, or connect some LEDs or an external display. Geek Ammo’s MicroView fixes that by providing an Arduino compatible board nicely combined with a built-in OLED display. This allows you to display stats, weather, play games, create wearable projects (watch, necklace), and all sort of other projects that may require a small display. MicroView specifications: MCU – Atmel ATmega328P @ 16 MHz with 32KB flash, 2 KB SRAM, and 1KB EEPROM Display – 64×48 OLED Display Digital I/O – 12 (of which 3 provide PWM output) Analog Input – 6 Operating Voltage: 5V Input Voltage: 3.3VDC to 16VDC, no […]

March 18, 2014March 18, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Huawei D01 Server Board Features 16 ARM Cortex A15 Cores with up to 64 GB RAM, 3 SATA, 2 GbE Ports

During Linaro 14.02 release, I noticed a Huawei D01 board with 16 ARM Cortex A15 core, but details were lacking. Charbax was a Linaro Connect Asia earlier this month, and he could film the board in action, and interview the development team about this server board, and software development. Huawei D01 specifications: Processor HiSilicon SoC with16 x ARM Cortex-A15 CPU Core @ max. 1.5GHz (up to 84000 DMIPS) Support for CPU configuration as AMP/SMP Configurable Big or Little endian. Default: Little endian System Memory – 2x 64bit DDR3 DRAM Dual Inline Memory up to 1600 MHz, Module(DIMM) sockets:(2)&(3) . Default capacity: 8GB, upgradeable to 64GB Storage – 2x 1Gb NOR Flash, 2x 512MB NAND Flash, 3x SATA III for 2.5″ hard drives or SSD, 1x SD card Connectivity – 2x 10/100/1000Mbit/s Gigabit Ethernet ports, 1x 10/100Mbit/s FE port Other Peripheral Interfaces 2x USB 2.0 Host ports 2x UART, 4x I2C, […]

March 18, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Tizen Software Development Kit for Wearables is Now Available for Download

Samsung Electronics has just announced today that Tizen Software Development Kit (SDK) for Wearables 1.0.0 Beta1 is now available for download on Tizen Developer website. The SDK can be used to develop application for the Gear 2 or Gear 2 Neo smartwatches announced by Samsung at Mobile World Congress 2014. The Tizen SDK for Wearable is comprised of tools to develop Tizen wearable applications, including the Tizen wearable IDE, an Emulator, a toolchain, sample applications, and documentation. This SDK is compatible with Ubuntu 12.04 or 12.10 (32- or 64-bit), Microsoft Windows XP (32-bit) Service Pack 2 or later, Microsoft Windows 7 (32- or 64-bit), Apple Mac OS X 10.7 Lion (64-bit), Apple Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion (64-bit), and Apple Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks (64-bit). Samsung claims to have over 100 partnerships that will bring apps to their Tizen smartwatches. Existing apps including Atooma (tasks automation), Banjo (social […]

March 18, 2014March 20, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Mi World PCS is a Portable ARM mini PC with the Specifications of an High-end Smartphone (Crowdfunding)

Most ARM based mini PCs sell because they are cheap, low power and come in a small form factor. At about $600, Mi World PCS (Portable Computer System) is not cheap, but thanks to its battery it’s fully portable, and it has specifications similar to the latest flagship smartphones with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad core processor, 2 GB RAM, wireless charging support, and more. Mi World PCS specifications: SoC – Qualcommon Snapdragon 800 (8074) quad core Krait processor up to 2.4 GHz with Adreno 330 GPU, Hexagon QDSP6 DSP System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 memory Storage – 64 to 512 GB hot swappable SD RAID storage Video Output – Micro-HDMI for output in displays up to 4k Connectivity – Wi-Fi (802.11 AC), Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS IZat location technology USB – USB 3.0 Battery – Capacity N/A, up to 30 hour battery life Dimensions – N/A Weight – […]