Author: Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

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.
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Design a User Interface for MINIX NEO Devices and Win up to $5,000

Design a User Interface for MINIX NEO Devices and Win up to $5,000

MINIX, the company that designs and manufacture Android media player such as the MINIX NEO X7, has just launched the MINIX Developer Challenge, and offers prizes up to $5,000 to the best user interfaces for their Android TV Boxes. In order to participate, you’ll have to design a user interface that works on all the following Android devices: NEO X7, NEO X7mini, NEO X5, NEO X5mini, and NEO G4. The U.I designs will be judged on the following criteria: Ease of Navigation (using only the simple MINIX I.R remote) Functionality / ‘User Friendliness’ Aesthetics / Appearance Degree of Innovation / Creativity There will be three winners with cash prizes. The winner will get $5,000, the second $3,000, and the third $1,000. Here’s the timeline of the competition: December 13th – Competition opens February 9th (11:59pm GMT) – Deadline for submissions February 14th – Five Finalists announced & MINIX Forum voting […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on $30 CoreWind Tech CORE9G25 SoM Features Atmel SAM9G25 (ARM9) Processor

$30 CoreWind Tech CORE9G25 SoM Features Atmel SAM9G25 (ARM9) Processor

CoreWind Tech CORE9G25 is a system-on-module based on Atmel SAM9G45 processor with 128 to 256 MB RAM, and 256 MB Flash available in commercial and industrial temperature range. If the picture below seems familiar, it’s because it’s a clone of ACME Systems’ ARIA G25, and the company went as far as more or less copying most of ACME Systems’ Aria page on their own domain. Here are CORE9G25 / Aria G25 specifications: CPU – Atmel AT91SAM9G25 (ARM9) @ 400Mhz CPU System Memory – 128MB or 256MB DDR2 RAM Connectivity – 10/100 Mbit Ethernet interface USB – Up to 3 USB 2.0 host ports (2 Hi-Speed, 1 Full-Speed) Interfaces: Up to 6 serial lines Up to 2x I2C buses Up to 2x SPI buses Up to 60 GPIO lines Up to 4x A/D lines @ 10 bit Dimensions –  40 x 40 mm Operating temperature range – 0 to 70 °C […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments on Tronsmart T1000 Mirror2TV Review with Android and Windows XP

Tronsmart T1000 Mirror2TV Review with Android and Windows XP

Tronsmart T1000 Mirror2TV is an EZcast HDMI dongle that connects to your TV, supports Miracast, DLNA, and Airplay, and sells for just $30 including shipping. I’ve just received a sample from Geekbuying, and I’ll post some pictures first, followed by a review with ThL W200 Android 4.2 smartphone, and Acer Aspire One D255 netbook running Windows XP. Tronsmart T1000 Unboxing Pictures The package shows it is a Wi-Fi display adapter supporting Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Beside the dongle, there’s just a user’s manual (that I did not read, shame on me), and a funny USB wit a microUSB plug at one end, and a Wi-Fi module, and USB plug to connect to your TV or a power adapter at the other end. Since the Wi-Fi module is outside the dongle is much smaller than Android HDMI TV Sticks for example. Another advantage might be better Wi-Fi reception, as if […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on $89 LOGi Development Boards Add FPGA and Arduino Headers to the Raspberry Pi and Beaglebone Black (Crowdfunding)

$89 LOGi Development Boards Add FPGA and Arduino Headers to the Raspberry Pi and Beaglebone Black (Crowdfunding)

LOGi-Pi and LOGi-Bone are expansion boards featuring Xilinx Spartan 6 for respectively the Raspberry Pi, and the Beaglebone Black. Valent F(x), the company who designed the boards, is currently looking for funds via Kickstarter in order to bring the cost down to $89, or even $69 for early backers. LOGi boards specifications: FPGA – Xilinx Spartan 6 LX9 TQFP-144 FPGA 9,152 Logic Cells, 16 DSP48A1 Slices, 576KB Ram, and 96 User Available I/O Pins System Memory –  256 Mb SDRAM connected to the FPGA Storage – 1x High Bandwidth SATA connector expansion port Video Output – 10x Length-tuned LVDS Pairs Connectors: 2x Digilent Inc. PMOD ports supporting 59+ plug-and-play hardware modules Arduino compatible headers connected to the FPGA pins (3.3v only) supporting over 200 Arduino Shields. Bit-Stream loading interface connected to the host processor, optional bitstream FPGA self-loading from onboard Flash. Misc – 2x LEDs 2x Push Buttons 2x DIP Switches 3.3v I/O Regulator and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Iteaduino Lite is an $8 Arduino (Mostly) Compatible Board (Crowdfunding)

Iteaduino Lite is an $8 Arduino (Mostly) Compatible Board (Crowdfunding)

A few months ago, Borderless Electronics sold a $12 Arduino Leonardo clone ($9 + $3 shipping), and a Chinese company called Itead Studio, which also makes Iteauino Plus board (AllWinner A10), has just launched an Indiegogo campaign for an $8 Arduino “nearly-fully-compatible” board, and yes, that includes shipping. The board is similar to Arduino UNO, but with a different MCU in order to reduce costs: MCU – Logic Green LGT8F88A @ 16MHz with 8KB flash (0.7KB used by bootloader), 1KB SRAM, and 504 byte EEPROM. Operating Voltage  – 5V / 3.3V Input Voltage – Recommended: 7-20V, Limits: 7-24V Digital I/O – 14 pins of which 6 provide PWM output. Analog Input – 6 pins DC Current per I/O – Pin80 mA DC Current for 3.3V – power supply 250 mA USB – microUSB for power, programming and debugging Arduino Uno is based on Atmel ATmega328, but this baord uses LFT8F88A, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Pivothead SMART Looks like the Offspring of Google Glass and GoPro Hero3 Camera (Crowdfunding)

Pivothead SMART Looks like the Offspring of Google Glass and GoPro Hero3 Camera (Crowdfunding)

Pivothead SMART is a pair of smart glasses designed for action. It’s basically pacts GoPro Hero camera functionality into glasses, adding some of the smart features of Google Glass without the head-up display (HUD). As controlling the weight is quite important for comfort, the glasses are also modular, so you can just add features such as Wi-Fi or GPS via “SMART Mods” when you need it, and keep the glasses as light as possible during the rest of the time. Instead of just listing the specifications of Pivothead SMART, I’ll show the comparison table with Google Glass and GoPro Hero3 Black provided on their Indiegogo page. SYSTEM Pivothead SMART Google Glass GoPro Hero3 Black Processor 2x ARM Cortex A7 (w/ Mod) (Probably Mediatek MT6572) TI OMAP4460 ARM 2x Cortex A9 @ 1GHz Ambarella A770 ARM11 @ 528 MHz RAM 4GB??? 1GB 512MB RAM Native Memory 16GB (15.5 usable) 16GB (12 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on Teclast T97 Air Tablet Features AllWinner A80 Octa-core big.LITTLE SoC

Teclast T97 Air Tablet Features AllWinner A80 Octa-core big.LITTLE SoC

AllWinner A80 octa core big.LITTLE ARM Cortex A15/A7 SoC was announced as part of AllWinner Roadmap a couple of months ago, and one of the first devices based on the new processor will be Teclast T97 Air, an Android tablet with 9.7″, 2048×1536 display. There are currently very few other details about the device, but we do know it will be extra slim with a thickness of just 7.5mm, and Edward Weinert reports the device is getting around 40,000 points in Antutu (if Google Translate Polish is right). Teclast T97 Air will be available early 2014, and price has not been disclosed yet. Via AndroidPC.es Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)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. www.cnx-software.com

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Smart Power Strip Controls and Monitors your Electric Appliances with Android or iOS Devices (Crowdfunding)

Smart Power Strip Controls and Monitors your Electric Appliances with Android or iOS Devices (Crowdfunding)

Broadlink SP1 and Plugaway are smart sockets controlled by your mobile device(s) via Wi-Fi, but they only support one appliance at a time. Smart Power Strip will fix that thanks to 4 sockets with independent power consumption meters that are controlled via Wi-Fi by Android or iOS devices. The power strip is comprised of 4 independent relays, 2 USB ports, a 120V or 230V circuit breaker, and a dual 2.4 GHz module for Wi-Fi and Home Automation (MESH) technology. It supports 100-250V AC, with a maximum of 15 Amps. The smart power strip will be available for US, EU, UK, and AU standards. That’s about all we know about the hardware. The mobile app will allow you to turn on/off devices manually, monitor each appliance’s power consumption individually, set timers, and monitor which device is on/off. As long as you have Internet access, the smart power strip can be accessed […]