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

August 13, 2020November 4, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

MediaTek i350 Edge AI Processor is Designed for Mainstream AIoT & Smart Home Applications

MediaTek is well known for its mobile processors, but recently the company also manufactures IoT and AI processors such as MediaTek i300/i500 and MediaTek i700. The company has now introduced an updated to the entry-level MediaTek i300 processor with MediaTek i350 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor integrated with DSP and AI processor for vision and voice edge processing applications including facial, object, gesture, motion recognition, license plate recognition (LPR), voice activation and speed recognition, sound isolation, bio-tech and biometric measurements, and more. MediaTek i350 key features and specifications: Processor – 4x Arm Cortex-A53 cores up to 2.0 GHz with 512KB unified L2 cache, Arm NEON GPU – Arm Mali-G52 MC1 up to 800Mhz with support for OpenGL ES, OpenCL, and Vulkan APIs Co-processor – MediaTek APU 1.0 AI Processor up to 500MHz (285 GMACs) Memory -LPDDR4/LPDDR4X up to 3200Mbps, LPDDR3, DDR3/L up to 1866Mbps Storage – eMMC 5.1 flash (SLC/MLC/TLC) Display Interfaces […]

August 13, 2020August 13, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Zidoo Z10 Pro & Z9X Realtek RTD1619DR 4K Android Media Players Launched for $229 and up

ZIDOO Z10Pro 4K Media Player Remote Control

We previously wrote about some upcoming Realtek RTD1619 media players targeting the videophone and audiophile crowd, and expected them to launch very soon with models from Zidoo and Dune HD. Zidoo has now launched two models with the awaited Zidoo Z9X and a new, higher-end Zidoo Z10 Pro which can be purchased on Aliexpress for respectively $229 and $349 with free shipping. Zidoo Z9X Specifications Key features and specifications: SoC – Realtek RTD1619DR hexa-core Cortex-A55 processor with Arm Mali-G51 MP3 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR4 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, SATA 3.0 external port (on side) Video Output HDMI 2.0a up to 4Kp60 with HDR, 12Bit, YCbCr 4:4:4 color range, audio passthrough support 3.5mm AV jack with composite Video Input – HDMI 2.0 up to 4Kp60, 48khz PCM audio Video Decoding – HDR, HDR10 +, Dolby Vision, 10-bit HEVC/H.265 up to 4K @ 60fps, VP9 up to 4K @ […]

August 12, 2020August 12, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

How to Fix Unreliable USB Hard Drives, Stalled Transfers in Linux

Last June, I reviewed a Ryzen Embedded SBC with Windows 10, and the USB hard drive I normally use for review had all sorts of problems including very slow speeds and/or stalled transfers but no error messages. Last week, I tried again by installing Ubuntu 20.04 on the same Ryzen Embedded SBC, and the USB hard drive had troubles again, so just assume there were some hardware incompatibility issues between the SBC and the drive, and there may not be a fix or workaround. Sometimes, it’s indeed a hardware issue with the drive getting too many bad blocks, and if that’s the case, and the drive is still under warranty you can return it and get a fresh new (or refurbished) drive for free. But that drive was still working with my laptop getting around 100MB/s. So I ran out of ideas until numero53 commented he had similar problems with […]

August 12, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Zero Terminal V3 is a Modular Raspberry Pi Zero W Powered HandHeld PC

Zero Terminal V3 Raspberry Pi Zero W Handheld

Hardware hacker NODE has created a slick handheld Linux PC based on the Raspberry Pi Zero W board. About the size of a thick smartphone, Zero Terminal V3 also includes a touchscreen display, a built-in battery, a USB Type-A port, and a microSD card slot. The keyboard found in previous iterations of the Zero Terminal is gone, as the new version focuses on modularity thanks two 40-pin sockets that connect to the GPIO pins, video output, camera connector, USB ports, power indicators, etc… in order to allow people to create and add custom backpacks to change the functionality as needed. Zero Terminal V3 specifications: SBC – Raspberry Pi Zero W with Broadcom BCM2735 ARM11 processor, 512MB RAM, MicroSD card socket, WiFi 4, and Bluetooth 4.0 Display – 5.5″ 1080p AMOLED touchscreen display bought on Waveshare and designed for Raspberry Pi 3/4, but NODE designed an adapter for RPi Zero. Audio […]

August 12, 2020August 12, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

MeLE PCG02 GLK Fanless PC Stick Comes with 10W Celeron J4105 Processor, Gigabit Ethernet

Back in 2018, MeLE unveiled PCG02 Apo TV stick with a 6W Intel Celeron N3450 quad-core Apollo Lake processor, 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, HDMI output, USB 3.0 ports, and an unusual Gigabit Ethernet port for this form factor. The company is back with an upgraded model as MeLE PCG02 GLK PC stick is based on the same design but with a more powerful Intel Celeron J4105 Gemini Lake processor with a 10W TDP. The design is fanless, so it will be interesting to find out how well they handle cooling. MeLE PCG02 GLK specifications with upgrades in bold: SoC – Intel Celeron J4105 quad-core processor @ 1.50 / 2.50 GHz (Turbo) with 12EU Intel UHD Graphics 600; 10W TDP System Memory – 4 GB LPDDR4 Storage – 64GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 male port up to 4K @ 60 Hz Audio – Via […]

August 11, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Onyx Boox Poke2 Color eReader Launched for $299

Manga and comics fans, rejoice! After years of getting black & white eReaders, the first commercial color eReaders are coming to market starting with Onyx Boox Poke2 Color eReader sold for $299 (but sadly sold out at the time of writing). The eReader comes with a 6-inch, 1448 x 1072 E-Ink display that supports up to 4096 colors, and runs Android 9.0 on an octa-core processor coupled with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage. Onyx Boox Poke2 Color eReader specifications: SoC – Unnamed octa-core processor @ up to 2.0 GHz (possibly Snapdragon 625) System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 32GB eMMC flash Display – 6-inch 4096-color e-Ink display with 1448 x 1072 resolution (B&W: 300PPI, color: 100PPI) with finger touch support (e.g. stylus not supported), with 32-level adjustable color temperature (CTM) Connectivity – Dual-band 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.1 USB – Micro USB OTG port Misc – Power […]

August 11, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Exor nanoSOM nS02 System-on-Module Features the 800MHz version of STM32MP1 Processor

Arrow Electronics and Exor Embedded have announced the nanoSOM nS02 system-on-module based on the 800MHz version of STMicro STM32MP1 microprocessor unveiled last February. The 25.4 x 25.4mm module is designed for IoT edge applications such as smart IoT controllers and gateways, cloud edge interfaces, and building automation. A supporting development kit can also be provided by Arrow Electronics. NanoSOM nS02 specifications: SoC -STMicro STM32MP157 dual-core Cortex-A7 processor @ 800MHz with 3D GPU System Memory – Up to 1GB DDR3L Storage – Up to 32GB eMMC flash, 4KB EEPROM USB & Ethernet Hub – Microchip LAN9512 controller 131x solder pads with Storage – 2x SD Video Output – 24-bit RGB LCD parallel or 2-lane MIPI DSI Camera Input – 8,10,12-bit video input Audio – 1x I2S channel Networking – 2x 10/100M Ethernet (one native, one via USB hub) USB – 2x USB 2.0 host, 1x USB OTG 4x SPI, 1x I2C, […]

August 11, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

xDrill Smart Power Drill Supports Intelligent Speed/Torque, Laser Measuring, Digital Leveling (Crowdfunding)

Many home appliances now have smart functions, and in my cases, I fail to see the added value, and I’m not sure why I’d want/need a connected refrigerator with a touchscreen display. So when I first saw somebody make a “smart” power drill with a small touchscreen display I laughed. But after having a closer look, Robbox xDrill smart power drill could actually be a very useful device saving you time and helping work better. The touchscreen is used for settings but also serves as a level tool to make sure the drill is aligned horizontally or at the angle of your choice, and you can also set the drilling depth. There are also two lasers that measure distances, so you don’t need to use a measuring tape and pencil anymore. xDrill key features and specifications: Built-in microcontroller with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity (is that an ESP32 inside?) Display – […]