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) - 5 Comments on UNI-T UT353 is a $15 Lightweight Sound Level Meter

UNI-T UT353 is a $15 Lightweight Sound Level Meter

Since some of the products I review come with a fan, I checked some sound level meters a couple of years ago, but since they were a little too expensive for my limited use, I skipped for the time being. However, while browsing some promotions or new arrivals on DealExtreme, I’ve come across UNI-T UT355 “Noise Detector Decibel Noise Tester” which sells for $15.56 including shipping. UNI-T UT353 mini sound meter specifications: Noise Levels & Accuracy – 30 to 130 dB with 0.1 dB resolution, +/- 1.5 dB accuracy Sample rate – Fast: 125ms; Slow: 1 second Measurement features – MAX/MIN, Data hold, overload indication (OL) Display – 1.64″ LCD display with backlight Buttons – Power, FAST/SLOW selection, MAX/MIN/normal selection, HOLD/BL for data hold (short press) or turning on/off the backlight (long press) Power Supply – 3x AAA batteries; 5 minutes auto power off Power Consumption – Active: < 40 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on ASRock IMB-157 is one of the First Intel Apollo Lake Motherboards

ASRock IMB-157 is one of the First Intel Apollo Lake Motherboards

We’ve already seen Intel launched 6 Apollo Lake Celeron and Pentium processors, some upcoming Acer Apollo Lake laptops, as well as Intel Apollo Lake NUCs, and now ASRock has listed one of the first Apollo Lake motherboard with their IMB-157 mini-ITX board. ASRock IMB-157 mini-ITX motherboard preliminary specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron / Pentium Apollo Lake processor with Intel gen9 HD graphics (BGA1296 package) System Memory – 2x SO-DIMM dual channel DDR3L @ 1867 MHz up to 16GB Storage – 1x SATA 3.0 6Gbps connector, 1x M.2 slot Video Output – HDMI up to 4K @ 24 Hz, VGA up to 1920×1200, LVDS up to 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz, internal eDP & VGA headers; Triple display support Audio – HDMI, 3.5mm jacks for Mic-in and Line-out, speaker header Connectivity – 2x Gigabit Ethernet via 2x Realtek RTL8111G controllers USB – 4x external USB 3.0 ports , internal header […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 28 Comments on You Can Now Buy ESP3212 ESP32 WiFi + Bluetooth Module for $6.95

You Can Now Buy ESP3212 ESP32 WiFi + Bluetooth Module for $6.95

After the official launch of ESP32 processor for less than $3, it did not take long before ESP32 modules hit the market, and Seeed Studio has already listed ESP3212, one of the first modules based on Espressif ESP32 Bluetooth LE + WiFi SoC, for $6.95 with shipping scheduled to start on September 23, 2016. ESP3212 module specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32 dual core Xtensa LX6 processor @ up to 240 MHz with 448 KB flash, 520 KB SRAM, 16 KB SRAM in RTC, WiFi and Bluetooth LE connectivity Storage – 4MB Winbond SPI flash Connectivity 802.11 b/g/n/e/i WiFi (HT40) up to 150 Mbps Bluetooth 4.2 BR/EDR and BLE 3 dBi PCB antenna Headers – 22x GPIOs (multiplexed with ADC, Touch, DAC, SPI, UART, CAN, ETH, IR, PWM, and I2S), 1x UART, Sense VP/Sense VN, EN pin. 3.3V and GND Power Supply – 3.0 – 3.6V Dimensions – 24 x 16 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 820 4K TV Box and AiO Virtual Reality Headset Reference Designs

Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 820 4K TV Box and AiO Virtual Reality Headset Reference Designs

Qualcomm has recently announced two references platforms for ODM/OEM powered by Snapdragon 820 processor for 4K Ultra HD media boxes and all-in-one virtual reality headsets. Snapdragon VR820 Virtual Reality HMD Qualcomm Snapdragon VR820 VR headset comes with the following key features and specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad core Kryo processor with Adreno 530 GPU System Memory – Go figure Storage – Only god knows Display – 1440×1440 resolution per eye, AMOLED panel that supports up to 70Hz Audio – 4x microphones with Fluence HD noise filtering and active noise cancellation Video – 360° 4K video playback processing with HEVC compression and display refresh rates at 70 FPS Cameras – Integrated eye tracking with two cameras, dual front facing cameras for six degrees of freedom (6DOF) Sensors – gyro, accelerometer, and magnetometer sensors The reference platform, developed in collaboration with Goertek, leverages Qualcomm’s Virtual Reality SDK, and is expected […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Tizen Studio 1.0 Replaces Tizen SDK for Smartphones, Wearables and TVs

Tizen Studio 1.0 Replaces Tizen SDK for Smartphones, Wearables and TVs

Tizen has converged all Tizen SDK for mobile, wearables, and TV to Tizen Studio since the beginning of the month, and released Tizen Studio 1.0 for developers interested in developing app for Tizen smartphones, TVs and/or smartwatches such as the latest Samsung Gear S3. So instead, you’ll now be able to select the targets platform and profiles within Tizen Studio. Some of the key changes made to the development environment in Tizen Studio 1.0 include: Launching tools: Installer, Uninstaller, and Package Manager Developing tools: IDE perspective theme, Project Wizard, Certificate Manager, and Menu and tool icons UI tools: UI Builder, Component Designer, and EDC Editor Testing tools: Emulator Testing tools: Dynamic Analyzer for memory and CPU profiling Other improvements in Tizen application development environment Tizen Studio is available for the 32-bit and 64-bit version of Windows,  and Ubuntu, as well as for Mac OS with one version with the graphics […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments on $5 Wemos D1 mini Pro ESP8266 Board includes 16MB Flash

$5 Wemos D1 mini Pro ESP8266 Board includes 16MB Flash

Wemos D1 mini is one of my favorite ESP8266 development boards thanks to its small size, shield support, and low $4 price tag. There’s now a new version of the board – dubbed Wemos D1 mini Pro – with 16MB flash instead of 4MB for the original version, and a few other modifications. Wemos D1 mini Pro specifications: WiFi 802.11 b/g/n module based on ESP8266EX with 16 MB flash, chip antenna and external antenna connector Expansion – Through holes with 11x digital input/output pins (3.3V) supporting interrupt/PWM/I2C/one-wire (except D0 pin) 1x analog input (3.3V max input) Reset and power signals (5V, 3.3V, GND) USB – micro USB port Misc – Reset button Power – 5V via micro USB or 5V pin Dimensions – 34.2 x 25.6 mm Weight – 2.5 grams Beside the larger flash,  the main differences are listed in a Wemos forum post: External antenna connector – switch […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments on MINIX NEO U9-H 4K HDR Amlogic S912-H Android TV Box Coming in October

MINIX NEO U9-H 4K HDR Amlogic S912-H Android TV Box Coming in October

MINIX may have officially announced MINIX NEO Z83-4 Cherry trail mini PC at IFA 2016, but they also showcased NEO U9-H Android TV box based on an “Octa-core cortex A53 processor with ARM Mali-820MP3 GPU”, which the company confirmed to be Amlogic S912-H processor with Dolby and DTS licenses. I also asked the company whether they had specs sheet for the new model, but the replied they did not have finalized specifications to share, nor exact pricing and release date. But we can still derive info from a video on HDBlog.it showcasing an early development model at IFA 2016. MINIX NEO U9-H preliminary specifications: SoC – Amlogic S912-H octa-core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-820MP3 System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash and micro SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz with CEC, HDCP 2.2, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on OpenRex Open Source Hardware NXP i.MX6 Board Launched for 199 Euros and Up

OpenRex Open Source Hardware NXP i.MX6 Board Launched for 199 Euros and Up

OpenRex is an open source hardware board powered by NXP i.MX6 Cortex A9 processor designed by Fedevel for their hardware design course, and manufactured by Voipac, both companies based on Slovakia. The schematics, PCB layout, gerber files and other manufacturing files were released in February, but the company has only started selling the board a few days ago with OpenRex Basic SBC and OpenRex Max SBC boards. OpenRex Basic and Max boards specifications: SoC OpenRex Basic – NXP i.MX 6Solo single core Cortex A9 processor @ 1 GHz with 2D and 3D GPU OpenRex Max – NXP i.MX 6Quad quad core Cortex A9 processor @ 1 GHz with 2D and 3D GPU MCU – NXP LPC1345FHN33 ARM Cortex-M3 micro-controller @ 72 MHz System Memory Basic – 512 MB DDR3-1066 (400MHz) Max – 2GB DDR3-1066 (533 MHz) Storage Basic – micro SD slot, 1x 2Kbit I2C EEPROM, 1x 32Mbit SPI flash Max […]