Getting Started with NanoPi NEO Development Board – Ubuntu Core Firmware

NanoPi NEO is an exciting ARM Linux board due to the power it packs into its small size, and its low price starting at $7.99. It’s made by FriendlyARM, and since I’ve read some people had never heard about the company before, I’d like to point out it has been providing development boards well before the Raspberry Pi board was launched, with products such mini2440 based on a Samsung ARM9 processor introduced around year 2010. Anyway, I asked the company if they were willing to send 2 samples for review, as I plan to remove the USB & Ethernet port on one of them. Instead I got a 4 boards and accessories, so I’m going to start reviewing the board by writing a quick start guide, showing how to setup it, and check out the Ubuntu core provided by the company. If you are a fan of armbian made Debian […]

Onion Omega2 is a $5 Linux WiFi IoT Board (Crowdfunding)

Onion Omega board was first introduced in 2015. The tiny OpenWrt Linux board featured an Atheros AR9331 processor with GPIO headers, and various baseboards and add-ons. The company has now launched a Kickstarter campaign for the second versions – Omega2 & Omega2 Plus – with a faster processor @ 580 MHz, compatible with docks and add-ons boards used for Omega, and a much lower price with $5 for the Omega2, and $9 for Omega2 Plus with more storage and memory. Omega2 & Omega2 Plus specifications: WiSoC – 580 MHz processor, possibly Mediatek MT7688 MIPS processor used in LinkIt Smart 7688 System Memory Omega2 – 64MB Omega2 Plus – 128MB Storage Omage2 – 16MB flash Omega 2 Plus – 32MB flash + micro SD slot Connectivity Built-in – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi with on-board and external antenna support Via add-on boards – Bluetooth 4.0 LE, GPS, and 2G/3G Expansion – 15x GPIO, […]

Tencent and Skyworth Have Launched Rockchip RK3288 based miniStation Game Console in China

Tencent, the company behind the popular QQ chat program, and Skyworth a TV and audio visual manufacturer have worked together to launch a second version of miniStation game console powered by Rokchip RK3288 processor for $499 CNY ($75 US) in China.miniStation game console specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core ARM Cortex-A17 @ 1.8 GHz with Mali-T720 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC Flash, and micro SD card slot up to 128 GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI up to 4K resolution Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band Wi-Fi USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Power Supply – 5V/2A The console runs TencentOS based on Android, and ships with an HDMI cable, a power cable, and a user’s manual. A bundle is a wireless gamepad is also offered for 100 RMB ($15) more. Supported (or re-loaded?)  games include Nova 3, Asphalt 8, Modern Combat 5, […]

Setting a VoIP SIP user agent with Embedded Linux

This is a guest post by Leonardo Graboski Veiga, working for Toradex. Introduction This article’s main goals are: to cross-compile the PJSIP libraries and the PJSUA API reference implementation; deploy it to the target system; give an overview about the SIP protocol; and explore the reference implementation features, regarding audio only. For this purpose, a Computer on Module (CoM) from Toradex was chosen in the following configuration: Colibri iMX6DL* + Colibri Evaluation Board. The evaluation board and CoM are displayed in Figures 1 and 2, respectively.   VOIP or Voice over IP, is a term designed to refer to a set of methods and technologies targeted for the implementation of telephony services over the Internet. For the purpose of this article, the scope will be limited to the use of a reference implementation built upon the SIP communication handling protocol by means of the PJSIP libraries and PJSUA2 API. If […]

Sunty SP-001 Portable Windows 10 mini PC Features a 7″ Touchscreen Display, an HD Projector

Sunty SP-001 mini PC looks quite similar to GOLE1, but comes with a large 7″ touchscreen display, and adds a TI 720p DLP projector. You can also carry it around thanks to its 6,500 mAh, and the brain of the device consists of an Intel Atom x5-Z8300 processor coupled with 2GB RAM and 32GB flash. Sunty SP-001 specifications: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8300 “Cherry Trail” quad core processor @ 1.44 GHz / 1.84 GHz with Intel Gen8 HD graphics (2W SDP) System Memory –  2GB DDR3L Storage – 32GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up Display – 7″ capacitive touchscreen display with 1280×800 resolution Video input – HDMI 1.4 port Audio I/O – HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack, speakers, built-in microphone Projector – 0.3” TI DMD, DLPC3438/DLPA3000/DLP3010 DLP, 720p resolution, 200 Lumen brightness, 5000:1 contrast ratio, 20 to 300” screen size, autofocus, and 3000 hours life; Connectivity – Dual band […]

Raspberry Pi Bootloader License Precludes it to Run on Competing Broadcom BCM283x Boards

Yesterday I wrote about ArduCAM Raspberry Pi compatible module, that packs most of the features of Raspberry Pi Zero or Pi Compute module into a 24x24mm board, and is based on Broadcom BCM2835 processor. One person also started a thread on Raspberry Pi forums about the tiny module, and one of the Raspberry Pi engineer and forum moderator replied that will would breach the bootloader license. The important part is the sentence highlighted above: This software may only be used for the purpose of developing for, running or using a Raspberry Pi device. ArduCAM module is only Raspberry Pi compatible, so it would indeed breach the license, and you can get into troubles if you planned to use that module in a commercial project, especially in countries where IP protection is taking seriously. This raises a few questions. First why did the Raspberry Pi foundation chose that restrictive license? The […]

$16 Bluetooth 4.0 LE Bracelet Monitors Babies’ Temperature

With electronics getting cheaper and smaller everyday, I’m expecting medical diagnostic / monitoring tools with become more convenient and affordable,  and products from the more advanced Scanadu, to much simpler Bluetooth blood pressure monitors will help people better monitor their health themselves. I’ll also getting frequent request about the availability of soon-to-be FDA approved Omron Project Zero blood pressure smartwatch. Today I’ve come across a simple $16.51 Bluetooth Smart bracelet that could be useful to monitor the temperature of sick babies or very young children. Technical specifications: Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE with up 18 meters range Sensor – Temperature between 32 and 43 degree Celsius with -/+ 0.1 deg. accuracy Smartphone compatibility – Android 4.3+ or IOS 7.0+ Functions – Thermometer; Temperature Alarm; Medical Records; Health Management, Cloud Backup. Power Supply – CR2032 battery Wristband Length – 14~19cm Weight – 19 g The band must be worn in such as […]

MXQ Pro (G9CX) Android 6.0 TV Box Review – Part 1: Specs, Unboxing and Teardown

Most people probably don’t know Shenzhen Shiningworth Technology, but if you’ve ever bought a low cost Android TV box, it may have been made by them. Companies such as Eny Technology, Acemax, Shenzhen Tomato and other are relying on Shenzhen Shiningworth for some of their products, including the popular MXQ series (although other companies are also using MXQ “brand”), and in the past I often found their MAC address in products I reviewed. But this time, the company decided to send their latest product for review directly with MXQ Pro G9CX. I’ll write a two part review starting with specs and pictures, before testing the firmware and providing the second part of the review in a few weeks. G9CX Specifications Let’s start with the technical specifications: SoC –  Amlogic S905X quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 2.0GHz with  penta-core Mali-450MP GPU up to 750MHz+ System Memory – 1GB DDR3 […]

EDATEC Raspberry Pi 5 fanless case