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

April 2, 2016May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 22 Comments

Low Cost Development Boards Linux Benchmarks – Raspberry Pi vs Banana Pi vs Orange Pi vs ODROID

LoveRPi, a distributor and reseller of electronic boards and accessories, has run benchmarks from the Phoronix Suite on several low cost development boards: $46* Banana Pi M2 based on Allwinner A31s quad core Cortex A7 processor @ 1.0 GHz with Armbian (Ubuntu 14.04) $74* Banana Pi M3 based on Allwinner A83T octa core Cortex A7 processor @ 1.80 GHz with Debian 8.3 $32 ODROID-C1+ based on Amlogic S805 quad core Cortex A5 processor @ 1.5 GHz with Ubuntu 14.04 $40 ODROID-C2 based on Amlogic S905 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 2.0 GHz with Ubuntu 16.04 $74 ODROID-XU4 based on Samsung Exynos 5422 quad core ARM Cortex-A15 @ 2.0GHz quad core ARM Cortex-A7 @ 1.4GHz with Ubuntu 15.10 $10 Orange Pi One based Allwinner H3 Cortex A7 processor @ 1.2 GHz with Armbiam (Debian 8.3) $15 Orange Pi PC based on Allwinner H3 Cortex A7 processor @ 1.3 GHz with […]

April 1, 2016April 1, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

Orange Pi Brick is a $1 Raspberry Pi Zero Compatible Smart Block

Shenzhen Xunlong Orange Pi boards are popular with some developers and hobbyists thanks to their low price, but the company is also aware that some are critical of their products. Some of the complaints include that their boards are too difficult to use due to lack of proper firmware and documentation, they are called “Orange Pi”, but aren’t even made with orange color, with some people even going as far as saying their boards are just bricks just good enough to collect dust. The company has taken all remarks into consideration, and has come up with a product that’s simple to use and orange, while breaking the price barrier, as it will be sold for just $1. Yep. You read that right. One Dollar. I’ve worked with the company to get the exclusive, believe me you won’t find this on any other sites, and they’ve sent me an early sample. […]

April 1, 2016April 1, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Ultracker US360 360 Degrees Camera Features 4 Wide-Angle Lenses, Runs Android

We’ve already seen 360 degrees cameras with some rather expensive setups with multiple GoPros, as well as more affordable solutions (around $500) such as Gyroptic 360 Camera and ALLIe cameras. Taiwan based Ultracker Technology is now promising a 360 degree camera for around 300 dollars with their US360 model featuring four lenses for up to 1080p30 or 6144×1760 @ 6 fps video recording or live streaming. US360 camera specifications: FPGA implementation Camera Image Sensors – 4x 2.4 MP Sony Exmor CMOS Sensor Lens – 4x 2.3mm wide angle lenses View angle – 360° x 200° Image Settings Image Adjustment – Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness, DWDR, AEC, AGC, AWB, Noise Reduction (2D/3D) Image Orientation – Flip, Mirror, 360˚ Rotation Photo format – JPEG Video Codec – H.264 or MJPEG Resolution & frame rate – 6144 x 1792 @ 6 fps , 1920 x 1080 @ 30 fps , 1280 x 720 […]

March 31, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

Unboxing and Teardown of Zidoo X1 II Android TV Box

MXQ-4K, the first Android TV box based on Rockchip RK3229 I received, was a massive disappointment to me as it was unusable to play 4K videos possibly due to CPU throttling and/or poorly optimized USB storage support. So I was eager to try another device based on the latest Rockchip media processor with support for 4K 10-bit H.265 and H.264 video playback, and Zidoo sent their Zidoo X1 II TV box for review on CNX Software. Today, I’ll start by checking the device and the hardware, before testing the firmware later on. Zidoo X1 II Unboxing I got the device by DHL in the usual Zidoo’s white and green package with some icons representing the key features: 4K, 3D, ZIUI user interface, WiFI, 10-bit HEVC… ZDMC is the custom version of Kodi developed by the company, and that makes Zidoo one of the rare companies to respect Kodi’s trademark. The […]

March 31, 2016March 31, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

LONG-CZ J8 Could Be The World’s Smallest Phone

Smartphone displays are getting bigger each year, but at the other end of the spectrum, LONG-CZ J8 phone could the world’s smallest at just 68 x 23 x 11 mm, and 18 grams. It takes micro SIM card to make calls, but also doubles (triples?) as a Bluetooth headset and FM Radio. LONG-CZ J2 specifications: Processor – Mediatek Display – 0.6″‘ OLED display Cellular Connectivity – GSM 850/900/1800/1900 via micro SIM card slot Connectivity – Bluetooth 3.0 USB – 1x micro USB port for charging Battery – Capacity TBD; Up to 5 hours talk time, 96 hours standby time. Dimensions – 68 x 23 x 11mm Weight 18g The phones ships with a data cable, a user’s manual in English and Chinese, a strap, one ear loop, and two ear caps. Nine languages are supported: English, French, Italian, Russian, Hindi, Russian, Thai, Portuguese, and Spanish. The phone is not quite […]

March 31, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

MJ Technology Ubuntu Tablets Powered by Intel Atom Cherry Trail Processors Launched on Indiegogo

BQ Aquaris M10 Ubuntu tablets officially launched a few days ago, but it’s you’d like an Ubuntu tablet with better hardware specifications, MJ Technology have now launched their own Ubuntu tablets powered by Intel Atom x5 or x7 quad core processors with 2GB to 4GB RAM, and 64GB, 128GB or 256GB internal storage. There are four models – Tanto, mini Tanto, Wakizashi, and Katana – with the following specs: SoC mini Tanto – Intel Atom x5-Z8300 quad core processor up to 1.84 GHz with Intel HD Gen8 graphics Tanto, Wakizashi, Katana – Intel Atom x7-Z8750 quad core processor up to 2.40 GHz with Intel HD Gen8 graphics System Memory mini Tanto, Tanto – 2GB LPDDR3 Wakizashi, Katana – 4GB LPDDR3 (2x2GB) Storage mini Tanto, Tanto – 64GB eMMC flash + micro SD Slot up to 128GB Wakizashi, Katana – 128 GB eMMC flash or 256GB SSD + micro SD Slot […]

March 31, 2016March 31, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

Microsoft Brings Bash on Ubuntu on Windows 10

Yes, you’ve read that right, and no, it’s not an April Fools’ Day prank, Microsoft and Canonical really cooperated to bring Ubuntu user space to Windows 10 allowing developers and others to run bash commands directly into Windows. All you’ll need to do is to install Ubuntu on Windows app, hit the Windows key, and type bash to get a terminal window. Once you are in bash, you can run any Ubuntu command line, including apt-get to install packages, just like if you were in a terminal in Ubuntu, and all binaries are the same as in Ubuntu, as Microsoft implemented new infrastructure within Windows called the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). That means Ubuntu runs without Linux, but instead the implementation is a conversion layer somewhat similar to Wine to run Windows programs in Ubuntu, or Libhybris to convert Linux calls to Android calls. Dustin Kirkland, in charge of […]

March 30, 2016March 30, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

DIGIO-128 Board Adds 128 GPIOs to Your Development Board

If you run out of GPIOs on your board, the easy way is to add an I2C GPIO expander, but those are normally limited to 8 or 16-channels, so Land Boards decided to create a board with 8 IO expanders making it a 128 channel IO expander that works on Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone Black, Arduino, and basically any boards with an I2C hardware or software implementation. DIGIO-128 board specifications: 8x Microchip MCP23017 16-bit I/O expander for up to 128 GPIOs Communication Interface – I2C host interface with 100/400 KHZ operation; 4-pin host interface connector (Ground, Power, Clock, Data) 8x 20-pin 2.54mm pitch connectors with 16 I/Os, 2x VCC, and 2 ground 2x 4-pin interrupt connectors Data Storage – Microchip 24LC024 2K EEPROM with board info. 3.3V or 5V operation Dimensions – 95 x 95 mm You can find out to use the board in the Wiki for code for Raspberry […]