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

October 16, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

X5 ODB-II Head Up Display Shows Vehicle & Engine Speed, Fuel Consumption, and More on Your Windscreen

OBDII adapters have been around for a while. You simply attach it to the OBDII (aka OBD2) diagnostic connector of your car to get data such as engine’s RPM, vehicle’s speed, and failure logs over Bluetooth or USB onto your smartphone with apps such as Torque Lite. X5 ODB-II head up display uses the same technology but instead of displaying data your mobile’s screen, it shows it on the windscreen. Some of X5 OBD2 HUD specifications and features: Display – 3″ display with manual and automatic brightness adjustment Vehicle interface – OBDII or EU OBD Displayed Parameters / Alarms – Vehicle speed (Km/h or M/h), engine speed (RPM), low voltage alarm, high temperature alarm (C or F), speed alarm, fuel consumption Dimensions – 9 x 5.4 x 1.2 cm Weight – 38 grams The device comes with an OBD-II Cable, and anti-skid mat, and a reflective film to work around […]

October 16, 2015October 16, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

$7 Magnetic Charging micro USB Adapter and Cable Work Like ZNAPS

ZNAPS is a cheap magnetic adapter and connector combo for smartphones with micro USB or lightning ports that had a massively successfully Kickstarter campaign this summer, having raised over 3 millions dollar from around 70,000 backers who should receive their $9 adapter and connector in November. But in case you’ve missed the campaign and own a smartphone with a micro USB port, there’s a magnetic charging USB cable selling for $9.95 AUD (~$7.2) on eBay including shipping. There’s no much to it, as you just insert a micro USB adapter into your device, and it magnetically connects with the USB cable to charge easily. I don’t personally find that gadget very useful, but based on the buzz generated by ZNAPS, many people do, as they probably like to convenience to connect your phone with the charger even when busy while driving a car, cooking, and so on. It also makes […]

October 16, 2015October 17, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Samsung Z3 Tizen Smartphone Launched in Russia and India

After Samzung Z1 based on Spreadtrum SC7727S processor and running Tizen 2.3, Samsung skipped the Z2, and launched Samsung Z3 Tizen 2.4 smartphone powered by Spreadtrum SC7730S quad core processor in both India and Russia, with the Russian model allegedly adding LTE connectivity. Samsung Z3 specifications: SoC – Spreadtrum SC7730S Quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.3 GHz with ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 8GB flash + microSD slot (up to 128GB) Display – 5.0” HD Super AMOLED (1280×720) Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 BLE, GPS,GLONASS Cellular 2x Micro-SIM slots “Indian model” (SM-300H) – WCDMA: B1(2100),B8(900); GSM: GSM850,GSM900,DCS1800,PCS1900; 3G: HSPA+ “Russian model” (SM-300F?) – Includes LTE Camera – 8.0MP rear camera with LED Flash (F2.2), 5.0MP front facing camera Video – MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV USB – micro USB 2.0 port Sensors – Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor Battery – […]

October 16, 2015December 17, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 60 Comments

$48 MXQ Pro TV Box Features Amlogic S905 Processor with Support for 4K, 10-bit HEVC Videos

Amlogic S905 is the only low cost SoC on the market that can offer a future proof TV Box with HDMI 2.0 output compliant with HDCP 2.2, 10-bit HEVC video playback up to 2160p60, and DTS & Dolby audio pass-through. I had also been told the SoC was cheap, going for $4.50 per unit in largish quantities, and now MXQ Pro, one of the first Amlogic S905 TV Box, is available for pre-order for just $55 on GeekBuying. MXQ Pro specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905 quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 2.0GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND flash + SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0, AV Video Codec – 4K@60 Hz video decoding 10-bit HEVC and AVS+ codec support; H.264 up to 4K 30 Hz Audio – HDMI, AV, coaxial S/PDIF Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth […]

October 15, 2015October 15, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 25 Comments

Turris Omnia is a Feature-Packed OpenWRT Router Board Powered by Marvell ARMADA 385 Processor

FireWRT and WiTi router boards based on Mediatek MT7621A processor offer lots of high speed interfaces with multiple Gigabit Ethernet ports, SATA connectors, and USB 3.0 ports, as well as 802.11ac connectivity for $70 to $80. Sadly FireWRT development was canceled once the company realized they could not get the Mediatek SoC at the right price, and while WiTi router has not been shipped to backers just yet. An even more powerful solution, which should cost $100 and up, is now in development with Turris Omnia board powered by Marvell ARMADA 385 dual core ARMv7 processor, and made in the Czech Republic. Turris Omnia board specifications: Processor – Marvell ARMADA 385 (88F6820?) dual core ARMv7 processor (Cortex A9 class) @ 1.6 GHz with 1MB L2 cache System Memory – Up to 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4GB flash, mSATA slot Connectivity 5x Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports 1x Gigabit Ethernet WAN port […]

October 15, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Rockchip RK6321 Dual Core Cortex A5 SoC Targets Wearables with WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G and GPS

Rockchip and Intel started to work on a platform called XMM6321 last year. It featured a dual Core Cortex A5 processor, 3G connectivity, WiFi, and GPS, which was aimed at entry level 3G smartphones and tablets. Fast forward to 2015, Rockchip showcased their RK6321 processor at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair, with very similar specifications compared to XMM6321, but instead it targets wearables such as smartwatches, or children and elderly tracker. So I’ m not quite sure whether Intel XMM6321 and Rockchip RK6321 are the same processor with a different name, or Rochchip tweaked RK6321 specifically for wearables. Key features of Rockchip RK6321 processor: CPU – Two Cortex A5 cores up to 1GHz with 32KB L1 D-cache, 32KB L1 I-cache, and 512KB L2 cache GPU – Supports OpenGL ES 2.0 Memory and Storage I/F – 16-bit LP-DDR2 SDRAM, 8-bit eMMC, 16-bit NAND Display I/F – MIPI DSI up to FWVGA […]

October 15, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

ASRock N3150TM-ITX Thin Mini-ITX Board is Powered by Intel Celeron N3150 Processor

With its N3150DC-ITX motherboard, ASRock had already released a mini-ITX motherboard based on Intel Celeron N3150 “Braswell” quad core processor, but the company has now launched a thin mini-ITX version, which limits the maximum height to 2.5cm and is often used in All-in-One PCs, with ASRock N3150TM-ITX motherboard. ASRock N3150TM-ITX board specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N3150 quad core processor @ up to 2.08 GHz with Intel HD Graphics Gen8 @ up to 640 MHz – 6W TDP System Memory – 2x DDR3/DDR3L SO-DIMM slots for up to 16GB RAM Storage – 2x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, support NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug Audio Codec – Realtek ALC892 Audio Codec, 7.1 CH HD Audio Expansion – 1x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slot, 1x half size Mini PCI Express slot (Bluetooth function in WiFi module not supported) Rear panel ports Video Output 1x HDMI port up to 2560×1600 @ 60Hz 1x […]

October 15, 2015October 15, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

BeagleBoard-X15 Board Based on TI Sitara AM5728 SoC Announced, To Sell for $239

We’ve first found out about Beagleboard-X15 open source hardware board about a year ago, and development has taken a bit longer than expected, but Beagleboard.org has now formally launched BeagleBoard-X15, which remains based on Texas Instruments Sitara AM5728 dual Cortex A15 processor, and is expected to ship before Christmas for $239. The key part of the specifications are still the same as last year, but we’ve got a few more details now: SoC – Texas Instruments Sitara AM5728 with: Two ARM Cortex A15 cores @ 1.5 GHz PowerVR SGX544-MP2 3D GPU, Vivante GC320 2D GPU Two Cortex M4 cores @ 212 MHz Dual core C66x DSP @ 700 MHz IVA (Image and Video Accelerator) for 1080p video decode (H.264, VC-1, MPEG 1/2/4, AVS, etc..) Four 32-bit PRUs (Programmable Real-time Units) System Memory – 2GB DDR3L @ 533MHz Storage – 4GB 8-bit eMMC flash, micro SD slot, and eSATA interface (500 […]