Category: Hardware

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on ARM’s Next Generation Processor: Cortex A15 with Mali T-604

ARM’s Next Generation Processor: Cortex A15 with Mali T-604

This year and next, many products will use processors based on ARM core cortex A8 and A9 tied-up with Mali 400 GPU. Those processors will run between 1 and 2 GHz. Earlier this month, ARM announced their new GPU Mali-T604 that will be used with Cortex A15 @ 1 to 2.5 GHz depending on the target application. The core design is ready, silicon foundries should be able to manufacture chips by the end of 2011 and products should be available for retail end of 2012 / beginning of 2013. ARM and their customer target the following applications for Cortex A15: Advanced Smartphones (1 to 1.5 GHz single or dual-core configurations) Mobile Computing (1 to 1.5 GHz single or dual-core configurations) High-end Digital Home Entertainment (1 to 2 GHz dual-core  or quad-core configurations) Wireless Infrastructure (1.5 to 2.5 GHz quad-core, octo-core or larger configurations) Low-power Servers (1.5 to 2.5 GHz quad-core […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on SMP8656 Android STB Divco Tvix Xroid A1

SMP8656 Android STB Divco Tvix Xroid A1

[ad#Google Adsense – Wide Banner] At last, it seems an Android set-top box based on Sigma Designs SMP865x is going to hit the market soon, most probably Q1 2011. Divco – a Korean company – will bring Tvix Xroid A1 to market. Here are some extracts of the press release: Sigma Designs (Nasdaq: SIGM), a leading provider of system-on-chip(SoC) solutions used to deliver entertainment and control throughout the home, today announced its SMP8656 Secure Media Processor™ will enable the new Android-based Over the Top (OTT) media player by Dvico. The TVIX Xroid A1 is the first Android connected media player on the market to use Sigma’s cutting edge media processor to deliver premium quality video and music streaming services. …. Dvico’s upcoming “Android TVIX” supports all the multimedia functionalities of current TVIX, as well as native Web-browsing and downloading of Android applications. It will offer open API that can be […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on See-through OLED & LCD Displays

See-through OLED & LCD Displays

Samsung Electronics and LG exhibited see-through LCD displays and Samsung Mobile Display see-through  OLED displays at FPD (Flat Panel Display) International 2010/Green Device 2010, Chiba City, Japan. Samsung Electronics brought 2 different displays 23 inch and 46 inch LCD displays while LG Display showcased a 47-inch LCD display. See-through displays use natural light as backlight during the day and use a transparent backlight system attached to the back of the panel during the night. Samsung Mobile Display exhibited 2 OLED displays (14 inch  and 19 inch). The main applications of such displays can be: Digital signage. This is the number 1 application for such displays. You could have a real product at the back and the see-though display at the front displaying some product info and/or promotional videos. In the picture below, Samsung created a setup with real wine bottles and grapes in the background and a see-through display in […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Nufront 2GHz ARM Cortex-A9 for Desktop, Laptop and Netbook – NuSmart 2816

Nufront 2GHz ARM Cortex-A9 for Desktop, Laptop and Netbook – NuSmart 2816

Nufront (新岸线) is a high tech company based in Beijing, dedicated to wireless broadband communication and broadcast, IC design, video search and digital imaging technologies. Nufront showed off their “low-power high performance” mini-PC based on their new NuSmart 2816 chipset at ARM Techcon 2010. NuSmart 2816 is based on a dual-core Cortex-A9 @ 2GHz with Mali-400 GPU. They plan to sell the chip for around 30 USD and expect ARM-based mini-PC to sell for around 200 USD retail. You can download NuSmart 2816 Product Brief for further details. As you can see from the diagram below, NS2816 can support all features (Ethernet, Wifi, GPS, USB, I2S Audio, SATA II, MMC/SD support, VGA, HDMI or LCD video output) that are now expected in modern desktops or laptops. Video playback currently uses around 2 Watts (chip samples) and they target 1.5 Watt for video playback in the final release of their chipset […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on ARM Based Embedded Server – Marvell ARMADA XP

ARM Based Embedded Server – Marvell ARMADA XP

A few years ago, nobody would have considered using an embedded system to run a server. But now, with the advance of technology, more and more servers are running embedded systems from the lower end such as home-based NAS (Network Access Storage) to higher-end for data-centers, cloud computing, web 2.0… This is the higher-end that Marvell targets with its Quad Core ARM ARMADA XP MV78460 running at 1.6GHz with “16,600 DMIPS performance at less than 10 watts”. Please checkout Marvell ARMADA XP Product Brief for further details. The main selling point of such solution is the power consumption compared to traditional Intel x86 based servers. According to Marvell, 50% of the cost of running a data-center is the electricity bill to run the server and especially to cool the room with air-conditioners. So let’s do a little exercise. Let’s take the estimated power consumption of Google data-center in Oregon that […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on ARM Android Based Rubiks Cube Solver

ARM Android Based Rubiks Cube Solver

David Gilday – a chip designer at ARM – has got two hobbies: Playing Lego and Rubik’s Cube. He must have been tired to turn the sides of the game manually so he designed a robot to solve the Rubik’s Cube within an average of 15 seconds. So here’s how it works: A Robot built with Legos using 6 motors and an Android phone connected to it. He’s using an ARM11 platform running Android (Looks like a Google Nexus One to me). You mix the Rubik’s Cube, place it in the middle of the robot, then it starts.. the smartphone scans all faces of the Rubik’s Cube (with the back camera of the phone), an algorithm calculates the moves (using a 300MB database), then the robot turns the Rubik’s Cube to solve the puzzle and finishes with a nice spin once the 3D-puzzle is solved. The algorithm is written in […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Samsung Orion ARM Cortex A9 – Nexus S

Samsung Orion ARM Cortex A9 – Nexus S

Samsung recently showed off its dual-core Cortex-A9 Orion featuring quad-core Mali-400 GPU at Techcron 2010. The Samsung Orion (model name: S5PV310XH) will run at 1GHz (this frequency might be increased later on: I’ve read 1.2 GHz, 1.5GHz or even up to 2 GHz.) and use 45nm lower power manufacturing technology. Samsung already have a BSP using Linaro kernel and the development board having the following characteristics: Samsung Orion SoC Low power audio subsystem Embedded GPS 2D Graphics Acceleration TFT 24-bit true color LCD Controller MALI-400 3D Graphics TV-out and HDMI interface support Multi-format codec up to 1080p @ 30fps The device would runs Android on top of Linaro kernel which takes care of all the low level stuffs. If you are interested in developing for this platform, you can already download and play around with Linaro 10.11 which already supports Cortex A8 and A9 platforms. The Samsung Orion is rumored […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Digital Signage Standard: Open Pluggable Specification (OPS)

Digital Signage Standard: Open Pluggable Specification (OPS)

A while ago, we discussed about Popai Digital Signage Standards, mainly focused on software and client/server interoperability. Intel has just released a new standard for Digital Signage: Open Pluggable Specification (OPS). Here’s the description of the specification on Intel website. The Open Pluggable Specification (OPS) helps standardize the design and development of digital signage devices and pluggable media players. Intel created the OPS to address digital signage market fragmentation and simplify device installation, usage, maintenance and upgrades. The OPS enables digital signage manufacturers to deploy interchangeable systems faster and in higher volumes, while lowering costs for development and implementation. Installing digital signage equipment based on Intel® architecture helps you implement scalable digital signage applications that can network easily with other equipment. This simplifies interoperability and application upgrades designed to meet the digital signage requirements of individual customers, while helping to future-proof technology investments. You’ll need to fill a form to […]