Hardware Category - Page 577 of 1070 - CNX Software

January 30, 2018January 30, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

UltraZed-EG SoM and Starter Kit Feature Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ ZU3EG MPSoC

Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ Arm Cortex A53 + FPGA MPSoCs were announced in 2015, with actual products launched in early 2017 such as AXIOM development board or Trenz Electronic TE0808 UltraSOM+ system-on-module which are based on the ZU9EG model, and cost several thousand dollars. Recently, I wrote about Mycroft Mark II smart speaker based on a “quad core Xilinx processor”, and initially I assumed it was an Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoCs since those are the only Xilinx “quad core processors” I know of, but now I think it must be an unannounced part, since the company can’t provide the exact part number, and the price would be too low. Nevertheless, this lead me to check out if there was any lower cost boards based Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC with four Arm Cortex A53 cores, and ZU2EG is the entry-level part that matches this description. I could not find a ZU2EG development board, […]

January 30, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Xiaomi Mi Box 4 & 4C 4K HDR TV Boxes Launched with Amlogic S905L Processor

Remember Amlogic S905L Processor? Me neither, but I wrote about it in September 2016, with the processor being an updated version of Amlogic S905X without VP9 support, and adding HDMI 2.0b output with support for Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) HDR. One reason most people won’t remember it is because so far, no TV boxes featured the processor, but this has now changed with Xiaomi introduced Mi Box 4 & 4c TV boxes for the Chinese market. Xiaomi Mi Box 4c is the entry level model (Black color), and Mi Box 4 is slightly higher end with more memory and Bluetooth (White color), but both devices share most of the same specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905L quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU @ up to 750 MHz System Memory Mi Box 4c – 1GB RAM Mi Box 4 – 2GB RAM Storage – 8GB eMMC […]

January 29, 2018January 30, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 36 Comments

Pine64 to Release RockPro64 Boards Based on Rockchip RK3399 and RK3399Pro for Around $60 and Up

Several Rockchip RK3399 boards have been announced in the last few days, first with AAEON RICO-3399 Pico-ITX single board computer targeting mostly business customers for digital signage, kiosk or, automation and Orange Pi RK3399, a featured-pack board with plenty of interfaces to play with. However those boards, and the one released previously, tend to cost between $100 and $200 or over, and even though we saw Rockchip SAPPHIRE evaluation board going for $75 its was a time-limited promotion, and the normal price is around $150. I’m pleased to report Pine64 will soon launch RockPro64 boards powered by Rockchip RK3399 or the recently announced RK3399Pro with an NPU for around $60 and up. There will be three versions of the board that will only differ by the processor, or RAM capacity: SoC (one or the other) Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor with 2x ARM Cortex A72 cores up to 2.0 GHz, 4x […]

January 29, 2018January 29, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Ericsson Unveils 5G Radio Dot for Better 5G Indoor Coverage

5G cellular technology is coming sometimes in 2019, before ramping up in 2020 in several countries. The new 3GPP standard will allow maximum bandwidth up to 10 Gigabit per second, and we’ve already seen announcements such as Snapdragon X50 5G Modem which will be able to reach up to 5 Gbps download speeds. 5G apparently works at either high bands starting at 28 GHz and up to 60 GHz, which means 5G signal might have a really hard time penetrating through walls or other obstacles, or at mid bands between 3.5 and 5 GHz which will still be a challenge compared to 4G LTE operating between 600 MHz and 3.5 GHz. That means that signal from outdoor base station won’t be able to penetrate in all building, so 5G indoor small cells will be necessary for good indoor coverage. Ericsson has already unveiled their own small cells with 5G radio […]

January 29, 2018August 12, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 30 Comments

Orange Pi RK3399 Development Board Launched for $109

Orange-Pi-RK3399-Board-Description-Large

Last Friday, I wrote there was already a decent choice of Rockchip RK3399 boards, and added AAEON RICO-3399 pico-ITX board to the list. I forgot about Shenzhen Xunlong’s own Rockchip RK3399 board that was spotted as early as last spring and was told Orange Pi RK3399 was now up for sale for around $110 (699 CNY) in Taobao. The board is now also for sale on Aliexpress for $109 plus shipping ($4.35 here), and the company has released the specifications, so we can have a better look at what the board has to offer. Orange Pi RK3399 specifications: SoC – Rockchip K3399 hexa-core big.LITTLE processor with two ARM Cortex A72 cores up to 2.0 GHz, four Cortex A53 cores, and an ARM Mali-T860 MP4 GPU with support for OpenGL 1.1 to 3.1 support, OpenVG1.1, OpenCL, and DX 11 System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash, […]

January 29, 2018January 29, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

$2 USB “18650 Battery Shield” Powers Arduino, ESP32, and Other Low Power Boards with a 18650 Battery

If you’re looking for battery power for one of your projects, you may consider a “18650 battery shield” – going for just above $2 on Aliexpress or eBay – for powering Arduino boards, Espressif ESP8266 or ESP32 boards, or any board that can be powered by 5V up to 2A via USB or headers, or by 3V up to 1A via headers. Specifications listed on eBay/Aliexpress: Power Input – 5 to 8V via micro USB port up to 0.5A charging Power Output 5V via Type A USB port 3V up to 1A via 3x 2-pin header 5V up to 2A via 3x 2-pin headers Misc – 1 switch control USB output, LED for charging status (green = full, red = charging) Battery protection (Over-charge or Over-discharge) Dimensions – 9.8 x 2.9 cm You’ll need to add your own 18650 battery, and be careful about polarity while installing it, since putting […]

January 28, 2018 by Ian W MORRISON (Linuxium) - 4 Comments

Intel Compute Cards Review – Windows 10 and Ubuntu 17.04 on CD1C64GK, CD1P64GK and CD1M3128MK

The Intel Compute Stick revolutionized the mini PC market through the introduction of x86 based processors making Windows available as an OS option. However, for Intel the biggest target market turned out to be business rather than consumer with digital signage being a key user. As a result Intel have responded with the introduction of the Intel Compute Card. So far they have released four versions of card: and they they differ from compute sticks by no longer being standalone mini PCs but dependent on a dock or host device. The card itself is relatively small with a footprint slightly larger than a standard credit card: and is distinguished by the back being printed with details about the card including the model: The lack of emphasis on the consumer market is also evident in the rather unobtrusive plain packaging: On the end that inserts into the dock or host device […]

January 27, 2018January 27, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Mycroft Mark II Smart Speaker / Voice Assistant Works with Open Source Software (Crowdfunding)

Smart speakers have gain a lot of traction over the last few years, but many of the solutions are based on Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa voice services, with both companies likely tracking your voice searches the same way they track your online searches to provide a “personalized experience” and sell you products or server ads that match your interests. If you don’t like being tracked that way, a solution is to use an open source voice assistant such as Mycroft, and install it on a Linux computer, Raspberry Pi 3 board, or Android device. The company also introduced Mark I reference hardware platform based on Raspberry Pi 2 in 2015, and while all those hardware options should be fine for the technically inclined, but not really suited to the typical end user, and AFAIK they all lack a microphone array for better hot word detection. So Mycroft has come […]