Hardware Category - Page 893 of 1196 - CNX Software

April 14, 2016April 14, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

NEXBOX T11 Cherry Trail Mini PC Includes a 2.5″ SATA Bay, Supports HDMI and VGA Output

It’s always possible to connect a USB hard drive to a mini PC, but it’s not quite as neat as having an internal drive, and it may not pass the wife test. NEXBOX T11 mini PC powered by Intel Atom x5-Z8300 processor addresses this issue by including a 2.5″ SATA bay on the bottom for the case of a SSD or HDD with up to 2 TB capacity. NEXBOX T11 specifications: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8300 “Cherry Trail” quad core processor @ 1.44 GHz/1.84 GHz (turbo) with Intel Gen8 HD graphics System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 32 GB flash, 2.5″ SATA drive support, and micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI and VGA Audio Output – HDMI and 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet port, 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x micro USB OTG […]

April 14, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Intel Launches $15 Quark D2000 Arduino Compatible Board

Intel introduces three new Quark Micro-controllers last year, and I already experimented with Intel System Studio tools, quite similar to the Arduino IDE, and designed for hardware such as Intel Quark D1000 Customer Reference Board. So far the company had not released any boards available to the general public, but this has now changed since they’ve launched the “Intel Quark Microcontroller Developer Kit D2000”. Intel Quark D2000 development board specifications: MCU – Intel Quark D2000 32-bit processor Intel Pentium x86-compatible without x87 FPU @ 32 MHz with 8 KB SRAM, 32 KB instruction flash, 8 KB OTP flash and 4 KB OTP data flash USB – 1x micro USB (JTAG) for power and programming/debugging Sensors – 6-axis Accelerometer / magnetometer with temperature sensor (Bosch Sensortec BCM150) Expansion options: Arduino Uno compatible SIL sockets (3.3V IO only) Booster pack compatible SIL headers (3.3V IO only) Misc – Reset and user buttons, jumpers, […]

April 13, 2016April 13, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

HA544 Android Virtual Reality Headset Powered by Rockchip RK3188 Processor Sells for $155

Virtual reality headset have become more and more popular recently, from the basic Google Cardboard using your own smartphone, to models interfacing with a computer such as the $599 Oculus Rift or $700 HTC Vive. Chinese manufacturers have all launched a few standalone models running Android such as the high-end Deepoon M2 based on Samsung Exynos 7420, or the relatively inexpensive HA544 powered by Rockchip RK3188 quad core processor with 2GB RAM, and 8GB flash. HA544 virtual reality headset (aka VR HMD “Head-mount display”) specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad core Corter A9 processor @ 1.6 GHz with Mali-400MP4 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND flash + micro SD slot Display – 5.5, 1920×1080 resolution Lenses 2x aspherical lens for myopia under 700 degrees Diameter – 42mm 90 degrees field of view (FOV) IPD (Interpupillary distance) & focus adjustment Connectivity – WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 with […]

April 13, 2016April 13, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

The USB Type-C Authentication Specification Aims to Prevent Damage from Non-Compliant Cables and Adapters

The new USB Type-C standard is great, as cables are reversible so it does not matter if you connect them up or down, it can handle USB 3.1 data speed, as well as carrying video and up to 100W power thanks to USB-C power delivery. In theory all is great, but in practice, many USB-C cables are not compliant, and Benson Leung, a Google employee, has found that many USB-C cable sold on Amazon were not compliant, with even one damaging his Pixel 2 laptop and two USB PD analyzers. His reviews on Amazon, as well as customer complaints, probably lead the company to ban the sale of non-compliant cable or adapter, but to really mitigate the issue, a technical solution was needed, and that’s why the USB 3.0 Promoter Group has defined the Authentication Protocol for USB Type-C as part of the USB Power Delivery 3.0 specifications. Key […]

April 12, 2016April 14, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 41 Comments

Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced / Pro (Mediatek MT8693) Benchmarks and System Info

Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced is the first TV Box I’ve tested with a processor featuring ARM Cortex A72 cores, so I’m very eager to see how its performs, and I’m expecting it to be quite faster than Rockchip RK3288, but still not quite matching Nvidia Tegra X1 processor found in Nvidia Shield Android TV box. But first let’s check the system information with CPU-Z app. First, it looks like CPU-Z does not detect big.LITTLE processor very well, as it detect a six core ARM Cortex-A72, instead of a six core processor with two Cortex A72, and four Cortex A53 cores. The clock speed ranges between 507 MHz and 1.57 GHz, but that’s likely the number for the Cortex A53 core, as the marketing materials report the Cortex A53 cores run at up to 1.6 GHz, and the Cortex A72 cores up to 2.0 GHz. Antutu info reports the frequency […]

April 12, 2016April 12, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

MeLE StarCloud PCG61U Ubuntu Mini PC is Powered by Intel Braswell Celeron Processor

So far, most Chinese manufactures of Intel based mini PCs simply ignored Linux distributions, with Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 the only game in town. However, a few days ago, we found out about MeLE PCG02-U TV stick running Ubuntu on Intel Atom Z3735F processor, but the company appears to now taking Ubuntu more seriously as they are now promoting two other Ubuntu products with PCG01-U TV stick, and MeLE StarCloud PCG61U Braswell mini PC at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair. The product is not finalized, but the main specifications are already known: SoC – Intel Braswell Celeron processor @ 1.6 to 2.08 GHz with 12 EU Gen8 Graphics, likely Celeron N3150 processor (6W TDP) System Memory – 2, 4 or 8 GB DDR3L Storage – 32, 64 or 128 GB internal storage, or HDD/SSD slot, SD card slot Video Output – HDMI & VGA Audio – HDMI, microphone and […]

April 11, 2016April 11, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Zidoo X1 II 4K Android TV Box (Rockchip RK3229) Review

After skipping MXQ-4K TV box review due to severe issues with video playback, Zidoo X1 II is actually the first device powered by Rockchip RK3229 processor that I’ve fully tested. I’ve already taken pictures of the box, and opened it up to check the board in Zidoo X1 II unboxing and teardown post, and confirmed 4K videos could play pretty well from my USB hard drive using Zidoo Media Center after disabling Media Scanner process. So today, I’ll review other parts of the firmware, as well as video playback with ZDMC 16.0, Zidoo’s fork of Kodi 16.0. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions The device only has two USB ports, and I used one for a USB hard drive, and the other for RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse, a USB keyboard, and the RF dongle for Tronsmart Mars G01 gamepad via a USB hub. I also […]

April 11, 2016April 12, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced Unboxing and Teardown

Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced launched earlier this year, must be one of the most powerful Android TV Box thanks to its Mediatek MT8693 hexa-core processor with two ARM Cortex-A72 cores @ 2.0GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.6 GHz coupled with Imagination PowerVR GX6250 GPU. The downside is that the product has been specifically launched for the Chinese market, however we can still purchase it via Chinese e-retailers, and likely modify the user interface to use English. To find out, GearBest sent me one review sample. But first, I’ll check the device and hardware, before fully reviewing the TV box in a few weeks. Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced Unboxing I normally received samples by DHL, but this time the postman brought it to me. It’s slower, but it can also be advantageous since custom duties are less likely. The package has not much to it, but the back […]