Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Rikomagic R6 Review – Part 1: Android Mini Projector’s Unboxing and First Boot

Rikomagic R6 Review – Part 1: Android Mini Projector’s Unboxing and First Boot

Rikomagic R6 Android Launcher

Rikomagic R6 is a mini Android projector that looks like a vintage radio, or depending on your point of view a mini vintage television. We’ve already gone through the specifications last time around, but the smart projector is based on a quad-core Rockchip processor coupled with up to 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, while the 720p projector delivers up to 70 ANSI lumens. The company has now sent me a sample for review, so in this first part of the review, I’ll show what’s in the package, and what it looks like after boot, before going through more thorough testing in the second part of the review. Rikomagic R6 Unboxing The package reads “R6 MINI Projector” and “Smart Home Theater”. I received a pink model, but the company also offer other colors. The projector’s lens is protected by a black cover. The projector feels quite heavy and indeed it weights over 700 grams. All ports are placed on the rear …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on HK1 MAX PLUS TV Box Features Upgraded Rockchip RK3368PRO SoC with USB 3.0, HDR Support

HK1 MAX PLUS TV Box Features Upgraded Rockchip RK3368PRO SoC with USB 3.0, HDR Support

Rockchip RK3368Pro TV Box

Rockchip RK3368 octa-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.2 GHz was introduced in 2015 mostly in TV boxes running Android 5.1 such as Beelink i68 or Tronsmart Orion R68. Unsurprisingly we don’t read much about new Rockchip RK3368 products four years later. But Rockchip appears to have launched a RK3368 “refresh” with RK3368PRO processor equipped with most of the same features, plus the addition of a USB 3.0 interface, and HDR support. The company also updated software support to Android 9.0 Pie. We don’t actually have much information about the processor as we learned about it via a listing on Aliexpress for HK1 MAX PLUS TV box with the following (preliminary) specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3368PRO Octa-Core Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1.5 GHz with Imagination PowerVR G6110 GPU System Memory – 4 GB DDR3 Storage – 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB flash; MicroSD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR support (HDR10 and HLG modes) Video …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments on Khadas VIM3L (Amlogic S905D3) Benchmarks, Settings & System Info

Khadas VIM3L (Amlogic S905D3) Benchmarks, Settings & System Info

Khadas VIM3L Heatsink

Khadas VIM3L is the first Amlogic S905D3 SBC on the market and is sold as a lower-cost alternative to the company’s VIM3 board with a focus on the HTPC / media player market. Shenzhen Wesion was kind enough to send me a sample for review, and I’ll start by checking out benchmarks and system information in Android 9.0 Pie operating system. I also plan to perform a more detailed review with Android 9.0 and CoreELEC with a focus on media playback. I received the bare board only, and the first thing I did was to install it the heatsink I received for VIM3 and in turn, install it in the acrylic case. The company told me the heatsink is not really necessary “for normal purpose using like watch TV”, but it should be installed for performance tests and heavy workloads. I’d still recommend purchasing the heatsink to make sure it works well during the summer months as well. Upgrading Android …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Intrinsyc Unveils Open-Q 845 µSOM and Snapdragon 845 Mini-ITX Development Kit

Intrinsyc Unveils Open-Q 845 µSOM and Snapdragon 845 Mini-ITX Development Kit

Open-Q 845 µSOM Development Kit

Intrinsyc introduced the first Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 hardware development platform last year with its Open-Q 845 HDK designed for OEMs and device makers. But the company has now just announced a solution for embedded systems and Internet of Things (IoT) products with Open-Q 845 micro system-on-module (µSOM) powered by the Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor, as well as a complete development kit featuring the module and a Mini-ITX baseboard. Open-Q845 µSOM Specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon SDA845 octa-core processor with 4x Kryo 385 Gold cores @ 2.649GHz + 4x Kryo 385 Silver low-power cores @ 1.766GHz cores, Hexagon  685 DSP, Adreno 630 GPU with OpenGL ES 3.2 + AEP (Android Extension Pack),  DX next, Vulkan 2, OpenCL 2.0 full profile System Memory – 4GB or 6GB dual-channel high-speed LPDDR4X SDRAM at 1866MHz Storage – 32GB or 64GB UFS Flash Storage Connectivity Wi-Fi 5 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2.4/5Ghz 2×2 MU-MIMO (WCN3990) with 5 GHz external PA & U.FL antenna connector Bluetooth 5.x Audio & …

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Posted on by Karl Johnson - 26 Comments on Ugoos AM6 Review – An Android 9.0 TV Box with Plenty of Options

Ugoos AM6 Review – An Android 9.0 TV Box with Plenty of Options

Ugoos AM6 Review

Karl here….With another review. Today we look at the AM6 from Ugoos. Ugoos has been around for quite some time. I recently did a review of the Beelink GT-King with the same S922X processor and I will do some comparisons with that. I have to say with everything except the UI, I like this box much better (You can read my rant in the Beelink article about Android on the TV). The AM6 is built well. It is solid with a metal enclosure and just feels good when you pick it up. I know weight doesn’t really matter but it feels substantial. Like I stated I don’t really like UI but Ugoos ticks quite a few boxes that appeal to my nerdiness. I will go more into that later. Below are the specs per Ugoos Website. I highlighted the interesting ones. Hardware Specs: Operation System – Android 9.0 Language – English, Chinese …Multi-Language support CPU – Amlogic S922X with 12nn  …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on TIL: The Android Camera App Supports QR Code Scanning (in Some Phones)

TIL: The Android Camera App Supports QR Code Scanning (in Some Phones)

Android Camera QR Code

QR Code are pretty common, and until today I used a third-party app to scan the codes and get the embedded information such as a webpage. But I’ve just read in LinkedIn that the default camera app can read QR codes. No need to install any third-party app, no need to reach any menu, just point for two or three seconds and it will work as shown in the short video below.  I’m always running out of space on with Xiaomi Mi A2 phone since it only has 32GB flash, and no MicroSD card slot.  So if beside saving some time while scanning QR code, I can get rid of one app that’s always a plus. Except it does not work on my phone. Instead I had to tap on the right of the camera app to switch to Google Lens (or launch Google Lens manually), and the QR code will automatically be detected. It’s not ideal. but it …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Rock Pi 4C SBC to Support Dual Display Setups via micro HDMI and mini DP Ports

Rock Pi 4C SBC to Support Dual Display Setups via micro HDMI and mini DP Ports

rock pi 4 model C

Rockchip RK3399 powered Rock Pi 4 SBC was introduced at the end of 2018 and followed nearly exactly Raspberry Pi 3 Model B form factor just with a more powerful processor, GPU, as well as more memory depending on which model you purchase. But in June 2019, the Raspberry Pi foundation launched Raspberry Pi 4 SBC with a much faster processor and many of the same ports as its predecessor except for support for two HDMI displays via micro HDMI ports. Radxa has now followed suit with Rock Pi 4C which offers two modern video outputs, but with a twist as the upcoming SBC combines one micro HDMI port with one mini DP port. Rock Pi 4C was introduced at the XDC 2019 conference where open-source graphics developers meet, and Radxa was a “supporter”. The company explains Rock Pi 4B uses RK3399’s USB type-C controller for the two USB 3.0 ports, and as a result, they only have 2 remaining …

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 47 Comments on ISPs and Governments Don’t Seem to Like Security and Privacy-enhancing DNS over HTTPS (DoH)

ISPs and Governments Don’t Seem to Like Security and Privacy-enhancing DNS over HTTPS (DoH)

DNS-over-HTTPS DoH

Now a lot of the traffic on the Internet is secure, and for example, if you visit this blog your traffic will be encrypted, so your ISP, government or hackers will not know which exact page you visit on the website. But unless you use a VPN or the Tor Network, they’ll still know/or find out you visited CNX Software as most DNS requests are now unencrypted. Hackers may also use a spoofed DNS to steal your credit card info while you think you input your details into a trusted website. Beside using a VPN service, one solution is to use DNS over HTTPS (DoH) which encrypts the DNS request so that even your ISP or the government (unless there’s a backdoor) may not know which websites you visit. On top of improving privacy, DoH also improves security, as it’s harder to spoof DNS servers and by extension internet websites. I tried it with Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 DNS service last year, …

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