UGOOS UT8 PRO is the first TV box I’ve seen with a Rockchip RK3568 processor, if we exclude Firefly Station P2 that’s more like an Arm Linux mini PC. The device runs Android 11 and is equipped with 8GB RAM, 64GB eMMC flash, and offers WiFi 6 connectivity. There’s also the “UGOOS UT8” with basically the same features except it ships with 4GB RAM and 32GB flash, and a dual-band WiFi 5 and Bluetooth module. We previously had seen TV boxes and mini PCs with the similar Rockchip RK3566 SoC in T95 Plus, H96 Max, and Zidoo M6, and the only reason for going with RK3568 in UGOOS UT8 (PRO) should be the extra USB 3.0 host/OTG interface, adding to the USB 3.0 host interface found in both RK3566 and RK3568 processors. UGOOS UT8 (PRO) specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568 with a quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 1.8/2.0GHz, Arm […]
Beelink GTi11 review – Part 2: Ubuntu 20.04 on an Intel Core i5-1135G7 mini PC
Previously I reviewed Beelink’s new GTi11 Intel Tiger Lake mini PC running Windows 11, so in this part, I will cover Ubuntu 20.04. Hardware Recap The GTi11 is a 168 x 120 x 39mm (6.61 x 4.72 x 1.54 inches) actively cooled mini PC and the review model has an i5-1135G7 Intel Tiger Lake quad-core 8-thread 2.50 GHz Core processor boosting to 4.20 GHz with Intel’s Xe Graphics. The review model also includes a 500GB M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen 3.0 SSD drive initially with Windows 10 Pro installed but now successfully upgraded to Windows 11 Pro, two sticks of 8GB DDR4 3200 MHz memory, a soldered WiFi 6 (or 802.11ax) Intel AX201 chip and dual 2.5Gb Ethernet ports. The specifications list four of the USB ports as 3.0 so I retested them on Ubuntu using a Samsung 980 PRO PCle 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD housed in an ‘USB to […]
$35 Orange Pi 3 LTS SBC comes with 2GB RAM, 8GB flash, AW859A WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 module
Orange Pi 3 LTS is a cost-down, more compact version of Orange Pi 3 SBC launched in 2019 with Allwinner H6 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor, Gigabit Ethernet, four USB 3.0 ports, and mPCIe socket with a PCIe x1 Gen2 lane. AFAICR, the latter never really worked well due to a botched implementation in the SoC. The new slimmed-down Orange Pi 3 LTS is sized like a business card, loses the mostly useless mPCIe socket from the original board, comes with 2GB LPDDR3 RAM (no more 1GB RAM option), a lower number of USB ports, USB Type-C power input, and an Allwinner AW859A WiFi and Bluetooth module replaces the Ampak AP6256 module from the original board. Orange Pi 3 LTS specifications: SoC – Allwinner H6 quad-core Cortex A53 processor clocked at up to 1.8 GHz with Arm Mali-T720MP2 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.1/3.0/2.0/1.1, DirectX 11 System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3 (before 1GB […]
(Some) TP-Link routers enable hidden networks by default. Is that an issue?
There are plenty of security issues with many routers including firmware that is seldom upgraded, opened (telnet) port with the default password, and the list could go on. But Jahed Ahmed recently wrote about an issue I had not heard of before: his TP-Link router shows two hidden networks in 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands that he only discovered after running WiFi Analyzer on his phone. He did not enable those networks, so that was the default configuration from the firmware. That could potentially pose a security risk, contributes to WiFi spam, and Jahed also mentions a waste of energy although the extra power consumption is probably limited, even when scaled to millions of users. So why is TP-Link doing this? Apparently for their OneMesh mesh wireless network system and device including range and powerline extenders that users may want to use. Other users have been reporting this issue […]
Dual 10GbE router supports WiFi 6 (AX3600)
We’ve just written about a Qualcomm IPQ8072A SBC/reference design with two 10GbE ports and WiFi 6 that’s good for companies wanting to design their own system, but if you’re looking for a dual 10GbE router there are already options, notably QNAP QHora-310W sold for $329 on Amazon. But another dual 10GbE router with WiFi 6 was brought to my attention from a company I had never heard of. Acelink BR-6889AX is a WiFi 6 “AX3600 4T4R 10GE Router” based on Qualcomm IPQ8072A processor that’s suitable for the connected home and office networks including WFH use cases. Acelink BR-6889AX specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Hawkeye IPQ8072A quad-core Cortex A53 @ 2.2GHz with dual-core multi-threaded network accelerator, In-line security engine System Memory – 512 MB DDR3 (2x 256MB) Storage – 4MB SPI NOR flash, 128MB NAND flash Networking Wired 2x 100/1,000/2,500/5,000/10,000Mbps BASE-T Ethernet (RJ45) ports with Link/Act, Speed LED 3x 10/100/1,000Mbps BASE-T Ethernet […]
MYIR introduces i.MX 8M Plus module and devkit with AI/ML capabilities
There are already plenty of i.MX 8M Plus systems-on-module, but here’s one more courtesy of MYIR Tech with MYC-JX8MPQ i.MX 8M Plus module with as well as MYD-JX8MPQ development board for evaluating the solution. The module is especially well suited to applications leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) with the NXP Cortex-A53/M7 integrating a 2.3 TOPS Neural Processing Unit (NPU). The module comes with up to 6GB LPDDR4, 128GB eMMC flash, 32MB QSPI flash, a PMIC for power management, as well as a 314-pin MXM 3.0 connector exposing the I/Os from the processor. MYC-JX8MPQ module specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus (MIMX8ML8CVNKZAB) quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.6 GHz, real-time Arm Cortex-M7 co-processor @ 800 MHz, 2.3 TOPS AI accelerator, 2D/3D GPU, HiFi4 Audio DSP, and 1080p VPU System Memory – 3GB LPDDR4 (option up to 6GB) Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (option up to 128GB), 32MB QSPI […]
Beelink GTi11 Review – Part 1: Tiger Lake mini PC with Windows 11
Beelink’s GTi11 is the latest offering in their ‘GT’ series of slightly larger mini PCs that are notable for expandable storage configurations together with multiple ports and characterized by including a fingerprint scanner. Featuring Intel’s 11th generation Tiger Lake processors, Beelink kindly sent an i5 version for review which I will undertake in three parts. In this first part, I’ve looked at Windows performance and the second part will cover Ubuntu with the third part looking at various configuration mods. Beelink GTi11 Hardware Overview The GTi11 physically consists of a 168 x 120 x 39mm (6.61 x 4.72 x 1.54 inches) rectangular metal case. As an actively cooled mini PC, it uses Intel’s ‘10 nm SuperFin’ Tiger Lake processors and the review model included an i5-1135G7 which is a quad-core 8-thread 2.50 GHz Core processor boosting to 4.20 GHz with Intel’s Xe Graphics. The front panel has an illuminated power […]
Qualcomm IPQ8072A networking SBC supports dual 10GbE, WiFi 6
DR8072 V01 is a networking SBC based on Qualcomm IPQ8072A communication processor, with two 10GbE interfaces, one through an SFP cage and the other through an RJ45 connector, plus four Gigabit Ethernet ports, and 4×4 MIMO WiFi 6 connectivity (AX3700). Based on Qualcomm AP.HK09 reference design, the board follows Wallys Communications’ DR8072A embedded router board introduced earlier this year, also based on Qualcomm IPQ8072, but equipped with two 2.5 GbE interfaces and WiFi 6 connectivity. DR8072 V1 specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Atheros IPQ8072A quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @ 2.2 GHz part of Qualcomm Networking Pro 1200 Platform System Memory – 512MB DDR4 2400MHz 16-bit interface (option up to to 2GB RAM) Storage – 8MB NOR flash, 256MB NAND flash Networking Wireless On-board 4×4 2.4GHz MU-MIMO OFDMA 802.11b/g/n/ax, max 17dBm per chain, up to 1147Mbps On-board 4×4 5GHz MU-MIMO OFDMA 802.11a/n/ac/ax, max 17dBm per chain, up to 2475Mbps Frequencies – 2.412 to […]


