Category: Allwinner A-Series

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Olimex A13-OLinuXino Could Become a Proper Raspberry Pi Alternative

Olimex A13-OLinuXino Could Become a Proper Raspberry Pi Alternative

Olimex recently announced they produced the first 10 prototypes of iMX233-OLinuXino Development Board, a low-end Linux development board that will cost 30 Euros, with specifications inferior to the Raspberry Pi. They have now announced their plan to design A13-OLinuxXino development board based on the new AllWinner A13 chipset, a strip down version of AllWinner A10 without HDMI nor SATA. Thanks to the low cost of AllWinner A13 (5 USD for very large orders / 10 USD in smaller quantities), Olimex plans to sell the new A13-OLinuxXino board for the same price as the iMX233-OLinuXino but with a faster 1GHz Cortex A8 processor and 256 or 512 MB RAM. I assume their will be 2 versions as well, the MINI for 29,95 Euros and the MAXI version with 2 more USB 2.0 host ports and 10/100Mbit Ethernet for 44.95 Euros. This board could be a very interesting alternative to the Raspberry […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Ubuntu on AllWinner A10 based Mele A1000 Set-top Box

Ubuntu on AllWinner A10 based Mele A1000 Set-top Box

I’ve recently received and reviewed the 70 USD Mele A1000 STB powered by AllWinner A10, but haven’t been able to hack it yet since I’ve have not received the USB to Serial cable necessary for debugging the board. However, somebody else (Tom Cubie) had time to hack the box and run Ubuntu from a SD card (while still keeping Android in the flash) as you can see below. This port does not seem to include hardware accelerated GUI just yet, but this is definitely a step in the right direction. Tom said he just followed the instructions at http://rhombus-tech.net/allwinner_a10/hacking_the_mele_a1000/ and http://rhombus-tech.net/a10_mmc_boot/ to have Ubuntu working, but those do not appear to be that clear at the moment. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments on Sunlike UMPC-1021: 85 USD AllWinner A10 Based 10.2″ Android 4.0 Netbook

Sunlike UMPC-1021: 85 USD AllWinner A10 Based 10.2″ Android 4.0 Netbook

Sunlike, a Shenzhen-based manufacturer, showcased their UMPC-1021 Android 4.0 netbook at the China sourcing fair last week. This netbook is powered by an AllWinner A10 (ARM Cortex A8) processor with 1GB RAM and 4GB flash and features a 10.2″ LCD display (but not a touchscreen), a 1.3MP front camera and a 2100mAh battery. Here are the specifications of Sunlike UMPC-1021 Android netbook. CPU AllWinner A10 @ 1.2 GHz Operation system Android 4.0 ICS or WinCE Memory 1G RAM Storage Device 2/4/8G NAND Flash LCD 10.2″ PANEL 16:9 wide screen. 1024×600 Resolution LAN 10/100M Ethernet WIFI 802.11b/g USB Port 3x USB 2.0 Host External Storage SD Card Slot Build-in camera 1.3 MPixel Audio Build-in stereo speaker Microphone Dimensions 280 x 189 x 25 mm Battery 7.4V 2100 mAh – 3 to 5 hours usage The company also explains that this netbook can be used for 5 hours with the “default” 2,100 mAh battery, but they can extend that to 10 hours with a 4,000 mAh battery. Watch the video below to see […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments on 55 USD 7″ Capacitive Touch Screen Android 4.0 Tablet Based on Allwinner A13

55 USD 7″ Capacitive Touch Screen Android 4.0 Tablet Based on Allwinner A13

YOOE, a Chinese manufacturer, has designed a new Android 4.0 (ICS) tablet with a 7″ 5-point capacitive touch screen (1024×600) for about 55 USD (Factory price MOQ: 1000). This tablet is powered by AllWinner A13 (Cortex A8) processor, a cut down version of the AllWinner A10 without HDMI output nor SATA. This white brand tablet also features a 2,600 mAh battery which should last over 4 hours in typical usage and a front camera. The full specifications do not appear to be available right now. You can watch the video below to have a look at the device whose performance seems acceptable. Charbax also said the company expects the price to drop further to around 300 CNY (47 USD) by June 2012. If you are an individual interested to buy this tablet close to factory price (excluding shipping), charbax organizes group buying on his blog, just leave a comment over there […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 137 Comments on Mele A1000 Android 2.3 STB Unboxing and Review

Mele A1000 Android 2.3 STB Unboxing and Review

I’ve finally received the Mele A1000 media player I ordered 3 weeks ago. I mainly plan to use it as a Linux development platform for Allwinner A10 processor, but today I’ll just post some unboxing pictures and provide some feedback about the Android software running on the box. I received the device in the box below. (Sorry about the picture quality, I took pictures with my smartphone). Once you open the box, you’ll get see the set-top box, related accessories, a (not so useful) user guide in English and Chinese and what looks like a warranty card. Once you unpack everything you get the set-top box, 2.5″ hard drive case, composite cable, remote control (infrared) and 5V power supply. You’ll noticed some buttons on the remote control have markings in Chinese, this is where the user manual can be useful. You may already have seen the box itself (with clearer […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 26 Comments on Mele A2000 Android 2.3 Media Player Powered by AllWinner A10

Mele A2000 Android 2.3 Media Player Powered by AllWinner A10

Last month, I ordered a Mele A1000 in order to hack it to run Linux as it uses the same processor – the Cortex A8/Mali-400MP based AllWinner A10 – as the one planned for the low cost Rhombus Tech board. I have yet to receive the device, but Mele (迈乐) has already released  the Mele A2000, an Android 2.3 set-box box also powered by AllWinner A10. Here are Mele A2000 specifications: CPU: ARM Cortex A8 AllWinner A10 @ 1 GHz (It can be apparently be overclocked up to @ 1.5GHz) GPU: Mali 4000 Memory: DDR3 512MB RAM / 4GB Nand Flash OS System: Android 2.3.4 (Upgradable to Android 4.0) External Storage: Supports SD card up to 32GB, supports 2.5″ SATA HDD up to 1TB, Supports max 16GB USB flash disk Video codecs: HD MPEG-1/2/4. H.264. HD AVC/VC-1, RM/RMVB, Xvid/DviX 4/5/6, RealVideo 8/9/10, VP6 Video Formats: ts, m2ts, tp, trp, mkv, mp4, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 29 Comments on Mele A1000: AllWinner A10 (Cortex A8) Based Hackable Android STB

Mele A1000: AllWinner A10 (Cortex A8) Based Hackable Android STB

The Mele A1000 is an Android 2.3 IP Set-top Box (STB) powered by AllWinner A10 (Cortex A8) CPU with 512 MB RAM and 2 GB NAND Flash.  AllWinner A10 is the CPU to be used by the 15 USD (BOM Cost) Rhombus Tech Linux Computer, an alternative to the Raspberry-Pi. Since they do not have an alpha board yet, the Mele A1000 STB is apparently the development platform chosen by developers involved in Rhombus Tech low cost board while they wait for the hardware. Let’s have a look at the device specifications: CPU: ARM CortexA8 1GHz (AllWinner A10) Memory: DDR3 512MB RAM / 2 4GB Nand Flash OS System: Android 2.3 External Storage: Supports SD card up to 32GB, supports 2.5″ SATA HDD up to 1TB, Supports max 16GB USB flash disk Video coding: HD MPEG1/2/4.H.264.HD AVC/VC-1,RM/RMVB, Xvid/DviX4/5/6, RealVideo8/9/10, VP6 Video Format: ts/m2ts/tp/trp/mkv/mp4/mov/avi/rm/rmvb/wmv/vob/asf/flv/dat/mpf/mpeg Audio Format: MP3/WMA/WMV/OGG/FLAC/MKV Subtitle Format: SRT/SMI/SSA/ASS Network […]