Category: Processors

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Android Jelly Bean 4.2 SDK, Source Code and Binary Images Are Now Available

Android Jelly Bean 4.2 SDK, Source Code and Binary Images Are Now Available

As the Nexus 4 smartphone and Nexus 10 tablet became available for purchase yesterday, Google released Android 4.2 SDK for developers and pushed Android 4.2 to AOSP. The Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) SDK platform (API level 17) brings the following key improvements: Performance – Renderscript computation can be run directly in the GPU on the Nexus 10. This is a first since Exynos 5250 is the first ARM processor capable of supporting GPGPU (via Mali-T604 GPU). See the chart of the right showing results between CPU and CPU+GPU computation of some multimedia benchmarks. Lock screen widgets – Users can now place interactive lock screen widgets directly on their device lock screens. This only requires a small update to adapt existing widgets to run on the lock screen.  Daydream – An interactive screensaver mode that can be used when the device is charging or docked to a desk dock. Better external […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Texas Instruments OMAP 5 Cortex A15 Systems-on-Module Galore

Texas Instruments OMAP 5 Cortex A15 Systems-on-Module Galore

Today Texas Instruments published a press release to announce partners 6 company had worked to design and manufactures systems-on-module based on the dual core Cortex A15 OMAP 5 SoC and that those would be on display at Electronica Trade Faire this week (13-16 October) in Munich. Embedded++ EPP-Pico-OMAP5430 This solution is actually a Pico-ITX board based on OMAP5430 with 2 GB LP-DDR2, USB 3.0 SuperSpeed connectivity (1x USB 3.0, 3x USB 2.0),  up to 16 GB eMMC storage, a SATA port, a 100Mb Ethernet port , UART, RS-323 & SPI ports, GPIOs, DVI and LVDS outputs, a serial camera input port, a micro SD card socket, Murata WiLink 8.0 connectivity solution (Wi-Fi, GNSS, Bluetooth®, Bluetooth v4.0 and FM technologies) and a built-in battery charger (1-cell Li-Ion). The company provides Linux and Android 4.1 BSP. Check the product page for a few more details. GreenBase GK-5432 GK-5432 is a computer on […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 27 Comments on Jesurun Xplus H25 Mini PCs with Rotating HDMI Port, DLNA Support

Jesurun Xplus H25 Mini PCs with Rotating HDMI Port, DLNA Support

Jesurun Xplus H25 mini PCs are typical Android 4.0 AllWinner A10 and Rockchip RK3066 mini PCs, expect for one slight mechanical difference: The HDMI male port can rotate and possibly allow the mini PC to be inserted directly into the TV in case where other may not. Of course, one option could always be to buy a cheap HDMI rotating adapter or an HDMI cable to connect the device, but I find having this option within the device is neater. Let’s look at the specs of the single core version: SoC – AllWinner A10 with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 4GB NAND Flash + TF card slot USB – 1x USB 2.0 OTGX + 1x  USB HOST + 1x mini USB HOST WiFi – 802.11b/g/n Video Container Formats – AVI, MKV, TS, TP, TRP, M2TS, MPG, MP4, M4V, MOV, VOB, MVC(3D) ISO, IFO, DAT, WMV, ASF/RM, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on Preliminary Version of Ubuntu Running on UG802 mini PC (Rockchip RK3066)

Preliminary Version of Ubuntu Running on UG802 mini PC (Rockchip RK3066)

Last week, I wrote a post entitled “Rockchip RK3066/RK30xx Processors Documentation, Source Code and Tools“, where I explained that the kernel source code for RK3066 was released and somebody (AndrewDB) had started working on a port of Ubuntu for the platform. It appears he has been pretty busy, as there has been some progress in the meantime… AndrewDB managed to run Ubuntu on UG802 HDMI Stick. Wifi is starting to work, although there are still some minor issues to resolve. He plans to have a dual-boot Android/Linux ROM available in several weeks for RK3066 based devices such as the UG802 and MK808. Eventually, AndrewDB also intends to release a dual boot ROM Android Jelly Bean + Ubuntu for RK3066 tablets. That’s all the information I have for now. This is still work in progress (See TODO List) and no binary has been released yet. Via: SlateDroid Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on XBMC for Linux on AllWinner A10 Devices? It Works! (Sort of)

XBMC for Linux on AllWinner A10 Devices? It Works! (Sort of)

Following the lack of support by AllWinner for the video engine libraries (CedarX), I had more or less given up on hope XBMC for Linux would ever run properly on AllWinner A10/A13 hardware. But recently, I found out some progress had been made using existing libs, and saw the Pengpod Tablet video showing XBMC running in Linux fairly smoothly. So I decided to cross-compile XBMC by following the instructions available at http://linux-sunxi.org/XBMC and trying to run it in Linaro ALIP 12.04 rootfs in my Mele A1000. Finally, I managed to cross-compile XBMC, but the performance was very poor in the GUI (6 to 12 fps) and I was unable to play videos and my serial console was flooded with messages like:

[Update: I managed to have XBMC Linux running & playing videos on Mele A1000 by using j1nx image (rootfs + kernel). I would first exhibit the exact same […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on FRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory) and Texas Instruments MSP430FR57xx MCUs

FRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory) and Texas Instruments MSP430FR57xx MCUs

I’ve recently received a complementary book entitled “Texas Instruments FRAM MCUs for DUMMIES” sent by Mouser, that provides technical and practical information about FRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory) – pronounced F-RAM – and Texas Instruments MSP430FR57xx MCU series which makes use of this relatively new type of memory. FRAM is a non-volatile memory with power and write speed & endurance characteristics that almost matches SRAM capabilities, and leave traditional Flash and EEPROM memory in the dust in terms of performance, as you can see from the table and diagram below. At constant speed, FRAM consumes 250x less than Flash/EEPROM. Please note the FRAM write speed also depends on the MCU used, and a MCU @ 8MHz can write the FRAM @ 1400 kBps (Source: TI). However, you won’t see this type of memory in devices like smartphones anytime soon because the maximum size currently manufactured is 1MB, density is higher […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on $444 Smartbeam Android 4.0 Media Player & Projector Powered by Telechips TCC8925

$444 Smartbeam Android 4.0 Media Player & Projector Powered by Telechips TCC8925

Android is now everywhere, from the ubiquitous smartphones and tablets to cars, cameras, satellites (no kidding), light bulbs (seriously) and more. Today is the first time I’ve come across a full sized projector running Android. The “Smartbeam” is a 2000 lumens 1280×768 (native) projector powered by Telechips TCC8925 with 512 MB RAM and 4 GB Flash running Android 4.0.4 (ICS), so the performance should be very similar to CX-01 mini PC. Here are the specs of this new device: SoC – Telechips TCC8925 up to 833 MHz System Memory – 512 MB RAM Storage – 4 GB NAND Flash WiFi – 802.11 b/g/n Display – 5.8″ Single LCD Panel Display Technology (cnxsoft: But I can’t find any display on any of the pictures…) Projector: Projection Lens – Manual Lens Resolution: Native SGA (1280*768 Pixels), Support Resolution QGA (1920 x 1200) Brightness (Typical) – LED lamp 2000 lumens, more than 320Lux […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments on Digi Launches XBee-PRO 900HP RF Module With a Range of Up to 45 Km

Digi Launches XBee-PRO 900HP RF Module With a Range of Up to 45 Km

Digi International has recently announced the XBee-PRO 900HP RF embedded module based on ADF7023 transceiver and Energy Micro Cortex-M3 EFM32G230 MCU @ 28 MHz. The company claims the module supports a line-of-sight range of up to 45 km with a high-gain antenna and data rates of up to 200 Kbps.45 km is not quite enough to communicate in space (100 km), but that’s still a pretty good range. Indoor / urban range is up to 600m. Here are the hardware specifications of XBee-PRO 900HP module: Processors – ADF7023 transceiver and Cortex-M3 EFM32G230 @ 28 MHz Frequency Band – 902 to 928 MHz, software selectable channel mask for interference immunity Antenna Options – Wire, U.FL and RPSMSA RF Data Rate – 10 Kbps or 200 Kbps Indoor/Urban Range – Up to 2000 ft (610 m) Outdoor/ Line-Of-Sight Range – Up to 9 miles (14 km) w/ dipole antenna; Up to 28 […]