TTGO TAudio V1.0 is a $20 Audio Board with ESP32-WROVER Module

Espressif Systems may have recently unveiled their Audio Mic HDK suitable for all sort of audio applications including smart speakers, but if you need an ESP32 board that’s available now and don’t need a microphone array, TTGO TAudio V1.0 board may be an option. The board – also known as TTGO T9 – features an ESP32-WROVER WiFI + Bluetooth module, a Wolfson audio codec with a 3.5mm audio jack and built-in microphone, as well as an RGB LED array and a motion tracking sensor. TTGO T9 / TAudio V1.0 board hardware specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-WROVER 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth 4.1 LE module with 4MB Flash, 4MB PSRAM External Storage – micro SD card slot Audio Cirrus Logic / Wolfson WM8978 stereo audio codec 3.5mm audio jack Microphone Sensor – InvenSense MPU9250 9-Axis (Gyro + Accelerometer + Compass) MEMS device Expansion 24-pin header with GPIOs, I2C, UART, VP/VN, speaker out, […]

GIGABYTE MZGLKAI is an Industrial Mini-ITX Motherboard Powered by an Intel Gemini Lake Processor

Last month, we got news of Gemini Lake motherboards by ASRock, and GIGABYTE. The former provided decent technical details about their boards, but the latter basically published a more-or-less useless press release about their upcoming J/N motherboards (e.g. J4005N D2P) with very few technical details. The company has now introduced MZGLKAI industrial mini-ITX motherboard featuring an Intel Celeron J4105 core Gemini Lake processor, dual Gigabit Ethernet, five SATA ports, plenty of COM ports, and more. GIGABYTE MZGLKAI (9MZGLKAINR-S) specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J4105 quad core processor @ 1.50/2.5 GHz with 12EU Intel UHD Graphics 600 up to 750 MHz; 10W TDP System Memory – 2x DDR4 1.2V SO-DIMM slots up to 2400Mhz, 8GB max. Storage – 5x SATA III 6Gbps including 4x via Marvell 88SE9230, 1x from J4105 with SATA DOM support; 3x SATA power connectors Video Output / Display I/F HDMI 2.0a port up to 3840×2160 @ 60 Hz […]

How to Use 3G and GPS on Raspberry Pi with ThaiEasyElec 3G HAT Expansion Board

Venus Supply is an embedded systems company based in Bangkok, Thailand that sells products through their ThaiEasyElec website/brand, as well as a act as a local distributor for popular DIY electronics items. I previously tested their ESPino32 ESP32 board, and the company has now send me another of their new product called “3G HAT Expansion for Raspberry Pi” and based on Quectel UC20-G that support 3G and GPS/GLONASS connectivity globally, meaning it should work in any country with 2G or 3G coverage. After listing the specifications, going through unboxing and assembly with a Raspberry Pi 2/3 board, I’ll write some quick start guide to show what I had to do to use GPS and connect to 3G with a Hologram SIM card. 3G HAT Expansion for Raspberry Pi Specifications Quectel UC20-G wireless module supporting Cellular 3G – UMTS @ 800/850/900/1900/2100 MHz 2G – GSM @ 850/900/1800/1900 MHz Data – HSPA+ […]

Ticwatch S / E Android Wear Smartwatches are Powered by Mediatek MT2601 SoC

Android Wear is normally used in products from larger companies such as Huawei, LG, or ASUS. In the past, some smaller companies claimed to have designed their own Android Wear smastrwatch  with approval from Google, but eventually their products went nowhere, even though one was listed on some sellers as a pre-order. But last summer, Mobvoi launched a Kickstarter campaign for their Ticwatch S & E smartwatches powered by Android Wear, and they managed to raise over $3 millions dollars from close to 20,000 backers with pledges starting at $99. The watches can now be purchased online for $127.99 and up from sites like Amazon, GeekBuying, GearBest, or directly from Mobvoi store. Ticwatch S (Sport) and E (Express) share many of the same features, but Ticwatch E is a bit lighter and more elegant, while Ticwatch S comes with a breathable band design with an integrated GPS antenna. Specifications: SoC […]

T-bao Tbook X8S Pro Apollo Lake Laptop is Equipped with an NVIDIA Geforce GPU

Most products based on Intel Apollo Lake processor do so to leverage the low cost and low power of the chip that also embeds Intel HD graphics removing the need for an external graphics card. But T-bao Tbook X8S Pro laptop powered by Intel Celeron J3455 Apollo Lake “Desktop” processor also comes with an NVIDIA GeForce 920M GPU which should boost graphics performance. Tbook X8S Pro specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J3455 quad core Apollo Lake processor @ 1.50 / 2.30 GHz with (unused) 12EU Intel HD Graphics 500; 10W TDP GPU – NVIDIA GeForce 920M @ 954 MHz with 2GB RAM System Memory – 6GB DDR3 Storage – 128GB eMMC flash or M.2 SSD (unclear), micro SD card slot up to 128 GB Display – 15.6″ IPS screen with 1920×1080 resolution Video Output – HDMI output Audio – Built-in microphone, and stereo speakers; 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity – Gigabit […]

TECHBASE ModBerry​ M300 IoT Gateway Adds Support for NanoPi and Orange Pi Allwinner H5 Boards

Announced at the end of last year TECHBASE launched the ModBerry​ M300, a Linux IoT gateway powered by FriendlyELEC NanoPi NEO board equipped with Allwinner H3 Cortex A7 processor. The company has now made four extra variants of the gateway with Allwinner H5 quad core Cortex A53 based development boards from FriendlyELEC and Shenzhen Xunlong: Modberry M300 N2 – Based on NanoPi NEO2 Modberry M300 N2+ – Based on NanoPi NEO Plus2 adding 8GB eMMC flash, WiFi & Bluetooth 4.0, and an extra USB port over the N2 model Modberry M300 O1 – Based on Orange Pi Zero Plus Modberry M300 O2 – Based on Orange Pi Zero Plus2 adding 8GB eMMC flash, HDMI, one extra USB port, and Bluetooth 4.0 over the O1 model, but falling back to 10/100 Ethernet, while all three models above come with Gigabit Ethernet To avoid confusion, the original NanoPi NEO model has changed […]

PicoCORE MX7ULP is a Compact Module Based on NXP i.MX 7ULP Ultra Low Power Processor

NXP unveiled another variant of their i.MX 7 Cortex A7 processor last year, and I missed it. NXP i.MX 7ULP offers many of the same features as i.MX 7, but is manufactured using FD-SOI (Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator) process technology to offer lower power consumption, as low as 15 mW or less in deep sleep, or 17 times less in comparison to i.MX 7 devices, while the dynamic power efficiency is improved by 50 percent on the real time domain (Cortex-M4). I found out about it thanks to an email from F&S Elektronik Systeme about the introduction of their  PicoCORE MX7ULP module – based on i.MX 7ULP processor – at  the Embedded World 2018 conference. PicoCORE MX7ULP CoM specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 7ULP Arm Cortex-A7 processor @ up to 800 MHz,  with Arm Cortex-M4 real-time core, and 2D/3D graphics accelerator System Memory – Up to 1GB LPDDR3 Storage […]

Shuttle DL10J Fanless Gemini Lake Mini PC Features Intel Celeron J4005 Dual Core Processor, 3 Video Outputs

Several mini PCs based on Intel Gemini Lake processors were unveiled at CES 2018, including Zotac PICO PI226, MeLE PCG63-APL4, and ECS LIVA Gemini Lake models all of which slated to launch in Q2 2018. ASRock and GIGABYTE also announced Gemini Lake motherboards a few weeks later. Most of the products above are for the consumer market, but if you’re after a Gemini Lake mini PC more geared towards business use cases like digital signage and multi-display solutions, Shuttle is now showcasing their DL10J mini PC powered by an Intel Celeron J4055 Gemini Lake dual core processor, and offering 3 video output ports at Integrated Systems Europe 2018 (ISE 2018). Shuttle DL10J mini PC specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J4005 dual core GLK processor @ 2.00/2.70 GHz with 12EU Intel UHD Graphics 600; 10W TDP System Memory – 2x DDR4 slots @ 2133 MHz up to 8GB Storage – 1x […]