Purism Librem 5 Linux phone development kits are now shipping

Purism Librem5 development kit

Purism Librem 5 is a privacy-focused open source Linux smartphone powered by NXP i.MX 8M processor that was launched via a crowdfunding campaign in August 2017 that ends up being extremely popular with over 1.5 million dollars raised. At the time, the phone was scheduled to ship on January 2019, but a $299 development kit with board, display and accessories was slated to ship in June 2018. There have been some delays, but the good news is that Librem 5 development kits are now shipping so third party software development for the phone will now really get started. Librem 5 development kit preliminary specifications: System-on-Module – Emcraft SOM-IMX8M module with NXP i.MX 8M Quad core Cortex A53 processor, at least 2GB LPDDR4 RAM and 16GB eMMC flash (I could not find exact RAM and storage capacities for the module used in the board) Display – 5.7″ LCD touchscreen with a […]

$30 MX10 MINI TV Box Runs Android 9 on RK3328 Processor

MX10 MINI

Android 9.0 TV boxes based on Rockchip RK3328 processor started to become available at the end of last month for $45 and up, but if you’d like a cheaper Android 9 TV box either for playing videos or as an inexpensive device to test apps with Google’s latest version of Android, MX10 MINI might be worth a look, as it sells for $29.99 plus shipping on Aliexpress. MX10 MINI specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with Mali-450MP2 GPU System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash +  micro SD card slot Video & Audio  Output – HDMI 2.0a port up to 4K @ 60 Hz with HDR10 and HLG support + 3.5mm AV port with composite video and stereo audio Video Codecs – 4K @ 60 Hz decoding of H.264, 10-bit H.265, and VP9 Connectivity – 10/100M […]

eduArdu is an Open Source Hardware Arduino Learning Board

eduArdu

Olimex has recently launched eduArdu, an open source hardware Arduino compatible board specifically designed for education with plenty of buttons, LEDs,  and sensors, as well as tutorials and samples source code to help young and older aspiring makers get started with Arduino programming. eduArdu hardware specifications: MCU – Microchip ATMega32U4 AVR microcontroller (as used in Arduino Leonardo) Display – 8×8 LED matrix display Audio – Built-in microphone, buzzer User Inputs – Joystick with push button, 6 Maykey-Makey type buttons Sensors – Utrasound distance sensor, light sensor, PIR sensor, temperature sensor (-45 to +125C) Expansion Two servo motor connectors UEXT connector Debugging / Programming – 1x micro USB port Misc – RGB LED,  IR transmitter, IR receiver, status LED, reset button Power Supply LiPo charger and battery connector 5V via USB port Dimensions – 170 x 75 mm Programming can be done with the Arduino IDE, or Snap4Arduino visual programming IDE. […]

Wave Computing to Open Source MIPS Architecture

MIPS Open Source

There has been a lot of talks about RISC-V open source, royalty-free instructions set architecture this year,  including the launch of RISC-V MCUs and Linux capable RISC-V processors,  and corresponding development boards such as Hifive Unleashed. This even lead Arm to create a – now shutdown – microsite telling why people should stick with Arm instead of RISC-V. While RISC-V was clearly on the rise this year, MIPS architecture once a dominant players in routers and set-top box has been on the decline, even prompting Blu to write a guest review entitled “Baikal T1 MIPS Processor – The Last of the Mohicans?” hinting at the near extincsion of MIPS based solutions. But there may be hope, or at least a last ditch effort, with Wave Computing purchasing MIPS from Imagination Technology earlier this year, and now announcing the MIPS Open Initiative to effectively open source 32-bit and 64-bit MIPS ISA […]

Kontron pITX-iMX8M Industrial Pico-ITX Motherboard is Powered by NXP i.MX8M Processor

pITX-imx8m

We’ve had a fair amount of boards and modules based on NXP i.MX 8M dual or quad core Cortex A53 processor this year, including one pico-ITX motherboard with F&S Elektronik ArmStone MXM8 supporting up to 8GB RAM. Another i.MX 8M pico-ITX board will soon be launch courtesy of Kontron. pITX-iMX8M will also features the dual or quad core version of the processor, but will differ thanks to the presence of dual Gigabit Ethernet, mini DP and HDMI video outputs, an M.2 PCIe/USB 3.0 socket, and built-in TPM 2.0 security. Kontron pITX-iMX8M preliminary specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Dual or QuadLite Arm Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz, Arm Cortex-M4 real-time core, and Vivante GC7000Lite GPU with support for OpenGL/Es 3.1, OpenGL 3.0, Vulkan System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 64GB eMMC 5.1 flash, micro SD card / SIM slot combo Video Output – mini DisplayPort, HDMI […]

HOMTOM C1 Android Go Smartphone Sells for $65

HOMTOM C1 Android Go Edition

Android Go is a lightweight version of Android operating system launched by Google targeting low end smartphones with the OS & apps optimized for low memory and storage. Smartphones with the latest Android 9 Go Edition were expected around Q4 2018 with further storage optimization, better security, and faster boot time. It’s unclear whether the just launched HOMTOM C1  Android Go edition features the Android 9 version, as all screenshots appear to show Android 8 Go Edition. But eventually it might get a firmware update, and it’s now sold for around $65 shipped on Aliexpress. HOMTOM C1 specifications: SoC – MediaTek MT6580A quad core Cortex A7 processor @ up to 1.3 GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 128GB Display – 5.5″ touchscreen display with 1280×640 resolution Cellular Connectivity Dual SIM dual standby SIM card socket for […]

GPD Pocket 2 Amber Black is a Cheaper Mini laptop with Celeron 3965Y Processor

GPD Pocket 2 Amber Black

GPD introduced their latest Pocket 2 mini laptop via a crowdfunding campaign last summer. The device packs a Intel Core m3-7y30 Kaby Lake processor coupled with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, as well as 7″ 1920×1200 display. It’s great if you need an ultra-mobile computer with decent performance, especially it also comes with an HDMI port to connect to a larger display when you sit at a desk, but you’d have to pay around $700 to get one on Amazon, GeekBuying, or other websites. The company has now launched a cheaper version called “GPD Pocket 2 Amber Black” that goes for $435 and up on Indiegogo.  The design is pretty much the same, but price for this version is quite cheaper thanks to the switch to a Celeron 3965Y processor, and 4GB RAM. Performance will be somewhat lower, but according to the company you’ll also gain 2 hours of battery life […]

Intel Unveils Foveros “big.SMALL” Hybrid x86 Processor, Roadmap for Atom Processors

Intel Foveros Hybrid Processor-Development-Board

Once upon a time Intel manufactured mobile processors for smartphones and tablets, but they eventually gave up as their solutions failed to gain traction. However, it looks like they may be back, as one customers required them to developer a chip with higher performance than Atom processors combined with a 2 mW standby power state. The chip was developed using “Foveros” 3D stacking technology was showcased at Intel’s Architecture Day 2018, but before going into further details, let’s have a look at Atom and Core processors roadmap to 2023 unveiled at the event. First, Intel will have developed three new Atom micro-architectures going into 2023. As we’ve seen previously, Tremont will succeed Goldmont Plus microarchitecture found in Gemini Lake and Denverton processors, and improve single-threaded performance, network server performance, and battery life starting in 2019. Around 2021, Gracemont will be launched with again higher single-thread performance and frequency, as well […]

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