Rockchip RK3066/RK30xx Processors Documentation, Source Code and Tools

Rockchip RK3066 (part of RK30xx family) is a Chinese dual ARM Cortex A9 SoC targeting multimedia products such as tablets (e.g. Cube U30GT), mini PC (e.g UG802, MK808) and in theory set-top boxes, but I can’t find any products based on this Rockchip processor. It seems mini PCs/ HDMI TV sticks have taken over this market. RK3066 Processor The processor features two ARM Cortex A9 clocked at up to 1.6 Ghz with a quad core Mali-400MP GPU. It can support 1080p (3D) encoding/decoding, provides HDMI 1.4a, VGA, composite, component and LVDS video outputs (Dual display support),  USB 2.0 Host and OTG ports, a MAC interface (Ethernet), and much more… Here are the key features of Rockchip RK3066 processor: Dual Core A9 + Quad Core Mali-400MP GPU 2 banks, 8/16 bit Nor flash / SRAM interface 8 banks, 8/16 bit async NAND flash, LBA NAND flash and 8-bit sync ONFI NAND […]

$60 Rockchip RK2906 (Cortex A8) Android 4.0 Tablets

About 2 months ago, I received a 7″ capacitive tablet powered by WonderMedia WM8850 Cortex A9 processor and running Android 4.0. The WM8850-MID tablet cost me $76 at the time, and was available for as low as $72, which I found extremely cheap for a tablet with those specs. Since then AllWinner A13 processors have started to be used in tablets with similar specs – but without HDMI output – that sell for as low as $55. At the Hong Kong electronics Fair in April 2012, Rockchip announced several processors including the RK2906, which I was led to believe would be a cut-down version of ARM Cortex A8 RK2918 without HDMI, but it appears not to be the case. And today, I received a “Deal Alert” for an RK2906 Android 4.0 tablet that sells for $59.99 including shipping on Focalprice and could be an alternative to A13 tablets, especially if […]

Archos Arnova G3 Tablets: Arnova 10b G3 and Arnova 9 G3

Archos has announced (actually just listed them on their website) the third generation low cost Arnova tablets based on Rockchip RK2918 (Cortex A8 @ 1GHz) with 1 GB RAM and running Android 4.0 (ICS) with Arnova 10b G3 and Arnova 9 G3 Here are the specifications of the devices: CPU • Rockchip RK2918 (Cortex A8) @ 1 GHz System Memory • 1GB RAM Operating system • ANDROID 4.0 Capacity • Flash memory: 8 GB or 4 GB • Extendable via micro SDHC Slot Display characteristics • Arnova 10b G3 – 10.1” Resistive Dual Touch screen, TFT LCD (Resolution : 1024 x 600) • Arnova 9 G3 – 9.7″ Capacitive 5 points MultiTouch Screen with IPS Technology (Resolution: 1024 x 768) Video Playback • H.264 up to 1080p resolution – 30 fps • MPEG-4– 30 fps • Container formats: .avi .mp4 ,mkv, .mov, and .flv Audio Playback • MP3, WAV, APE, […]

Rockchip Unveils RK3066 Dual Core Cortex A9 Processor

Rockchip announced the RK3066 processor featuring a dual core Cortex A9 with a quad-core Mali-400 GPU and the company is currently showcasing tablets, e-Readers and set-top boxes powered by RK3066 at Hong Kong Electronics Fair on 13-16 April, 2012. Information is sparse, but I managed to find more information on Engadget China website which shows the key features of RK3066: Dual Core A9 + Quad Core GPU 2 banks, 8/16 bit Nor flash / SRAM interface 8 banks, 8/16 bit async NAND flash, LBA NAND flash and 8-bit sync ONFI NAND flash, all up to 60-bit hardware ECC 2 GB space for 2 ranks, 16-bit / 32-bit DDR3-800, LPDDR2-800 and LVDDR3-800 3 channels SD/MMC interface to support MMC 4.1 and SD3.0 2 channels TFT LCD interface with 5 layers and 3D display with resolution up to 1920×1080 HDMI 1.4 to support 1080p@30 3D video 2 channels 8-bit CCiR656 interface and […]

Archos Announces 129 USD Android 4.0 Child Pad Tablet

Archos announced the Child Pad, an Android 4.0 (ICS) Tablet with a 7″ capacitive touchscreen featuring an unnamed 1 GHz Cortex A8 processor (possibly a Rockchip RK2918) with 1GB of RAM, 4 GB internal storage and an SD slot for up to 32GB. This tablet aimed at kids includes access to the Kids App Store – powered by AppsLib – with 14 categories and over 10,000 apps including games, entertainment, communication, multimedia, books, comics and sports. As you can see in the picture above, the user interface has been customized to be “kid-friendly” with colored icons, home screen folders with direct access to games, entertainment, learning and puzzles.  The device will come pre-loaded with 28 “kids’ apps” including Angry Birds, Pig Rush and Flight Frenzy. Archos has also designed the Child Pad to comply with CIPA (pronounced like SIPA?) and COPPA US regulations in order to “ensuring a safe tablet […]

World’s First Android 4.0 Tablet is based on Rockchip RK2918

Rockchip has announced Android 4.0.1 (ICS) would be ready by the first week of December with Rochchip RK2918 based tablets shipping with the new OS available later in December. The company claims this will be the first Android 4.0 tablet available in the market. That also means that owners of Archos Arnova G2 tablets should be able to run Android 4.0 very soon. The demo below seems relatively smooth compared to other demos I have seen on development boards such as ST Ericsson Snowball, so I suppose Rockchip has already enabled hardware acceleration. 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 2011. www.cnx-software.com

Archos Unveils Arnova 9 G2 Android Tablet

Archos has announced another low cost Arnova Android tablet, the Arnova 9 G2, featuring a 1GHz single core ARM Cortex A8 (most probably Rockchip RK2918)  and a 9.7 inch capacitive touchscreen IPS display with a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels (4:3 Aspect Ratio) that supports 5-point multi-touch. The display characteristics are almost exactly the same as the IPAD 2, luckily Apple has not filled a patent for screen size and resolution yet… 🙂 The device also features 8GB flash and a microSD card slot which can take up to 32GB cards. There is no mention of the RAM capacity of this tablet. Arnova 9 G2 includes a front facing camera for video chat, a pair of stereo speakers, a stereo audio jack, a microphone, a standard USB 2.0 port as well as a micro USB port and it comes with 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and is 3G ready thanks to […]

Arnova 7 G2 and 10 G2 Tablets Are Now Available

This week Amazon announced the Kindle Fire and got a lot of press coverage for its 199 USD Android Tablet. But the Kindle Fire was not the only low cost Tablets made available this week as Arnova G2 Tablet are also available in the US. Archos Arnova 7 G2 and 10 G2, respectively with a 7″ and 10″ capacitive display, are powered by  a Rockchip RK2918 Cortex A8 processor clocked a 1Ghz, 512 MB SDRAM, 4 to 8 GB flash memory, a microSD slot and run Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system. Arnova 10 G2 also have a 0.3MP front facing camera for video conference. Arnova 7 G2 can be pre-ordered on Amazon for 199.99 USD. Anrvoa 10 G2 can be purchased on Tigerdirect Ebay store for 199.99 USD.  Last week, you could also get it for 99 USD with a newspaper subscription. Like the Amazon Kindle Fire, the Arnova G2 […]