STM32F746G-DISCO is a $49 Cortex-M7 Board with a 4.3″ LCD Display, Arduino Headers

We’ve already seen Atmel started shipping its SAM V71 Xplained Board based on its latest Cortex M7 a few days ago, but Atmel is not the company which recently introduced a Cortex M7 development kit, as ST Micro also launched an STM32F7 Cortex M7 development kit with Arduino headers and 4.3″ LCD at the end of June. The “Discovery Kit with STM32F746NG MCU” (STM32F746G-DISCO) comes with the following specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32F746NGH6 Cortex M7 MCU with 1 MB Flash, 340 KB RAM, in BGA216 package Memory – 128-Mbit (16 MB) SDRAM (64 Mbits accessible) Storage – 16 MB Quad-SPI Flash memory, and micro SD slot Display – 4.3″ 480×272 color LCD-TFT with capacitive touch screen Camera – Camera connector Connectivity – Ethernet connector compliant with IEEE-802.3-2002 USB USB OTG HS with Micro-AB connectors,  USB OTG FS with Micro-AB connectors USB functions: virtual COM port, mass storage, debug port Audio […]

LightBlue Bean+ Bluetooth LE Board is Programmed Wirelessly, Lasts One Year on a Charge (Crowdfunding)

Punch Through launched a crowdfunding campaign back in 2013 for LightBlue Cortado an innovative Arduino compatible BLE board that can only be programmed wirelessly over Bluetooth Smart. The board has since then been renamed to LightBlue Bean, and the company allegedly delivered rewards to backers on time, a rarity in the crowdfunding world. LightBlue Bean+, the second version of the board, is larger with solderless headers, supports more Bluetooth LE capabilities such as MIDI, and includes a battery. The project launched on Kickstarter yesterday, and already raised over $40,000, surpassing the $30,000 funding target set by the team. LightBlue Bean+ board specifications: MCU – Info N/A (Bean has an Atmel ATmega328P @ 8MHz with 32KB Flash, 1KB EEPROM, 2KB SRAM) Bluetooth Bluetooth LE with support for 5 new capabilities: beacon, MIDI, HID, ANCS and observer role. Hardware module undisclosed (Bean has an LBM313 Module with Texas Instruments CC2540) Up to 400 […]

Mini Review of MeLE PCG01 Intel HDMI TV Stick

I reviewed MeLE PCG03 mini PC powered by Intel Atom Z3735F processor at the beginning of the year, and there are now many different models from manufacturer which all come with the same processor, 2GB RAM, and 32GB storage either in box or stick form factor. MeLE also released their own Bay Trail stick, similar to Intel Compute Stick, called MeLE PCG01, which they sent me for review. Most of these products are very similar, and all run Windows 8.1 by default, so the main differentiating factor between companies being price, whether they use a properly licensed version of Windows or not, and the thermal design of the enclosure, which may also impact performance as a good design will prevent CPU throttling. So in this review, after quickly checking the mini PC and accessories, I’ll take apart the device to check in more details what has been done to cool […]

Atmel SAM S70 and SAM E70 Cortex M7 MCUs, SAM V71 Xplained Board Are Now Shipping

ARM Introduced Cortex M7 IP in September, and ST Micro simultaneously announced its STM32F7 Cortex M7 MCU clocked up to 200 MHz, and boards are now available, including some running Linux. But two other companies have licenses Cortex M7, Freescale with its Kinetis KV5x micro-controllers which are yet to be mass-produced, and Atmel which has recently announced their SAM S70 and E70 micro-controllers are now in mass production. SAM E70 and S70 have similar features, but E70 offers some extra interface like CAN and Fast Ethernet: ARM Cortex-M7 core running at up to 300MHz (1500 CoreMark) Up to 2MB Flash and 384kByte SRAM Floating point unit (FPU) for high-precision computing and accelerated data processing High-performance internal memory architecture with user configurable Tightly Couples Memories and System memory, and 16kB I and D-cache High Speed USB Host and Device with on-chip high-speed PHY CMOS image sensor interface AES hardware encryption engines, […]

Zidoo X1 Android Media Player (Allwinner H3) Review

In theory, Allwinner H3 is supposed to be a better alternative to Amlogic S805 processor thanks to more powerful Cortex A7 cores, and support for 4K video output and playback, while Amlogic S805 only features four Cortex A5 cores, and support H.265 up to 1080p60 only. Zidoo X1 is one of the TV boxes recently released with H3 processor. If you’ve not read my two previous posts yet, you may want to check out Zidoo X1 specifications, as well as the unboxing and tear-down post. In this post, I’ll focus on testing performance, stability, and video playback capabilities with Kodi. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions I’ve connected an Ethernet cable, an HDMI cable, a USB hard drive, and a USB hub with a USB webcam, an two RF dongles for an air mouse and a wireless gamepad.  The box will boot automatically as you connect the power adapter. Boot […]

Freescale i.MX7 96Boards Compliant Board Coming in Q4 2015

96Boards is an open hardware platform specification for 32-bit and 64-bit processors boards (64+32 = 96), but so far only 64-bit board have been launched or announced, and 32-bit boards were missing from the equation. Freescale will soon change that as they’ve partnered with Arrow Electronics on a 96Boards compliant board powered by Freescale i.MX7 Dual due to be released at the same time as i.MX7 enters mass production, which is scheduled for November 2015. Freescale i.MX6 96Boards (MCIMX7 ?) preliminary specifications: SoC – Freescale i.MX 7Dual with two ARM Cortex A7 cores @ 1.0 GHz, one ARM Cortex M4 core @ 266 MHz, and a 2D image processing engine (no 3D GPU) System Memory – TBD (Probably 512MB or 1GB RAM) Storage – micro SD card slot up to 64GB + flash? (TBC) Video Output – HDMI connector + DSI via HS expansion header Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11g/n and […]

Simblee Low Latency Bluetooth LE IoT Module Loads Its App to Your Smartphone on Demand

RF Digital launched RFDuino Bluetooth Low Energy board in 2013/2014, and the company has now developed Simblee module, whose name is derived from “Simple”  and “BLE”, and offers low latency (3ms) and integrates a user application that’s automatically and temporary loaded to your smartphone or tablet upon connection. The module is also part of an add-on board (RFD77201) for RFDuino board. Simblee RFD77101 module specifications: MCU – ARM Cortex M0 micr-controller (Nordic nRF51822???) Memory/Storage – 24KB RAM and 128KB flash for user application Bluetooth Smart / LE Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Stack Simblee interference immunity 3ms latency (for connection); 10us accuracy (jitter) -93dBm receiver sensitivity -55dBm to +4dBm TX power Physical range adjustable from a few inches to hundreds of feet Integrated antenna, integrated shield I/Os 29 GPIOs (flexible pin configuration) 6x ADC inputs 4x PWM outputs 2x SPI master/slave, 2x I2C, 1 x UART Security – Built in AES […]

Zidoo X1 Android TV Box Unboxing and Teardown

Zidoo X1 is an Android media player powered by Allwinner H3 quad core processor with support for 4K videos up to 30Hz and H.265 / HEVC video codec. The company sent me one unit for review, and today I’ll start by unboxing and tearing down the device, before further testing to get the review posted in a few days. Zidoo X1 Unboxing I’ve received the package by (MY)DHL a few days after it was shipped. The package shows some of the main features like 4K and 3D support, H.265/HEVC codec, Kodi support, and ZIUI which must be the name given to Zidoo user interface. The box comes with an HDMI cable, a user’s manual in English, a warranty card, a 5V/2A power adapter, and a standard IR remote control with IR learning function for 5 keys: Vol +/-, power, AV/TV, and SET so that you can control your TV with […]

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