MIPS I7200 Processor Core with nanoMIPS Architecture is Designed for LTE/5G Communications & Networking SoCs

MIPS has recently unveiled the I7200 multi-threaded multi-core processor for advanced LTE/5G communications and networking SoCs, which also happens to be the first MIPS core based on the new nanoMIPS 32-bit ISA. nanoMIPS is a variable instruction length ISA consisting of 16/32/48-bit instructions and various other optimizations that enables performance in the smallest code size. MIPS I7200 core features: 32-bit nanoMIPS  Instruction Set Architecture with MIPS DSP ASE optimized instruction set extensions for integer DSP and 32-bit SIMD operations Balanced, 9-stage, dual-issue pipeline with Vertical Multi-Threading (VMT) Superscalar on a single thread per cycle Zero overhead context switching – can switch threads every clock cycle Implements MIPS MT ASE – can implement up to 3 fully OS visible Virtual Processor Elements (VPEs) per core, and up to 9 lightweight thread contexts (TCs) per core, assignable to the VPEs Configurable memory subsystem Support for caches, tightly coupled ScratchPad RAM (SPRAM), or […]

hIoTron Modular & Enterprise IoT Development Kit is Designed for Fast Prototyping

Hi-Nodes

hIoTron modular & enterprise IoT development kit is described by the company has a “fully pre-programmed prototyping kit for quickly building and testing your IoT concept” with plug-n-play module allowing for flexible prototyping. Beside the hardware comprises of a gateway and nodes, the kit also integrates with the company’s enterprise IoT Platform enabling easy design of custom mobile application & GUI dashboard. The company offers standard, advanced, and custom kits, but to keep things simple, let’s focus on the content of their standard kit first: Hi-Gate IoT gateway: WiSoC – Texas Instruments CC3200 Arm Cortex-M4 @ 80 MHz with 1MB flash, 256KB RAM Storage – 1MB serial flash, 512KB EEPROM Connectivity 802.11 n/g/n Wi-Fi,  2G GSM/GPRS (optional 3G/4G), ZigBee, BLE 4.0, sub-1GHz RF/NON RF to REST/MQTT gateway Expansion – 2x GPIO port pins, 2x analog port pins Power Supply – 9-12V DC 3x modular Hi-Nodes (up to 25 supported per […]

$200 VOYO i8 Max 2-in-1 4G Android Tablet is Powered by Mediatek Helio X20 Processor

Mediatek Helio X20 (MT6797) deca-core processor was announced about 3 years ago, and made into various smartphones – such as Vernee Apollo Lite – as well as MediaTek X20 Android development board. However so far, I did not see any proper tablets based on the processor, but VOYO i8 Max tablet with a 10.1″ display and 4G LTE connectivity has just started to sell for $199.99 and up including shipping. [Update: price drops to US$162.99 with GKB89VW coupon. valid until 2018/7/24] Voyo i8 Max specifications: SoC – Mediatek Helio X20 deca-core processor with two Arm Cortex A72 cores @ 2.1 GHz, four Cortex A53 @ 1.95 GHz, four Cortex A53 @ 1.4 GHz, and  Arm Mali-T880 GPU @ 800 MHz System Memory – 4GB RAM Storage – 64GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 64/128GB Display – 10.1″ 1920×1200 IPS display with stylus support Audio – 3.5mm audio […]

Firefly AIO-3399J All-in-One Industrial Board is Powered by Rockchip RK3399 Processor, Supports M.2 SSDs, 4G LTE Modems, and More

Firefly-RK3399 was the very first Rockchip RK3399 development board when it launched in late 2016, and it mostly stayed that way until others joined in late 2017, early 2018 with products like Orange Pi RK3399, ODROID-N1, Rock960, or Pine64 RockPro64 among others. Firefly team has now unveiled another higher end “all-in-board industrial board” with their Firefly AIO-3399J board featuring their RK3399 CoreBoard module, and a baseboard exposing plenty of I/O and connector, including support for M.2 drives, and 4G LTE mini PCIe cards. Firefly AIO-3399J specifications: SoM – RK3399 CoreBoard: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core big.LITTLE processor with dual core ARM Cortex A72 up to 2.0 GHz and quad core Cortex A53 processor, ARM Mali-T860 MP4 GPU with OpenGL 1.1 to 3.1 support, OpenVG1.1, OpenCL and DX 11 support System Memory – 2GB or 4GB DDR3-1333 Storage – 16GB eMMC 5.1 flash (other capacities also available on demand up to […]

A List of Cellular IoT Development Boards

We’re starting to have a decent choice of cellular development boards, and as the number of products is getting larger having some sort of list would be useful. That’s exactly what Hologram has done. While the list is not quite exhaustive, they’ve pushed the CSV list to Github, and plans to update it. Hologram also encourages pull requests, so manufacturers may consider updating it with their own boards. The list focuses on development boards acting as cellular IoT endpoints, so you won’t find gateways, WiFi hotspots, end-user devices, and modules that needs to be soldered onto your own board. I have imported the list to WordPress to make it searchable, let people select the number of rows to display, and customize visible fields. The table is not automatically synchronized, so for the latest version always check out Github. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, […]

Orange Pi 4G-IoT Development Board Launched for $45

4G-IoT-Board

Last year, Shenzhen Xunlong Software launched Orange Pi 2G-IoT board for just $9.90. Pricing was incredibly aggressive for a cellular board, but AFAIK the RDA Micro processor used in the design had never been used with Linux so for many people using the board was a challenge (and maybe still is), and some countries have already started to sunset 2G networks. So it only made sense for the company to work on a 4G board, and that’s exactly what they have done with Orange Pi 4G-IoT now launched for $45 + shipping on Aliexpress. Orange Pi 4G-IoT specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT6737 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.1/1.3 GHz with Arm Mali-T720MP1 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI, LCD display interface with touch panel support Audio – 3.5mm earphone jack, built-in microphone Cellular Connectivity nano SIM […]

X99 Android TV Box is Based on Rockchip RK3399 Processor, Equipped with a SIM Card Slot

RK3399-Cellular-TV-Box

We’ve previously seen a fair amount of TV boxes / mini PCs based on Rockchip RK3399 processor like Yundoo Y8 or Vorke Z3,  which perform very well for tasks like web browsing and gaming, but  required more work when it comes to video playback, at least in 2017 when I reviewed the devices. X99 is another one of those TV boxes with RK3399 SoC, 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, HDMI 2.0 output, Gigabit Ethernet, and so on, but interestingly enough it adds a SIM card slot too. The photo above appears to show a modem module close to the SIM card, but somehow none of the website explains which type (2G/3G/4G) of modem that is in X99 TV box specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 hexa core processor with 2x ARM Cortex A72 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz, 4x ARM Cortex A53 cores, Mali-T860MP4 GPU System Memory – 4GB DDR3 Storage […]

Hologram Introduces Global IoT eSIM Chip

Hologram provides a SIM card for IoT projects that can be used in most of the world, and I own a developer SIM card that’s very convenient for reviews and evaluation with 10MB free data per month, which I used for example in a recent 3G HAT board for Raspberry Pi. The company also manage network by software, so they were on of the first SIM providers to enable 4G LTE Cat M1 and NB-IoT without changing anything to the SIM card itself. Since everything is programmable, not tied to any specific service provider, the SIM card form factors may not be the most convenient, and instead for a lower form factor, and possibly better reliability Hologram eSIM based on MFF2 form factor may be a better solution for new projects. The chip measures just 6x5mm with 0.67mm thickness, and would be soldered on the board of your cellular IoT […]

EDATEC Raspberry Pi 5 fanless case