Android

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments on Sonoff Pow is a $10.50 ESP8266 WiFi Relay Box that also Measures Power Consumption

Sonoff Pow is a $10.50 ESP8266 WiFi Relay Box that also Measures Power Consumption

In a recent article about Sonoff TH10/TH16 WiFi relays with sensor probes support, we also saw that ITEAD Studio started to have a nice family of home automation products. The company has now added one more item to the Sonoff family with Sonoff Pow support up to 16A/3500W input, and the first to also include power consumption measurements. Sonoff Pow specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP8266 Tensila L106 32-bit MCU up to 80/160 MHz with WiFi Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi with WPA/WPA2 support Relay – HF152F-T relay with 90 to 250 VAC input, up to 16A (3500 Watts) Terminals – 6 terminal for mains and load’s ground, live and neutral signals. Programming – Unpopulated 4-pin header for flashing external firmware Misc – LEDs for power and WiFi status, power consumption circuitry with 1% accuracy. Dimensions – 114 x 52 x 32mm Temperature range – -40 ℃ to 125 ℃ The […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments on Zidoo X9S Android TV Box HDMI Input Testing – Video Recording, PiP, and UDP Broadcasting

Zidoo X9S Android TV Box HDMI Input Testing – Video Recording, PiP, and UDP Broadcasting

One of Zidoo X9S media center‘s key features is its HDMI Input port with support for PVR, picture-in-picture, and video broadcasting over UDP. The company has come a long way since the implementation of HDMI input on Zidoo X9 TV box, which would only support PVR function, and exclusively work in the foreground. For this review, I connected K1 Plus T2 S2 Android TV box to the HDMI input of Zidoo X9S, and started HDMI In app.The first good news is that HDMI input does work, as we can see K1 Plus user interface preview inside Zidoo X9S’ HDMI IN app. Before testing all features, let’s go through the options for Video, Audio, and Output. You can select various video resolution up to 1080p, but I left it to Auto, which for this test meant 1080p. Framerate cannot be changed and is set to Auto, while bitrate ranges from 1M […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments on GOLE2 Mini PC Comes in Intel and ARM Flavors, Features a SATA Bay and Built-in Camera (Crowdfunding)

GOLE2 Mini PC Comes in Intel and ARM Flavors, Features a SATA Bay and Built-in Camera (Crowdfunding)

GOLE1 was an different and interesting product combining tablet and mini PC features into one, but I found the 5″ screen to be rather useless, and the battery did not work exactly well since it would only charge when powered off.  The new GOLE2 mini PC won’t have any of those issues since it does not come with neither a display or a battery, but instead comes into two flavors with a version running Windows 10 on Intel Atom x5-Z8350 Cherry Trail processor, and another running Android based Phoenix OS on Allwinner A64 quad core ARM Cortex A53 processor. The devices also include an HD camera and microphone for video conference, as well as 2.5″ SATA bay implemented through a USB to SATA bridge. Beside the processor and memory, both GOLE2 models share the most of the same hardware specifications: SoC Intel Atom x5-Z8350 “Cherry Trail” quad core processor @ […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments on KM8 Pro Amlogic S912 Android Box Sells for $49.99 (Promo)

KM8 Pro Amlogic S912 Android Box Sells for $49.99 (Promo)

We’ve seen several Amlogic S912 octa-core TV boxes for under $60 in the past such as Beelink GT1, but KM8 Pro is the first one I see sold for less than $50, as it’s now offered on GearBest for $49.99 shipped with coupon KM8Pro. I’ve been told there are 200 units at this price, so it’s a stock limited promotion. Videostrong KM8 Pro TV box specifications: SoC – Amlogic S912 octa-core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-820MP3 GPU System Memory – 2GB  DDR3 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up to 32GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 and AV ports Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports Misc – IR receiver, power button Power Supply – 5V DC Dimensions –  98x98x21 mm Weight – 108 grams The device […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Meet NXP i.MX8 Processor Families: i.MX 8 for High performance, i.MX 8M for Audio/Video & i.MX 8X for Low Power

Meet NXP i.MX8 Processor Families: i.MX 8 for High performance, i.MX 8M for Audio/Video & i.MX 8X for Low Power

Freescale and then NXP have been talking about i.MX8 processors for several years, and this spring unveiled i.MX 8 Multisensory Enablement Kit without giving much details about the processor except it would include both Cortex A72 & A53 cores. But NXP put out a press release yesterday about “Multisensory Automotive eCockpit Platform to Advance Multimedia Experiences in Future Cars” which appears to be the same news but with different words, except the content of the PR has more interesting bits such as: The new family, which is based on up to six 64-bit ARMv8-A technology processor cores and includes a HiFi 4 DSP, LPDDR4 and DDR4 memory support as well as dual Gigabit Ethernet with audio video bridging (AVB) capability, is designed to advance automotive dashboard graphics such as instrument clusters, infotainment visuals, heads-up displays, rear-seat screens and more. Capable of driving four HD screens with independent content or a […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Google Announces Pixel and Pixel XL Smartphones for $649 and Up

Google Announces Pixel and Pixel XL Smartphones for $649 and Up

Google used to collaborate with smartphone manufacturers for their Nexus devices, but the company is now promoting their own Pixel brand, and has just launched Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, and running Android 7.0 Nougat operating system. Both smartphones share most of the same specifications, but XL has a larger screen, a bigger battery, and a higher price tag: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 (MSM8996 pro AB) Quad core Kryo processor with two cores at up to 2.15GHz, two cores at up to 1.6GHz, Adreno 530 GPU System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 32 or 128 GB storage Display Pixel – 5.0″ FHD (1920×1080) AMOLED display; 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 4 Pixel XL – 5.5″ QHD (2560×1440) AMOLED display; 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 4 Camera 12.3 MP rear camera (IMX378 sensor) with laser and phase detection auto focus (LDAF + PDAF), f/2.0 aperture […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on Rikomagic MK22 Octa-core Android TV Box Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown

Rikomagic MK22 Octa-core Android TV Box Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown

Rikomagic became a much better known company when they launched MK802 TV stick in 2012, and over the years they’ve kept introducing new products, and I’ve just received a review sample of their latest Rikomagic MK22 octa-core Android TV box powered by Amlogic S912 processor. I’ve posted photos of the device and its accessories, and check out the hardware design in the first part of the review, before testing Android 6.0 firmware in the second part in a few weeks. Rikomagic MK22 Unboxing I received MK22 in its black and white retail package. The back of the package details the main features, and the hardware specifications. Instead of printing a user’s manual that anybody will hardly read, the company instead printed a QR Core to MK22 user’s manual download link. The TV box ships with a 5V/2.5A power supply, an HDMI cable, and an IR remote control that looks the […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Silicon Labs Introduces $29 Thunderboard React Bluetooth 4.2 LE IoT Board and $69 Derby Car Kit

Silicon Labs Introduces $29 Thunderboard React Bluetooth 4.2 LE IoT Board and $69 Derby Car Kit

Earlier this summer, Silicon labs launched ThunderBoard React, a Bluetooth 4.2 LE compliant board with sensors and expansion headers for IoT applications based on the company’s BGM111 Bluetooth Smart Module, and to make it much more fun to work with the company has released a Derby Car kit controlled by the board. ThunderBoard React specifications: Bluetooth Module – BGM111 Bluetooth 4.2 compliant module with integrated Tx and Rx antenna, and Cortex M4 MCU @ 38.4 MHz with 32 kB RAM and 256 kB Flash Extra Storage – Footprint for 8Mb external flash storage Sensors – Si7021 relative humidity and temperature, Si1133 UV index and ambient light sensor, Invensense MPU-6500 6-axis gyro/accelerometer, Si7201 hall effect position sensor Expansion – 12 breakout pina to connect to BGM111 GPIOs Debugging – 10-pin mini Simplicity debug connector Misc – 2x momentary buttons, 2x LEDs, power selection switch Power Supply – CR2032 coin cell battery […]