Android

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Cat S60 Rugged Android Smartphone Includes a Thermal Camera

Cat S60 Rugged Android Smartphone Includes a Thermal Camera

Caterpillar is better for its construction machinery and equipment, but the company has also been making rugged smartphones, some of them strong enough to be run over by 4+ tons machines, for several years, and they’ve now unveiled Cat S60 smartphone powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor and including both a 13MP camera and a FLIR thermal camera on the back of the device. Cat S60 preliminary specifications: SoC – Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor System Memory – 3GB RAM Storage – 32GB flash Display – 4.7” HD capacitive multi-touch with auto wet finger & glove support; 1280 x 720 resolution; Gorilla Glass 4 Connectivity – 4G LTE Camera 13MP main camera with dual flash 5MP front-facing camera FLIR thermal camera app with MSX technology capable of detecting temperature up to 15 to 30 meters Battery – 3,800 mAh IP Rating – N/A, but the phone can be used […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Open Source Operating Systems News – Maru OS, Zephyr, ReactOS, Tizen 3.0, and Raspbian

Open Source Operating Systems News – Maru OS, Zephyr, ReactOS, Tizen 3.0, and Raspbian

There have been several news related to open source operating systems in the last couple of weeks including Maru OS to run Debian on Android, Zephyr Project real-time OS managed by the Linux Foundation, ReactOS an open source port of Windows XP, and Raspberry Pi boards are getting a Tizen 3.0 port, as well as a new Raspbian release. Maru OS – Mobile <-> Desktop  Convergence Maru OS mobile operating system is supposed to do what Ubuntu convergence promised: it runs in mobile mode on the go with Android Lollipop mobile OS, once you connect the phone to an HDMI screen, and pair Bluetooth keyboard and/or mouse, it will switch to desktop mode running Debian Linux. The downside is that so far it a single developer (Preetam D’Souza) worked on it, and the beta version only works on Nexus 5 smartphone. However, since the project went viral, dozen of other […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments on Freedom251 Smartphone Sells For about $4 in India

Freedom251 Smartphone Sells For about $4 in India

Electronics is getting pretty cheap those days with ESP8266 WiFi modules for $2 shipped, Raspberry Pi Zero for $5 (in theory), Orange Pi One for $10, 4K TV boxes for $30 and so on. But a $4 smartphone? No way! But that’s about the price of Freedom251 smartphone  that is sold by a company called Ringing Bells for 251 Rupees, or about $3.67, plus 40 Rupees for shipping ($0.58) to India only. Freedom251 specifications: SoC – Quad core processor @ 1.3 GHz System Memory – 1 GB RAM Storage – 8 GB flash + micro SD slot up to 32GB Display – 4″ touchscreen IPS display with 960×540 resolution Connectivity – WiFi, Bluetooth, GSM and 3G Camera – 3.2MP rear camera, 0.3MP front camera Audio – 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio Sensors – Proximity sensor Battery – Removable 1,450 mAh battery The phone runs Android 5.1, and come pre-installed with […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on OpenRex NXP I.MX6 Open Source Hardware Board Design Files Released

OpenRex NXP I.MX6 Open Source Hardware Board Design Files Released

OpenRex is an open source hardware board powered by NXP i.MX6 designed by Fedevel, and the company has announced the release of Altium project design files including both schematics and PCB layout source files, as well as manufacturing documentation. OpenRex board specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX6 processor @ up to 4 cores @ 1.2GHz with 2D and 3D GPU MCU – NXP LPC1345FHN33 ARM Cortex-M3 micro-controller System Memory – DDR3-1066 (533MHz) up to 4GB Storage – SATA, micro SD slot, 1x I2C EEPROM, 1x SPI FLASH Video Output / Display I/F – 1x HDMI up to 2048×1536 resolution, LVDS, parallel RGB display output, touchscreen connector (Optional 4x Analog input) Audio – HDMI output, 3.5mm stereo headphone jack, Camera – 1x Parallel CSI camera (shared with RGB output), 1x MIPI CSI connector compatible with Raspberry Pi (shared with LVDS) Connectivity – 1x 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet USB – 2x USB 2.0 host […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Linaro Connect 2016 Bangkok Schedule – March 7-11, 2016

Linaro Connect 2016 Bangkok Schedule – March 7-11, 2016

Linaro Connect Bangkok (BKK16) will take place on March  7 – 11, 2016, and the schedule is now available for the 5-day event with keynotes and sessions. Whether you’re going to attend or not, it’s always interesting to check the schedule to find out what’s going on in terms of ARM Linux development. The five days will focus on work by different Linaro groups, but really sessions are mixed for any given day, and I’ve created a virtual schedule for each day with available information, as Linaro has become a little more closed to the outside than when it was launched a few years ago. Monday 7 – LITE (Linaro IoT & Embedded Group) 1400 – 14:50 – Evolution of the Reference Software Platform Project The Reference Software Platform lead project was introduced in Linaro Connect San Francisco 2015, and since then it evolved and matured with the completion of […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments on $25 ODROID-C0 Development Board Targets IoT, Wearables, Robots and Drones

$25 ODROID-C0 Development Board Targets IoT, Wearables, Robots and Drones

Hardkernel started to mention ODROID-C0 board last November, a cost-down and smaller version of ODROID-C1+ board powered by Amlogic S805 quad core Cortex A5 processor with 1GB RAM, dropping Ethernet, and a few USB port, but gaining a  Li-po battery management unit. The company has now officially launched the board, which can be purchased for $25 on Hardkernel website or via distributors such as Ameridroid. ODROID-C0 specifications: SoC- Amlogic S805 quad core ARM Cortex-A5 @ 1.5GHz with ARM Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 @  792Mhz Storage – eMMC Module Socket, micro SD card slot up to 128GB Video Output – HDMI Audio Output – HDMI, I2S USB – 2x unpopulated USB2.0 ports Expansion Headers Unpopulated 40-pin header with GPIO, UART, SPI, I2C, and ADC signals Unpopulated 7-pin header for I2S Debugging – Unpopulated serial debug header Misc – On-board RTC function with battery connector, unpopulated IR receiver Power […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Isurki IRIS Industrial Embedded Computer Takes Nvidia or NXP System-on-Modules

Isurki IRIS Industrial Embedded Computer Takes Nvidia or NXP System-on-Modules

Isurki is a Spanish company providing electronics & IT services to hydraulic resources management companies, and one of their products is IRIS industrial embedded computer based on Toradex Iris carrier board that supports Toradex Colibri ARM system-on-modules based on either Nvidia Tegra 2/3 or NXP Vybrid VF50/VF61 processors. Main board connectors and features: Video – DVI-I LCD Interface – RGB / LVDS with 4/5 resistive touch interface Audio – Line-In, line-Out, Mic-In Storage – Micro SD Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet USB – 1x USB host, 1x USB OTG Expansion – 24 GPIOs, 3x UART ports Misc – 1x IrDA, RTC Power Supply – 6 to 27V DC, reverse polarity and short circuit protected Then you can choose among several variations of ARM based Colibri system-on-modules: Colibri T20 Nvidia Tegra 2 dual core Cortex A9 processor with 256 to 512MB DDR3, and 512MB to 1GB flash Dual independent displays 2D/3D hardware […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 164 Comments on Ugoos UT4 TV Box Giveaway

Ugoos UT4 TV Box Giveaway

Ugoos UT4 is an actively cooled Android TV box powered by Rockchip RK3368 octa-core processor, and I did notice a better overall performance in my review compared to other RK3368 mini PCs I tested. However, I did find some issues, such as power off not working properly, a lack of DRM support, Kodi video and audio capabilities could be improved and so on. Since the review, Ugoos released two firmware updates fixing several of the issues I noticed during my testing, and the company has asked me if I could organize a giveaway for one Ugoos UT4, so here it is. I’ve organized the giveaway a little differently, as I’ll use Rafflecopter form below with three options, each optional, but if you do all three you’ll get more chances to win. The contest will run for 4 days until February 15 10am (GMT+7), I’ll select the winner randomly rthrough RaffleCopter, […]