Ugoos UT4 is one of many Rockchip RK3368 TV boxes available on the market today, but it’s one of the model with higher-end specifications including 2 GB RAM, and 16 GB flash, as well as Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11ac WiFi, Ugoos offers regular firmware updates for their devices, and as I found out in Ugoos UT4 specs and teardown post, the mini PC features a fan to keep the device cool at all times. Today, I’ll focus on reviewing the firmware including video playback capabilities, performance and whether advertised features work as they should. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions Before powering on the device, I connected some cables (Ethernet, HDMI, optical audio, AV to speakers), and made use of all four USB ports with a USB hard drive, a webcam, a keyboard, and a USB hub with two RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart […]
Phoenix OS is Another Desktop Oriented Android Distribution for ARM and x86
After Light Biz OS, Remix OS, and Console OS, here’s another Android distribution that aims at creating better desktop experience in Android. Phoenix OS works on some ARM platforms, namely Nexus 9 and Nexus 10, as well as 64-bit x86 processors and like the x86 version of of Remix OS is based on Android-x86 project. Just like other alternatives, it adds features usually found in Windows or Linux distributions such as a start menu, a task bar, multi-window support, notification handling via the taskbar, etc… If you’d like to try it out in a computer with an Intel or AMD computer, you can follow the instructions below from a Windows machine: Prepare a 4GB+ flash drive Download the latest Zip file of Phoenix OS (x86) to your PC, currently Phoenix-x86-1.0-32-beta.zip Download and install USBMaker tool to your PC Start USBMaker.exe, select the flash drive and Zip file, and press “Write” […]
MXQ 4K RK3229 Android TV Box Sells for $29.99 Shipped
This morning I wrote about Sunchip CX-R9 TV box based on Rorkchip RK3229 that is said to be selling for $32, as long as you buy 1,000 pieces, but the new Rockchip SoC might truly disrupt the low-end market, as MXQ 4K RK3299 TV box has just launched on GeekBuying where it is sold for only $29.99 shipped. MXQ-4K specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3229 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-400MP2 System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND flash + SD card slot up to 32GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K2K @ 60 fps, and 3.5mm AV output (composite) Audio Output – HDMI, AV, and coaxial S/PDIF Connectivity – 100Mbps Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi USB – 4x USB 2.0 host ports Power Supply – 5V/2A Dimensions – N/A The device runs Android 4.4 with Kodi 16, and the specs list […]
Sunchip CX-R9 Rockchip RK3229 Android TV Box Sells for $32 (Factory Price)
We’ve already seen Rockchip RK3229 quad core processor with 4K 10-bit H.264 and H.265, and 4K VP9 support announced at CES 2016. Sunchip CX-R9 will be one of the first devices on the market with the new processor, and includes 1GB RAM and 8GB storage. Sunchip CX-R9 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3229 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-400MP2 System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC + SD card reader Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K2K @ 60 fps Audio Output – HDMI, and optical S/PDIF Video Codec – 4K2K 10-bit H.265 @ 60 fps (Up to 200 Mbps), 4K 10-bit H.264 @ 30 fps (Up to 250 Mbps) and 4K 8-bit VP9 @ 30 fps (Up to 200 Mbps) Connectivity – 100Mbps Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports, including on OTG port […]
CYCLONE F100 Tegra K1 Fanless Embedded Computer Supports up to 8GB RAM, SATA, and Various Networking Options
Calao Systems has added a new member to the their rugged embedded computers family with Cyclone F100 powered by Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core Cortex A15 processor with up to 8GB RAM, optional industrial grade SATA Nandrive, and mSATA, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and mPCIe connectivity options for IoT and M2M with LoRA, WiFi, RF radios, etc… Target applications include surveillance, identification, transport, robotic, graphic enhanced digital signage, and medical equipment. Cyclone F100 specifications: SoC – Nvidia Tegra K1 quad-core ARM Cortex A15 processor @ 2.3 GHz with 192-core Kepler GPU supporting OpenGL 4.4, OpenGL ES 3.1 and CUDA/GPGPU System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L (Options for 4 and 8GB on request) Storage – 8 GB eMMC, 8 MB SPI flash and micro SD card slot. Optional: Industrial grade SATA Nandrive, mSATA socket Video Output – HDMI, options: LVDS and DisplayPort Audio I/O – HDMI, optical S/PDIF out, Mic In / […]
Allwinner A10 Android TV Stick Sells for $9.99 Shipped (Promo)
Android TV sticks started to become popular in 2012 thanks to Rikomagic MK802 that was based on Allwinner A10 Cortex A8 processor. Now these devices would be considered slow and outdated, but they may still be useful for some simple applications, and I’ve just seen GeekBuying is selling A22 TV Stick, that’s basically the same as MK802 for $9.99 with free shipping, likely to get rid of stock. A22 specifications: SoC – Allwinner A10 Cortex A8 processor @ 1.0 GHz with ARM Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 512 MB RAM Storage – 4GB flash + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI female Connectivity – WiFi 802.11b/g/n (Ralink8188) USB – 1x mini USB 2.0 OTG port, 1x USB 2.0 Host port Power Supply – 5V/2A Dimensions – 8.8 x 3.5 x 1.2cm It’s still running Android 4.0, but since it’s based on Allwinner A10 you could easily hack it to […]
Amlogic S905X Processor Specifications
[Update September 2016: Removed Video Input Unit and Gigabit Ethernet MAC, since the latest documents have removed them] A few weeks ago, I wrote about the upcoming Amlogic S905M quad core Cortex A53 processor support 4K VP9 and 10-bit HEVC, but the silicon manufacturer seems to struggle with sticking with a name, as after the initial S908 part, they moved to S905M, before hopefully settling on Amlogic S905X, for which I received more information include a block diagram, and more detailed specifications. These are most of the specifications currently available for Amlogic S905X processor with highlights in bold: CPU Sub-system – Quad core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU up to 1.5GHz (DVFS) with Neon and Crypto extensions 3D Graphics Processing Unit – Penta-core ARM Mali-450 GPU up to 750MHz+ (DVFS) with two geometry/vertex processors, three pixel processors supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0 and OpenVG 1.1. 2.5D Graphics Processor – Fast bitblt engine with […]
WeTek Play+ Amlogic S905 Android Set-Top Box Features a Tuner with a SmartCard Reader and an mSATA SSD Bay
When WeTek announced the WeTek Core, some people were disappointed that they did not include a tuner like in the original WeTek Play, but the company has been working on a successor called Wetek Play+ that is based on Amlogic S905-H quad core processor and supports DVB-S/S2, DVB-C/T/T2, ISDB-T and ATSC tuners with a smartcard reader, as well as an extra store with an half-size SSD slot. WeTek Play+ specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905-H (Revision C) quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 2.0GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU @ 750 MHz System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 Storage – 16 GB eMMC 5.0 flash + micro SD card slot + mSATA SSD socket (implemented via USB to SATA) Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz with HDCP 2.2 support, and AV port Audio – HDMI, AV (stereo), optical S/PDIF Tuners – Support for DVB-S2, DVB-C/T/T2, ISDB-T and […]