Android News - Page 240 of 364 - CNX Software

August 23, 2014June 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 44 Comments

How to Build and Run Android L 64-bit ARM in QEMU

[Nov, 2014 Update: The method below does not seem to work anymore, but a 64-bit ARM emulator “emulator64-arm64” has now landed in AOSP, and updated instructions are available here]. Most people can’t afford Juno Cortex A57/A53 development board, and mobile processors based on the latest 64-bit ARM cores are only expected by early 2015. But thanks to a small team at Linaro, you can now build and run Android L 64-bit ARM in the latest version of QEMU that supports Aarch64. Alex Bennée, an engineer working for Linaro, wrote a blog post in Linaro’s Core Dump blog explaining the Android emulator is actually based on QEMU, the differences compared to mainline QEMU, the work they’ve done on Android L at Linaro, and most importantly, provided the basic steps showing how to build and try Android L 64-bit ARM (ARMv8) in QEMU. I’ve just done that, but unfortunately, albeit the builds […]

August 23, 2014August 24, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 23 Comments

Unboxing of UyeSee G1H Android TV Box Powered by Rockchip RK3288

So finally after month of waiting, and various delays, Rockchip RK3288 based Android TV box are finally coming to market. Shenzhen UyeSee Technology is the first company to send me a sample with their G1H Android TV Box, as well as their M2 wireless music streaming receiver, which will be the subject of another post. I’ll list the specifications and show some pictures of the media player and board today, and write a full review in a few days. UyeSee G1H Specifications These are the specifications provided by the company, reformatted in CNXSoft style :): SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core ARM Cortex A17 processor @ 1.8GHz with ARM Mali-T764 quad-core 3D GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.0, OpenCL 1.1, and DirectX11 System Memory – 1GB DDR3 (2GB Optional) Storage – 8GB eMMC Flash (16G/32G optional) + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ […]

August 22, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

Using an Android Mini PC as a Desktop PC (Blogging Version)

I use an x86 computer running Ubuntu 14.04 as desktop PC, spending most of my time working on this blog, which mostly involves reading and writing articles in web browsers (Firefox, Chrome), handling emails, communicating via Social networks, manipulating and editing pictures. But for reviews, I also need to take pictures and videos, tranfer these to my PC, and upload videos to YouTube. When I create tables, I normally type them in LibreOffice Calc, and copy/paste the results in WordPress editor. But this post side, I’ve put my noisy PC aside, and I’m writing from an Android 4.4 TV box, namely Probox2 EX, in order to evaluate how convenient, or not, Android may be for simple computing needs. First let’s indentify some applications used in desktop operating systems such as Windows and Linux (Ubuntu 14.04), and their equivalent in Android. I made the comparison table below in AndrOpen Office (AOO), […]

August 22, 2014August 22, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Shuttle DSA2LS Fanless Android Mini PC with Dual Display Support for Digital Signage Applications

Shuttle is a company making small form factor PCs, and I’ve recently mentioned their Intel Celeron J1900 based mini PCs. The company has now launched its first ARM based mini PC, called DSA2LS, powered by Freescale i.MX6 Duallite processor, and running Android 4.2. This computer is mainly destined to be used as a digital signage player with features such as VESA mounts, dual screen support, protective operation, and has been designed for 24/7 operation at 0 to 45 C. Other applications include kiosk, thin clients, and vending machines. SoC – Freescale i.MX6 DualLite dual core processor @ 1GHz with Vivante GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4GB eMMC + SD card slot up to 64 GB protected by anti-theft (or anti-troll) cover Video Output – HDMI and VGA, supporting dual displays (but maybe not independent displays). Audio – HDMI, Line OUT Connectivity – 10/100/1000M Ethernet (470Mbps max) with […]

August 21, 2014May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

VidOn Box XBMC Android Media Player Can Now be Pre-ordered for $72.88

Last month, Vidon.me provided me with their AV200 media player for review, and at the end of the review, I was a little surprised (and annoyed), when I discovered that the product was not for sale anymore. Since then, they’ve brought a new product to market called “VidOn Box” with similar hardware specs, but a completely redesigned aluminum enclosure, and much more attractive pricing. VidOn Box specifications: SoC – Allwinner A31s ARM Cortex-A7 quad-core CPU with PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB Flash Video Output – HDMI 1.4 Audio Output – HDMI and optical S/PDIF Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Misc – IR receiver, reset button Power – 5V/2A Dimensions – 150 x 107 x 31 mm The box now runs Android 4.4, instead of Android 4.2.2 in AV200, with a custom version of XBMC. They’ve […]

August 21, 2014May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Embedded Linux Conference Europe 2014 Schedule – IoT, ARM vs x86, Optimization, Power Management, Debugging…

The Embedded Linux Conference Europe (ELC 2014), CloudOpen, and LinuxCon Europe will jointly take place at the Congress Centre Düsseldorf, in Germany on October 13 – 15, 2014. The 3-day events will consists of keynotes, presentations, and tutorials. Each day will open with two or three keynotes by speakers including Jim Zemlin (Executive Director, Linux Foundation), and Jono Bacon (XPRIZE), followed by presentation and tutorials. There will be 45 presentations for ELCE, 58 for LinuxCon, and 47 for CloudOpen, I’ll make a virtual schedule with a few sessions part of the Embedded Linux Conference Europe “track”. Monday, October 13 11:15 – 12:05 – Performance Analysis Using the Perf Suite by Mans Rullgar, Consultant When faced with a performance problem, the initial steps towards a solution include identifying the sections of code responsible and the precise reasons they are time-consuming. To this end, the ‘perf’ profiling tools provide valuable insight into the […]

August 20, 2014August 20, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Freescale i.MX6 Development Boards (Wandboard, Cubox-i and HummingBoard) Get Android Kitkat Firmware and SDK

Several Freescale i.MX6 development boards have gotten a KitKat treat this month with the release of Android 4.4 firmware and SDK. The boards involved include Wandboard Solo/Dual/Quad, as well as Solidrun Cubox-i boards, and the Raspberry Pi like HummingBoard. Thanks to the “magic” of device tree, a single firmware image is now provided for all the boards provided by a given company. For Wandboard Solo, Dual, and Quad: Demo firmware image – android-4.4.2-wandboard-20140815.zip SDK with source code – wandboard_android-4.4.2_fullsource_20140815.tar.xz For CuBox-i and HummingBoard: Firmware image – android-4.4.2-1.0.1b-ga-aaf118bb78-gapps.img.xz Android 4.4 KitKat souce code and build instructions are available on github. Thanks to … Harley! Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011. www.cnx-software.com

August 20, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

$79 STACK Box Home Automation / IoT Gateway Supports Wi-Fi, Ethernet, BLE, XBee, X10, Z-Wave and More (Crowdfunding)

Cloud Media (Syabas) is better known for their Linux based “Popcorn Hour” media players, and last year I reviewed their FreeOTT streaming media player powered by a Cavium ARM11 processor. The company is now entering the home automation market with the STACK Box (aka XuanBox) also powered by a Cavium ARM11 processor, and supporting various connectivity options to interface with popular smart “things” such as Belkin Wemo and Philips Hue, as well as a Raspberry Pi Bus (26-pin header) to support add-ons. STACK Box specifications: Processor – Cavium ARM11 processor @ 640 MHz (possibly Cavium CELESTIAL CNC1800L. TBC) System Memory – 256MB DDR3 Storage – 512 MB flash + SD card slot Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet Wi-Fi 802.11n with WPS Bluetooth LE 4.0 (included) Z-Wave (included) Dust Networks (extra module required) XBee (extra module required) X10 (extra module required) Insteon (extra module required) RF433/315 (coming soon) EnOcean (coming soon) ZigBee(coming soon) DCLink(coming […]