Android News - Page 243 of 364 - CNX Software

August 2, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Dual Core VolksPC Android and Debian Mini PC Gets Crowdfunded

Last months, I tested VolksPC’s Android/Debian unified distribution on MK808 mini PC, which runs both operating systems at the same time, and allows you to switch instantaneously and seamlessly between the two. I was impressed by the performance and stability of the system, although there were still a few software bugs, as well as issues related to MK808 hardware (Wi-Fi disconnection), and possibly its 5V/1A power supply (system reboot when inserting SD card reader or flash drive). The company has now started a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo to manufacture dual core Android TV box with their unified distribution. VolksPC specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3066 dual core ARM Cortex-A9 processor @ 1.4Ghz with Mali-400MP4 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8 GB NAND Flash (for Android), 8GB MicroSD card (Debian Wheezy) Video Output – HDMI 1.3, AV jack Audio Output, HDMI, AV jack, and optical S/PDIF Connectivity – 10/100M […]

August 1, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Linaro 14.07 Release with Linux Kernel 3.16 and Android 4.4

Linaro 14.07 has just been released with Linux Kernel 3.16-rc6 (baseline), Linux Kernel 3.10.50 (LSK), and Android 4.4.4. This month, Linaro has continued development on Juno 64-bit ARM development board, as well as other member boards from Broadcom (Capri), Qualcomm (IFC6410), Hisilicon D01, Samsung (Arndale / Arndale Octa), etc.. Android have been upgraded to version 4.4.4 with images released for Pandaboard, Arndale, Nexus 10, and Nexus 7, built with Linaro GCC 4.9. Here are the highlights of this release: Linux Linaro 3.16-rc6-2014.07 released GATOR version 5.18 (same version as in 2014.04) updated basic Capri board support from Broadcom LT. Good progress in upstreaming the code: now the topic has 21 patch on top of v3.16-rc4 vs 53 patches on top of v3.15 in 2014.06 cycle removed cortex-strings-arm64 topic as the code is accepted into the mainline new topic from Qualcomm LT to add IFC6410 board support updated Versatile Express ARM64 […]

July 31, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 69 Comments

Orvibo Wiwo S20 Wi-Fi Smart Socket Features US, EU, UK, or AU Plug Types

I’ve previously covered several Chinese Wi-Fi smart sockets including Broadlink SP2 also supporting power monitoring, and Kankun KK-SP3, a cheaper, more basic version that can only be turned on and off manually or via timers, and which runs OpenWRT. These plugs have one thing in common: they only come with Australian/Chinese plugs, so if you want to use them in Europe, the US, or United Kingdom, you’ll need an adapter, which may not the the safest things to do, and it’s also inconvenient. Orvibo Wiwo S20 is another model that appears to have the capabilities and a price similar to Broadlink SP2, but available in four flavors with US, EU, UK, and AU plug types. Orvibo Wiwo S20 is made of fireproof ABS, and is significantly smaller than Broadlink SP2, but the rest of the specifications are very similar: Material – ABC 94V-0 (fireproof) Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n Security – WEP, […]

July 30, 2014July 30, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

$50 CMX Dual Core Android TV Box Runs Android 4.2, Supports XBMC Linux

XBMC Android now runs fairly well on ARM based hardware, but some people still prefer to run XBMC Linux because they want a pure XBMC experience, and Android is just an unnecessary overhead, and some features are still better supported in XBMC Linux such as frame rate switching, which is not supported in Android (You need to manually select the refresh rate in the settings). One way to go if you want to get XBMC Linux is to buy one of the boxes pre-loaded with the firmware such as Jynxbox M1V2 Pure Linux or Little Black Box. But these devices are generally significantly more expensive than their Android equivalents. So instead, some people get an Android TV box, and install XBMC Linux firmware compatible with the hardware such as MX Linux which runs on media players with a “g18ref” and “mx2ref” boards. Gbox Midgnight MX2 is one of these g18ref […]

July 29, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

TouchPico Android Projector Transforms Your Wall into a Touch enabled Display (Crowdfunding)

Android based projectors are nothing new, and I’ve covered a few with products such as Smartbeam, EPICT EPP-100, or Zeco CX5, but TouchPico brings something extra in that you can also tap on your wall with a stylus, in a similar way that you would tap on a tablet or smartphone with your finger or a capacitive stylus. It will also let you stream videos, display PowerPoint or Impress presentations, and anything else you can think of, on a display up to 80″ in size, and is portable with a built-in battery lasting up to two hours and a half. TouchPico hardware specifications listed in Indiegogo comments’ section: SoC – Dual core cortex A9 processor @ 1.6 GHz (Probably Rockhip RK3066) System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 4GB flash (no micro SD slot) Projector 0.3″ DLP; RGB LED; native resolution: 854 x 480; aspect ratio: 16:9 Contrast Ratio: 1000:1; .Throw Ratio: […]

July 29, 2014May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

AllWinner A33 Quad Core Tablets Are Now Available for $60 and Up

AllWinner A33 is a new quad core Cortex A7 processor pin-to-pin compatible will AllWinner A23 dual core processor, that costs less than $5 with the power management IC (AXP223). Tablets based on the new processor are now available for sale, and just as low as $60 including shipping on Aliexpress. All models currently listed feature 9″ to 10″ displays, so it’s safe to expect 7″ tablets to be close to $50. Let’s check the specs of one of the no-name 9″ tablets currently available: SoC – AllWinner A33 quad core Cortex A7 processor @ 1.3 GHz (Overclocked to 1.5GHz???) with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 512MB RAM Storage – 8GB NAND FLASH + microSD card slot (Up to 32GB) Display – 9″ capacitive touch screen (800 x 480 pixels, 5 points touch) Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. 3G is supported via external 3G USB dongle. Camera – 0.3M […]

July 29, 2014July 29, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

APK Downloader Retrieves an App APK with its Google Play Link

Let’s assume you are unlucky, and frequently end up with Google Play saying “Sorry, this app is not compatible with your device”. The usual way is either to patiently wait for a new firmware, or actually go through Android configuration files to change the behavior by, for instance, emulation a “Samsung Galaxy S4”. It’s also possible you somehow ended up with a device without Google Play. There’s now another solution thanks to APK Downloader. The way it works is that you just go to APK Downloader website, look for the app in Google Play website in your PC or device, copy the URL to APK Downloader website, and click on “Generate Download Click”. After a few seconds, or minutes depending on the APK size you’ll be able to download the APK. I used Antutu for testing as shown in the screenshot above. There’s a total limit of 250 new cached […]

July 28, 2014July 29, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Skytecx SK-R68b Android TV Box Comes with Three Wi-Fi Antennas

There’s now a pretty long list of Android media players powered by Rockchip RK3288, and they keep coming up. While I don’t cover most of them, Skytecx SK-R68b is a little more interesting because for some reasons, the manufacturer has decided to go with not only two, but three Wi-Fi antennas, and the product is the type that you place directly on top of your TV. The rest of the specifications looks pretty standard: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad core CortexA17 @ 1.8 GHz with ARM Mali-T764 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8 to 32GB NAND flash (8GB by default) + micro SD card slot (up to 32 GB) Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, dual band WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz/5GHz) and 802.11 a/c with triple Wi-Fi antennas, and Bluetooth 4.0 Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0 output (female) up to 1080p (sic), AV output (3.5mm jack) Video Codecs […]