Android media players powered by Amlogic S805 quad core processor such as TV110 are already pretty cheap at around $60, but there’s currently a deal on Gearbest where you can get MXQ S85 for less than $50 without Bluetooth and about $55 with Bluetooth by using BackToSchool8 coupon to get 8% discount. Prices include shipping. MXQ S85 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S805 quad core ARM Cortex A5 @ 1.5GHz with quad core Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1 GB DDR3 Storage – 8 GB NAND flash + micro SD slot (up to 32GB) Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and optional Bluetooth 4.0. Video Output – HDMI 1.4, AV output Audio Output – HDMI, AV, optical S/PDIF USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports + 1 x micro USB OTG port Misc – IR sensor Power Supply – 5V/2A Dimensions – 11.4x 11.4 x 2.3 cm Weight – 137 grams […]
Creating and Flashing an Android Image from Rockchip RK3288 SDK
Following up on my post explaining how to build Android for RK3288 TV box, I’ve generated a firmware image, and flashed it to Tronsmart Orion R28 Meta TV box to see if it could boot properly. There’s basically no information in the Andoird SDK explaining how to do basic things like building from source, and generating and flashing the resulting image, so I’d like to thanks Linuxium, Droidmote and Naobsd for their various tips. Since I’ve built everything from source, I’m using a Linux machine, but you should be able to create and flash the Android image in Windows using tools in RKTools/windows folder. First let’s copy the required, and freshly built, files to create the firmware:
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cp rockdev/Image-rk3288/* RKTools/linux/Linux_Upgrade_Tool_v1.2/rockdev/Image/ cp RKTools/rk3288-3.10-uboot-data1G.parameter.txt RKTools/linux/Linux_Upgrade_Tool_v1.2/rockdev/parameter cp RKTools/bootloader/uboot-emmc/RK3288Loader_uboot_Apr212014_134842.bin RKTools/linux/Linux_Upgrade_Tool_v1.2/rockdev/ cd RKTools/linux/Linux_Upgrade_Tool_v1.2/rockdev/ |
We’ll also need to edit package-file follows (I only had to change the bootloader field):
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# NAME Relative path # #HWDEF HWDEF package-file package-file bootloader RK3288Loader_uboot_Apr212014_134842.bin parameter parameter misc Image/misc.img kernel Image/kernel.img boot Image/boot.img recovery Image/recovery.img system Image/system.img backup RESERVED #update-script update-script #recover-script recover-script |
And now create the firmware file:
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./mkupdate start to make update.img... Android Firmware Package Tool v1.0 ------ PACKAGE ------ Add file: ./package-file Add file: ./RK3288Loader_uboot_Apr212014_134842.bin Add file: ./parameter Add file: ./Image/misc.img Add file: ./Image/kernel.img Add file: ./Image/boot.img Add file: ./Image/recovery.img Add file: ./Image/system.img Add CRC... Make firmware OK! ------ OK ------ ********RKImageMaker ver 1.61******** Generating new image, please wait... Writing head info... Writing boot file... Writing firmware... Generating MD5 data... MD5 data generated successfully! New image generated successfully! Making update.img OK. Press any key to quit: |
The firmware file update.img can be flashed with upgrade_tool […]
How to Build Android 4.4 for Rockchip RK3288 Devices (Tronsmart Orion R28)
After blowing up my ATX power supply, and learning such things as “FULL” power supplies do exists, I finally managed to build Android for Tronsmart Orion R28 using the provided SDK. I haven’t tried to load it on the device yet, but the build could complete successfully after following the steps below in Ubuntu 14.04. The SDK is probably not specific to one device, so it might just also work on other RK3288 TV boxes and tablets. First download Android 4.4 SDK for RK3288, or use the one in the micro SD card provided with the Beta version of R28 Pro and Meta. Install some dependencies:
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sudo apt-get install git-core gnupg flex bison gperf libsdl1.2-dev libesd0-dev libwxgtk2.8-dev \ squashfs-tools build-essential zip curl libncurses5-dev zlib1g-dev pngcrush schedtool libxml2 \ libxml2-utils xsltproc lzop libc6-dev schedtool g++-multilib lib32z1-dev lib32ncurses5-dev \ lib32readline-gplv2-dev gcc-multilib libswitch-perl gcc-arm-linux-gnueabi lzop libncurses5-dev \ libssl1.0.0 libssl-dev |
Extract the SDK:
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tar xvf Orion_R28_SDK_doc.tar.gz |
And build the kernel first: Enter the kernel directory:
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cd RK3288_R-BOX_ANDROID4.4.2-SDK_V1.0.0/kernel/ |
Change arch/arm/boot/dts/Makefile to use RK3288 device tree file instead of an RK3188 (may not be needed, but the build failed for me without that change…):
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dtb-$(CONFIG_ARCH_ROCKCHIP) += rk3288-box.dtb |
It’s also quite […]
$125 Com 1 Android Wear Watch Powered by Ingenic JZ4775 MIPS Processor (Crowdfunding)
If you’d like to get an Android Wear watch, but are not quite ready to spend $200+ for the models currently available, the Com 1 Android Wear smartwatch could be interesting as you may get one for as low as $125, albeit with higher risks since it’s part of a flexible funding Indiegogo campaign. The watch is powered by Ingenic JZ4775 MIPS processor, features a 1.6″ AMOLED display, and is IP67 rated (Water- and dust-proof). Com 1 watch hardware specifications: SoC – Ingenic JZ4775 XBurst (MIPS) processor @ 1.0 GHz with 2D graphics, and VPU (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VC-1, H.264, VP8, RV9), 720p@30fps System Memory – 375 MB LPDDR1 Storage – 4 GB eMMC Display – 1.6” AMOLED touchscreen display, 320 x 320 resolution, 16.7 Million Colors , LED back light, Brightness: 300 cd/m^2. Connectivity – WiFi (802.11 a/b/g/n at 2.4/5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.0 + EDR (BLE Compliant), FM, and NFC Sensors – […]
Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon 210 LTE SoC for Entry-Level Smartphones
Android smartphones with LTE connectivity are now available for a little over $100, for example with LANDVO L200G powered by Mediatek MT6582 with an external MT6290 LTE modem, but prices may soon even get lower, as Qualcomm has now unveiled their latest Snapdragon 210 processor with integrated LTE modem to bring sub $100 LTE smartphones to market in 2015. For once, they’ve even provided detailed technical specifications for their new mobile application processor: Processor – Quad ARM Cortex A7 up to 1.1GHz GPU – Adreno 304 GPU with OpenGL ES 3.0, OpenCL, DirectX, content security, and decreased power consumption DSP – QDSP6 DSP Memory/Storage – LPDDR2/LPDDR3@533MHz, eMMC 4.5, and SD 3.0 (UHS-I) Display – Up to 720p, with external displays supported Modem Integrated 4G LTE-Advanced World Mode, supporting LTE FDD, LTE TDD, WCDMA (3C-HSDPA, DC-HSUPA), CDMA1x, EV-DO Rev. B, TD-SCDMA and GSM/EDGE 4G LTE CAT4 speeds of up to 150 […]
Tronsmart Orion R28 Meta RK3288 TV Box Unboxing
GeekBuying sent me one of their Tronsmart Orion R28 Meta (Beta) Android TV boxes powered by Rockchip RK3288 SoC. This model comes with 2GB DDR3, 16 eMMC, and 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi. R28 Mega is the mid-range model, and there are two others models R28 Pro (entre-level) and R28 Telos (premium). I’ve already listed specifications for the three Tronsmart Orion R28 models. Today, I’ll show some picture of the device, and the board to find out more about the design of the product. Before reviewing the product in another post, I’ll probably build the image using the provided Android 4.4 SDK (provided I can download it), and perform the full review next week with the resulting firmware. Tronsmart Orion Meta R28 Unboxing I’ve received the parcel via DHL within 2 days. The same package will be used for all three models, but you’ll have a sticker on the side for Pro, […]
Intrinsyc OPEN-Q 8084 Development Kit Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 Processor
Inforce Computing IFC6540 was the first low cost development board powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor I discovered a few months ago, but is currently “for pre-approved customers only and have not yet been released to public”. Intrinsyc has now launched their own Snapdragon 805 development kit called OPEN-Q 8084 based on a mini-ITX carrier board, and a SoM with 3GB RAM, and 16GB eMMC. The board target applications include ruggedized tablets, digital signage, government/public safety, medical, robotics, wearable displays, video streaming/conferencing, gaming systems, and in-flight entertainment. Specifications of APQ8084 Open-Q System-on-Module: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 (APQ8084) quad core Krait 450 @ 2.5GHz, with Adreno 420 GPU @ 500MHz, Hexagon QDSP6 V5A (600MHz), and two ISPs for up to 55-megapixel stereoscopic 3D System Memory – 3GB PoP LPDDR3 RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC 5.0 flash, expandable to 64GB, micro SD signals, and SATA signals (via MXM connector) Connectivity – […]
Review of Kingnovel K-R68 (R6) Android Mini PC
I’ve already listed specs, and shown a few pictures of Kingnovel K-R68 (R6) Android media player based on the latest Rockchip RK3288 quad core processor. I’ve now gone through all my usual tests, so today, I’ll write the review, going through the user interface, testing video playback, reporting one various performance benchmarks including network and storage performance, tested most hardware features, and played a few games. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions Albeit there’s an infrared remote control with the device. I’ve not used it all, especially, as we’ll see below the default user interface is the stock Android home screen. As usual, I’ve connected an RF dongle to use Mele F10 Deluxe air mouse. Before powering up the device, I’ve also connected an HDMI cable, a USB hard drive, and an Ethernet cable. Albeit there’s a power button, the device will boot automatically as you connect the power adapter, […]