Ampeq SoundPad 2 is an Android TV Box with a 7″ Tablet and Stereo Speakers

SoundPad 2, also known under the model name NA-307, is a tablet with a stand featuring two large (for a tablet) stereo speakers manufactured by Ampeq / Pan-Ocean Technology. The device can be used as a Bluetooth speaker, an Internet radio, and a standard Android TV box connected to your TV. It’s the first time I’ve come across this type of product, but Archos released a very similar item last year via its Arnova brand called, oh surprise!, SoundPad. Let’s have a look at SoundPad 2 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK2928 cortex A9 processor with ARM Mali-400 GPU. System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 4GB flash + micro SD card slot Display – 7″ capacitive touch screen, 1024 x 600 resolution Video Output – HDMI Audio I/O – HDMI, 2x 3W 2″ HiFi speakers, microphone, 3.5mm audio Line IN. Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR USB […]

Beelink A9 Android TV Box Features Rockchip RK3188 SoC

Beelink A9, soon to be sold as Tronsmart A928 or Zero Devices Z6C, is a yet another RK3188 box with 2GB RAM, and 8GB Flash running Android 4.2, upgradeable to Android 4.4.2, and if it was not one of the four devices with Android 4.4.2 SDK I may not have decided to write about it. But since it should be more easily hackable with the SDK release, although with caveats, it becomes much more interesting. A9 Specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 @ 1.6Ghz with Mali-400MP4 GPU @ 533MHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 8 to 16 GB eMMC flash + microSD slot (up to 32GB) Video Output – HDMI Audio I/O – HDMI, S/PDIF, 3.5mm audio out jack, built-in MIC. Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG port […]

Top 10 Posts of 2013 and Stats on CNXSoft Blog

This is the last day of the year, and just like in 2012, I’ll look back on the main trends of this year,  post a list of the top 10 posts of 2013 on cnx-software.com, and add some fun stats about the site and my visitors. 2013 has been the year of quad core media players and mini PCs, especially those based on Rockchip RK3188, XBMC is now featured in many Android STBs, “big.LITTLE” and “Octa-core” have been the buzz words on the application processor front, Google has entered the HDMI TV sticks market with the ChromeCast, and is competing with Miracast / DLNA TV dongles, we’ve gotten more and more low cost Linux development boards, crowdfunding has almost gone mainstream, and the Internet of things has started to take off thanks to new technologies such as Bluetooth Low Energy. I’ve compiled the list using data from Google Analytics, filtered […]

Android 4.4.2 KitKat SDK Released for Rockchip RK3188 mini PCs: MK908, MK908 II, MK918 and A9

Shenzhen AW Technology Co Ltd, a company specializing in home entertainment equipment development, manufacturing, and sales, has just informed me they’ve released Android 4.4.2 SDK (Software Development Kit) for four Rockchip RK3188 devices, namely MK908, MK908 II, MK918, and A9. If you’ve never heard about A9, it looks very similar to the upcoming ZERO Devices Z6C. The four SDKs are available in the download page which links to baidu.com as follows: MK908 Android 4.4.2 SDK – password: lvlb MK908 II Android 4.4.2 SDK – password: wpwa MK918 Android 4.4.2 SDK – password: kafo A9 II Android 4.4.2 SDK – password: f1zb Each download section is composed of three files. For MK908, we’ll get: rk3188_4.4.2_without_kernel_20131230.tar.gz (3.85GB) – The Android SDK itself without Linux kernel readme.txt kernel_mk908_20131230.tar.gz – The kernel source code I haven’t completed the download yet, but the readme explains how to use build Android, and flash the SDK: After […]

Ainol Novo9 FireWire Ⅱ Tablet Features Actions Semi ATM7039 Quad core Cortex-A9r4 SoC

Ainol Novo9 FireWire II (aka Spark II?) is a new Android Jelly Bean tablet powered by ATM7039, a new quad core processor from Actions Semiconductor, that is said to feature Cortex A9r4 cores, just like AMLogic M802, that allow higher frequencies, and lower power consumption compared to Cortex A9r3 cores used in SoCs such as Rockchip RK3188. I’ll check the tablet specifications first, and then have a closer look at the new SoC. Ainol Novo9 FireWire II Tablet Ainol Novo9 Firewire II / Spark II Specifications: SoC- Actions Semi ATM7039 Quad Core ARM Cortex A9 up to 1.5/1.6 GHz with PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU System memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 16GB + micro SD card slot (up to 32GB) Display – 9.7″ IPS capacitive touchscreen, 2048×1536 resolution Connectivity – Built-in Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, built-in Bluetooth 4.0, and 3G via external USB dongle Video Output – HDMI Audio I/O – 3.5mm audio jack, […]

Mini Review of Jynxbox Live, a $350 Android Live TV Streaming Box

A few days ago I showed some unboxing pictures and videos for Jynxbox Android M6 and Jynxbox Live, followed by Jynxbox Android M6 review, and today I’ll quickly review Jynxbox Live, an Android TV Box that based on Rockchip RK3066 (full specs available in unboxing post) that can stream over 200 live TV channels after install a Live TV app / crack, and happens to cost a “mere” $350 allegedly because it give access to these live TV channels. From the outside, Jynxbox Live looks very much like any other Android TV box, with HDMI, Ethernet, S/PDIF, three USB ports, a micro SD slot, a few LEDs, and a Wi-Fi antenna. To get started I’ve connected the provided HDMI cable to the box and my TV, as well as an Ethernet cable, before powering up the device with the USB power supply. After a few seconds wait, you’ll get the […]

Android 4.4.2 KitKat Beta Released for Rockchip RK3188 mini PCs

I’ve just been informed that Android KitKat, version 4.4.2, is now available for Rockchip RK3188 powered mini PCs based on AP6210 Wi-Fi module. This is a beta version, but it’s known to work for MK908 II, CX-919, GM282, GK525, iMito QX2, and IPPLI Mars I2C HDMI TV dongles. Albeit MK908 is also based on AP6210 Wi-Fi module, it does not appear to work right now, and the “new” model of MK802 IV with AP6210 might work, but has not been tested. Devices based on AP6330 and other Wi-Fi modules, such as T428 mini PC, are not working with this firmware, and you’ll have to wait a few more days or weeks to get a compatible firmware. Android 4.4 will bring new features that can be interesting with mini PCs such as printing support, screen recording, and overall better graphics and streaming performance. So with the recent release of AndrOpen Office,  […]

Canonical Releases Ubuntu and Android Dual Boot Developer Preview

Canonical announced Ubuntu for Phones at the very beginning of the year, and the operating systems have been ported to several phones since then. The only problem is that if you just want to try it, you’d have to replace your Android installation. To work around this problem, Canonical just released Ubuntu and Android dual boot developer preview, that installs both OS on your smartphone, and one app in Ubuntu and Android, let you choose whether you want to boot Ubuntu or Android. The installation requires rewriting the Android recovery partition, and changes the partition layout, so Canonical only recommends Ubuntu Dual boot to developers, in case something goes wrong during installation. Having said that, the installation instructions do not seem particularly difficult to follow, as it’s just the case of running one script (dualboot.sh), after you’ve made sure your device is rooted, connected your phone to a Linux PC […]