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July 21, 2014July 21, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Thread is a New IP-based Wireless Protocol Leveraging 6LoWPAN and 802.15.4 Standards

Wi-Fi is a neat way to connect devices to Internet, but it has two main inconveniences: relatively high cost and power consumption. Luckily there are standards that addresses the cost and power consumption issues. Radio chips based on IEEE 802.15.4, a standard which specifies the physical layer and media access control for low-rate wireless personal area networks, are common place and found in many existing devices relying on higher level wireless protocols such as ZigBee, ISA100.11a, WirelessHART, and MiWi. AFAIK, Zigbee is the most popular of the aforementioned protocols, but is hindered by the requirements of the license for commercial products (annual fee), Zigbee membership requirements conflict with many open source license such as GPL, and the standard suffers from lack of interoperability and IPv6 support, and power requirements that are too high for some applications. So a consortium of seven companies namely ARM, Big Ass Fans, Freescale, Nest, Samsung, […]

July 18, 2014July 18, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

NEJE ZB01 Clone of Google Cardboard Virtual Reality Kit Sells for about $12

Can you remember Opendive, a low Cost DIY open source 3D virtual reality kit for smartphones? The kit can be built by anybody as long as you happen to own a 3D printer. But Google liked the concept, and at the latest Google I/O, the company designed the cardboard equivalent using the same lenses, and adding accessories namely a magnet, Velcro strips, and a rubber band to complete the kit. But some people saw a business opportunity here, and created NEJE ZB01, a nearly identical reproduction of the Google kit that can be bought for $12.66 on DealExtreme, instead of the $19.95 you’d have to pay for the original kit. The complete kit includes the cardboard, a rubber band, two magnets with 2cm diameter, two lenses with 2.3 cm diameter, and a pair of Velcro strips. It’s suppose to work with device using displays between 4″ and 7″ large. You’ll […]

June 30, 2014June 30, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

ADT-1 Google’s Android TV Developer’s Kit Details

Google announced Android TV a few days ago, and distributed ADT-1 hardware development kit to application developers during Google I/O. I could not find much details at the time, except it was powered by Nvidia Tegra processors. I’ve now noticed some developers have posted a few pictures and the device, Phandroid has posted the specifications, and I’ve found some interesting hardware limitations for Android TV decided by Google that kill some potential applications for the TV. Here are known hardware specifications for ADT-1 devkit: SoC – Nvidia Tegra 4 System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 16GB flash Video Output – HDMI Connectivity – Ethernet, 2×2 MIMO dual-channel WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB host port, 1x micro (custom?) USB port for power and ADB (via an Y cable provided with the kit) Dimensions – Small 🙂 This Android L Android TV box looks tiny and comes with G1 […]

June 26, 2014June 30, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Google Formally Launches Android TV. Android TV Set-Top Boxes and TVs to be Available in H2 2014

After Android L for mobile devices, and Android Wear for wearables, Google also announced Android for your television at Google I/O 2014, and after definitely killing “Google TV”, renaming it to “Google Services for Smart TV”, the company went for the obvious and called it “Android TV”, which will get messy with all the Chinese “Android TV” boxes that do not run “Android TV” but simply “Android”… Google apparently used an Android TV reference platform (ADT-1) based on Nvidia Tegra 4 K1 at I/O to showcase their latest implementation of Android the the living room. I’ve embedded the video of the demo below, but the key part of the demo can be summarized as follows: Android TV’s “TV Input Framework” can overlay notifications and other data on top of various video sources such as HDMI, TV tuners, and IP TV receivers Voice control demo (with smartphone) with requests such as: […]

June 26, 2014June 26, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Google Releases Android Wear SDK, LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live Smartwatches Are Now Available

I’ve just covered what’s new in Android L?, and I’m going to focus on Google I/O 2014’s announcements related by Android wear starting with hardware with LG G Watch ,and Samsung Gear smartwatches, followed by some details about the first official release of Android Wear SDK. LG G Watch Specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 @ 1.2 GHz System Memory – 512MB RAM Storage – 4GB eMMC Display – 1.65” IPS display (280 x 280) Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE Sensors – 9-Axis (Gyro / Accelerometer / Compass) IP Rating – IP67 dust and water resistant Battery – Li-ion 400mAh Dimensions – 37.9 x 46.5 x 9.95 mm Weight – 62.5 grams LG G watch will run Android Wear (as it’s the subject of this post), and it currently available on Google Play for $229 (US only?) with shipping scheduled for early July. Samsung Gear Live Specifications: Processor – Unnamed […]

June 23, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

HTC / Google Nexus 9 To Feature Nvidia Tegra K1 Dual Core 64-bit ARMv8 Processor

ARMv8 (64-bit ARM) architecture has been seen in servers, and announced in mobile SoCs, but, putting aside some Apple products, we have yet to see any consumer products based on the latest ARM architecture. But this will change soon, as HTC Volantis, which could become Google Nexus 9 based on the picture leaked via Android Police, will feature an “Nvidia Logan 64-bit” SoC, which can only be a Tegra K1 dual core ARMv8 SoC announced at CES 2014. HTC Volantis / Nexus 9 specifications: SoC – NVIDIA Tegra K1 (logan) dual core 64-bit Processor System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 16/32GB internal storage Display – 8.9″ Display at 2048×1440 (281ppi) Camera – 8MP main camera with OIS, 3MP front facing camera Audio – Stereo front-facing speakers Dimensions – 22.63×15.19×0.79cm Weight – 418g, or 427g with LTE The assumption is that it will be released as the latest major release […]

June 6, 2014June 6, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Google Unveils Project Tango Tablet Development Kit Powered by Nvidia Tegra K1 SoC

Earlier this year, Google ATAP (Advanced Technology and Products) showcased project tango phone prototype, capable of generating 3D maps in real-time thanks to cameras, motion sensors, and two Movidius Myriad 1 Mobile Vision processors paired with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 application processor, and since March, they’ve already sent a few hundred samples to developers. Google has now announced another development kit, this time a tablet powered by Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core SoC. Tango tablet has the following hardware specifications: SoC – Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core Cortex A15 with Kepler GPU System Memory – 4GB RAM Storage – 128GB Display – 7″ screen Connectivity – WiFi, BlueTooth Low Energy, and 4G LTE Camera – 120 deg. wide angle front camera, 4MP rear camera, and motion tracking camera Sensors – Integrated depth sensing The tablet will run Google’s KitKat Android operating system, and support features such as OpenGL 4.4 thanks to the […]

May 7, 2014November 23, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Intel based Chromebooks Announcements Galore By Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo and More

Yesterday, Intel and Intel had a press event about Chrome OS devices where Google discussed the success of Chrome OS, and Intel showed existing and upcoming Chromebooks based on Haswell and Bay Trail processors. After a short introduction by Intel, Google took the stage to discuss the commercial success of Chromebooks which are now found in 10,000 schools, and are among the best selling and best rated laptops on Amazon, as well as key advantages and features of Chrome OS: fast boot, new version every 6 weeks, and after offline support for google docs, soon offline support for video playback. Intel then continued by showing off some existing Haswell Chromebooks, a new HP Chromebox to become available in June, and LG All-in-One Chromebase with a 22″ display, Haswell Celeron 2955U processor, 2GB RAM, and 16GB SDD to sell later this month for $349. The company took a break from product announcement […]