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December 17, 2013May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

The Cheapest Android Tablet? SF-M703A Tablet Sells for $44

I’ve just noticed Liliputing posted an article about Datawind UbiSlate 7Ci tablet, the commercial version of Aakash2 tablet, that sells for $37.99. There are two caveats however: it’s only available in the U.S., and the price does not include a $9.99 shipping charge which brings the total price to $47.98. That’s still dirt cheap, but I’ve decided to look for the cheapest 7″ tablet that ships internationally. I did so on Chinese websites, including Aliexpress, where you can find such tablets for as low as $12 including shipping from sellers without feedback. These are obvious scams, so I filtered the products sold from sellers with decent feedback, and products with reviews. Based on these criteria, the cheapest Android tablet I could find is SF-M703A, or just called 703A. It goes for $43.99 including shipping via Swiss Post. Let’s compare the specifications of SF-M703A with Datawind UbiSlate 7Ci. SF-M703A Datawind UbiSlate […]

December 3, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

13.3″ PocketBook CAD Reader Features a Lighter, Thinner E-Ink Fina Display

E-Ink has announced its new E-Ink Fina, a new thin and lightweight electronic paper display (EPD) technology, has been embedded into PocketBook CAD Reader, the first Fina ePaper Android device designed specifically for displaying drawings generated with Autocad from Autodesk. PocketBook CAD Reader integrates a 1GHz dual-core CPU (probably Freescale i.MX6 DualLite) running Android 4.0.4 with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage allowing it to hold plans for up to 200 constructions projects. The product also comes with built-in Wi-Fi & 3G modules, and a 8000 mAh battery. The built-in touch screen and Wacom digitizer support both touch and a stylus for fine detail work. But that’s the display that make it stand out. E-Ink claims that Fina displays weigh less than 50% of the weight of an equivalent glass based TFT and are less than 50% of the thickness, and the 13.3″ display module installed in […]

November 17, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 20 Comments

ZGPAX S5 Android 4.0 SmartWatch Features a Dual Core Processor, a SIM Card Slot

The newly introduced Samsung Galaxy Gear and Sony SmartWatch all work as a smartphone companion, and have limited use if you don’t carry your smartphone with you. The Samsung watch also requires a recent smartphone running Android 4.3 and supporting Bluetooth Low Energy, which current seriously reduces the list of compatible smartphones. There are already standalone smartwatches in the market that include a SIM card slot, and allow you to make phone calls without a phone such as Z1 watch and WiMe NanoWatch. However, these watches feature low-end hardware with ARM9 processor, so the interface may feel a bit sluggish. ZGPAX S5 smartwatch with its Mediatek MT6577 dual core Cortex A9 processor, and 512 MB RAM, will be much more snappier. It runs Android 4.04 with Google Play Store, and comes with features such as a camera, GPS, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. SGPAX S5 Specifications: SoC – […]

November 8, 2013November 8, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

MYIR MYD-SAMA5D3X Development Boards Feature Atmel ARM Cortex-A5 SAMA5D3 Processors

MYIR Tech, a company based in Shenzhen, and ARM Connected Community Member, has recently made available MYD-SAMA5D3X boards powered by Atmel ATSAMA5D3 ARM Cortex-A5 embedded MPU. Like many development boards, thise are composed of a baseboard coupled by a 200-pin SO-DIMM computer-on-module (CoM) featuring one of the four Atmel SAMA5D3 processor: SAMA5D31, SAMA5D33, SAMA5D34 and SAMA5D35. The boards all feature 512MB DDR2 SDRAM, 256MB Nand Flash, 16MB Nor Flash and 4MB Data Flash on board. Typical applications developed with these boards include control panel/HMI, smart grid, medical and handheld terminals, outdoor GPS, DECT (digital enhanced cordless telecommunications) phones, and more. MYD-SAMA5D3X boards specifications: Processor – Atmel SAMA5D31, SAMA5D32, SAMA5D34 or SAMA5D35 Cortex A5 up to 536MHz with 128KB of SRAM and 160KB of ROM System Memory – 512MB DDR2 SDRAM Storage – 256MB NAND Flash, 4MB Data Flash, 16MB Nor Flash, one MMC/SD card slot, and one microSD card slot Peripheral […]

November 1, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

VIA Announces $99 Springboard Platform for Android and Linux Development

Back in May 2013, VIA unveiled VAB-600 Pico-ITX board powered by WonderMedia WM8950 with an ARM Cortex A9 processor @ 800 MHz and a Mali-400 GPU. At the time they provided a starter kit with a 7″ display. The company has now announced the VIA Springboard Platform based on VAB-600 that is available without Wi-Fi for $99 or with Wi-Fi for $129. Here are the items included in the kits: VAB-600 Pico-ITX board with WM8950, 1GB DDR3 SDRAM, 4GB eMMC Flash memory and microSD slot. See VAB-600 post for detailed specifications. VIA VAB-600-A I/O extender card: 1 x Line-Out jack 1 x Mic-In jack 2 x USB 2.0 A-type ports 1 x Suspend LED power indicator 1 x Power On/Off button 3 x board-to-board connectors 1 x USB board-to-board connector VIA VNT9271 Springboard USB WiFi module (Wi-Fi Kit only) – Supports IEEE 802.11b/g/n standards and 802.11e WiFi Multimedia (WMM). Based […]

August 29, 2013August 29, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

iPazzPort NC-812-19A Rockchip RK3066 mini PC Temporary Discounted to About $30

I’ve just been informed about a special offer (for 2 more days) on Aliexpress for a mini PC based on Rockchip RK3066 called iPazzPort NC-812-19A, but it looks very much like CX803-II. You can get a dual core HDMI TV stick with 1GB RAM, 4GB Flash and an external antenna for about $30 including shipping here or here. Here are the specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3066 @ 1.6 GHz + Mali-400 MP4 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 4GB NAND flash + micro SD slot (up to 32GB) Video Output – HDMI 1.4 Connectivity – Wi-Fi – 802.11 b/g/n USB – 2x micro USB port (OTG + power) + 1x USB host port Power – 5V Dimensions – 101.2 x 48 x 9.5 mm Weight – 36g The device is said to come with a USB cable, and a user’s manual (No power supply). Aliexpress listings do not […]

August 9, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Intel Education Tablets Come with a Temperature Probe, a Magnification Lens

Intel has recently announced 2 educational Android 4.x tablets: The 10″ Intel Education Tablet powered by Intel Atom Z2460, and the 7″ Intel Education Tablet based on the newer Intel Atom Z2420. Beside standard features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, dual cameras, etc…, the tablets also come with items such as a temperature probe, and a snap-on magnification lenses for experimentation, as well as a educational software. The table below adapted from LinuxGizmos lists both tablets’ specifications side-by-side. 10.1″ model 7″ model Processor Intel single-core Atom Z2460 (“Medfield”) @ 1.6GHz Intel single-core Atom Z2420 (“Lexington”) @ 1.2GHz RAM 1G LPDDR2 Flash 16GB eMMC 8GB eMMC + microSD slot Display 1280 x 800 capacitive 5-point touch TFT LCD (16:10) with stylus 1024 x 600 multitouch TFT LCD (16:9) with optional stylus Wireless 802.11b/g/n; Bluetooth 2.1 EDR 802.11b/g/n; Bluetooth 3.0 (optional) Camera 2MP rear; 0.3MP front USB 1x micro USB 2.0 (Type B) […]

August 3, 2013August 3, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Leadcore Introduces LC1810, LC1811, LC1813, and LC1913 SoCs for Smartphones and Tablets

Mediatek, Rockchip, AllWinner among others are now well-known Chinese ARM SoC manufacturers for tablets, smartphones and set-top boxes. However, you may never have head about Leadcore Technology, a company based in Shanghai with over 1,000 employees, and a subsidiary of Datang Telecom Technology & Industry Group (Another company I had never heard of). The company has “recently” announced two dual core Cortex A9 SoCs for smartphones: LC1810 and lc1811, and two quad core Cortex A7 SoC for tablets: LC1813 and LC1913. LC1810 and LC1811 come with the following features: Dual-core Cortex A9 up to 1.2 GHz MALI-400 MP2 GPU LPDDR2 (both) and DDR3/LPDDR for LC1811 Maximum screen resolution: LC1810 – 1080p LC1811 – 1280×800 (WXGA) 1080p video encode and decode Camera: LC1810 – Up to 20MP LC1811 – Up to 8MP Video Out – HDMI 1.4a, 3D HD Network – GSM + GSM DSDA (Both), TD-HSPA+ (LC1810), and TD-HSPA (LC1811) […]