NanoPi K2 Board Gets Ubuntu Core Firmware Image

FriendlyELEC NanoPi K2 is a board powered by Amlogic S905 processor, just like ODROID-C2 board, so while only the Android image was available at launch, it was expected to also support Ubuntu or other Linux distribution shortly after. This was put in doubt by comments on the company’s forums claiming the board would not get Debian images, and only Android was supported. One alternative would be Armbian, but right now they only have ODROID-C2 images for download, no other Amlogic S905 hardware platform is supported either through stable or experimental builds. One user did manage to run Armbian on K2 with balbes150 help, but I’m not sure what’s the status of those firmware. Balbes150 also have a list of image for Amlogic platform in Github, which may be adapted to most hardware by using your board’s device tree binary (DTB) file. The good news today is that FriendyELEC did not give […]

ModBerry Industrial Automation Controllers Leverage Raspberry Pi, FriendlyELEC, and AAEON Boards and Modules

TECHBASE’s ModBerry Linux based industrial controllers have been around since 2014 with their first model being ModBerry 500 powered by a Raspberry Pi compute module. Over the years, the company has kept adding new ModBerry controllers with now an interesting choice of Raspberry Pi 3 board or compute module, FriendlyELEC’s NanoPi M1 Plus board, or Intel Atom x5 based AAEON’s UP board. All programmable automation controllers (PAC) runs Linux 4.0 or greater, with Debian or Ubuntu Core rootfs including ready tools and pre-compiled packs including C/C++, JAVA, SQL, PHP, SSH, and VPN support. The firmware is upgradeable over the air, and the controllers can run the company’s iMod control software and interface with iModCloud cloud computing service for telemetry, remote control and data sharing. Typical uses include C-L-V functions with conversion to collect and transmit data over communication interfaces, logging via iModCloud or a SCADA, and visualization via a web […]

Le Potato Development Board Review – Part 1: Hardware and Accessories

Libre Computer launched AML-S905X-CC “Le Potato” board on Kickstarter last month, and since then there have been some updates such as worldwide shipping, so the board will now ship to most countries, not only in Europe or the US, and various designs of the case have been proposed. You can check the updates on Kickstarter for details. Libre Computer Le Potato Kit Unboxing The company also sent me a Le Potato board, but not only, as I received a complete kit… … similar to the $99 “2GB eMMC kit” reward on KS with a board with 2GB RAM, a 64GB eMMC flash module, a HDMI cable, and a 5V/2.5A power supply with on/off switch, but a different case, cooling fan, and corresponding rubber pad and screws. The case exposes all external ports, and has holes on top for the fan. The other side includes the micro SD slot, plenty of […]

Flic Hub Controls WiFi, Bluetooth, and IR Devices with Bluetooth LE Buttons (Crowdfunding)

This week-end, I wrote about 1btn open source WiFi button that can allow you directly control WiFi appliances, and/or set scenes without the need for a smartphone. We also discussed limitations of WiFi due to high power consumption, security issues and the one-way aspect of RF communication, and that Bluetooth 5 may be a better option for range and battery life if possible. Flic Hub is another way to approach the issue, as it combines Bluetooth LE buttons with a gateway supporting WiFi, Bluetooth, and infrared. Flic Hub gateway specifications: Connectivity – Bluetooth Classic, Bluetooth LE, WiFi, Ethernet, IR via optional add-on accessory. Audio – 3.5mm audio out/mic in Power Supply – 5V via micro USB Power Consumption – 1.5W typ. Security – SPARKE2+ Bluetooth encryption Dimensions – 85 x 50 x 15 mm Weight – 99 grams Users can configure workflows by setting up Flic with IFTTT, Zapier, Microsoft […]

Jolla Tablet Take 2 – Youyouta Tablet Runs Linux Based Sailfish OS 2.1 Operating System (Crowdfunding)

Jolla Tablet running Linux based Sailfish OS was launched in 2014 via Indiegogo, and the campaign was initially very successful having raised over 2.5 million dollars, but eventually it became a disaster as the company had some financial issues, and the tablet was canceled with on a few backers having received their tablet. The company eventually organized a refund program, so it did not end up being as bad as it first seemed. But there’s now a “new” SailFish OS tablet – Youyouta tablet – that has been launched on Indiegogo last month. Jolla is not handling the manufacturing and campaign, and instead it’s done by a third party who is paying license fees to Jolla for Sailfish OS. They re-used most parts of the hardware design from original Jolla tablet plus a few modifications like option for higher storage capacity: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F quad core “Bay Trail” […]

Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 Boards – Intrinsyc Open-Q 212 and Kaynes Technology SKATE-212

Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 (APQ8009) quad core Cortex A7 processor is used in entry-level smartphones, but it’s also one of the processors which the company expects to use in their Smart Speaker Platform leveraging Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and other A.I. voice services. Two company has designed single board computers that can be used for this purpose: Intrisync Open-Q 212 and Kaynes Technology SKATE-212. Intrisync Open-Q 212 SBC Development Board Contrary to some other Open-Q boards, but not all, Open-Q 212 is not comprised of a baseboard and a system-on-module, as everything is soldered on a single PCB. Open-Q 212 specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 (APQ8009) quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ 1.267GHz with Adreno 304 GPU, QDSP6 DSP System Memory – 1GB LPDDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC (non-POP) flash and micro SD card socket Connectivity – Ethernet,  pre-scanned Wi-Fi 802.11n 2.4Ghz (WCN3610) with chip and U.FL antennas, Bluetooth 4.1 […]

$89 Sapphire BP-LX210KL Board is Powered by AMD G-Series LX Dual Core Processor

Mentor Embedded will regularly organize webinars to show how to use or leverage their embedded Linux distribution, but their latest upcoming webinar entitled “Deploying Embedded Linux on an AMD LX-based sub-$100 Sapphire LX210 board” caught my eyes simply because there aren’t that many low cost AMD boards. The only ones I can think of are Gizmo 2 board sold for $200, as well as some PC Engines boards starting at $106 and mainly designed for headless applications. It took me several attempts on DuckDuckGo and Google, before finding Sapphire LX 210 product page. It’s even unclear how the board is called, as the company refers to it as BP-LX210KL at times, and BP-FT3bGS or BP-210KL in other instances. Preliminary specifications: SoC – AMD G-series LX210 dual core processor with Radeon GPU supporting DirectX 11.1, OpenGL 4.2 and OpenCL.2 manufactured using 28nm process technology System Memory – 2x DDR3 SO-DIMM up to […]

Supermicro A2SDi-2C-HLN4F Server Mini-ITX Motherboard is Based on Intel Atom C3338 “Denverton” Processor

Almost exactly one year ago, I wrote about Intel Atom C3000 Series “Denverton”  processor based on the same Goldmont architecture used in Apollo Lake processor, and used in an early GIGABYTE MA10-ST0 server motherboard prototype. The latter is not out yet, but according to a YouTube video, the 16-core motherboard should be launched in H2 2017. In the meantime, Supermicro also made their own Denverton motherboard based on a lower-end Atom C3338 dual core processor. Supermicro A2SDi-2C-HLN4F board specifications: Processor – Intel Atom C3338 dual core Denverton processor @ 1.50 / 2.20 GHz with 4 MB  cache; 9W TDP System Memory Up to 64GB Register DIMM RDIMM and DDR4-1866MHz Up to 32GB Unbuffered ECC/non-ECC UDIMM, DDR4-1866MHz, in 2 DIMM slots Storage – 4x SATA 3 ports, but up to 8x SATA 3 (6 Gbps) ports are configurable; N.B.: total combined PCI-E lanes and SATA ports is up to 8 Connectivity […]