Crowdfunding Report for 2014 on CNX Software Blog

Following up on my 2013 Crowdfunding Report, I’ve gone through all 55 Kickstarter and Indiegogo crowdunding projects featured on CNX Software between December 2013 and November 2014 (inclusive) to see how well they fared. The table below sort projects chronologically as they were published on this very blog. Date Project Crowdfunding Site Funded? Pledged amount / Goal Expected Delivery Actual Delivery Comments 2. Dec. 2013 Micro Python Kickstarter Yes 97,803 GBP / 15,000 GBP 03/2014 04/2014 Available @ https://micropython.org/store/#/store 5. Dec. 2013 Plugaway Kickstarter Yes $162,835 AUD / $50,000 AUD 04/2014 – People upset because of lack of updates. Project might be dead, and backers lost their money 6. Dec. 2013 AIRTAME Indiegogo Yes $1,268,332 / $160,000 05/2014 12/2014 People have started received the beta versions, after a massive 8-month delay 7. Dec. 2013 Crystal Board Kickstarter No $14,574 / $200,000 04/2014 – The project appears to be dead 10. […]

What Do You Do with Your Old Devices and Boards?

New and faster processors and products come out regularly, and prices have come down so much that people are likely to discard old devices, or let them collect dust, as new devices can be bought for half the price you bought your now sluggish single or dual core mini PC, remember CX-01?, last year or two. However, people may not like to through perfectly usable product by principle, while others may be concerned by the pollution effects of our consumerism, and craze for the latest gadgets. There must surely things that can be done instead of simply trashing old devices. I’ll give some ideas mostly for mini PCs, but since a group of person is smarter than one only, I’m sure I get some interesting input. Give your old devices to friends of family. Downside: they may never used it themselves either. Sell your device on Ebay or other websites. […]

Pipo X7 Intel Atom Z3736 based Mini PC Sells for $90

Pipo X7 is yet another mini PC powered by Intel Atom Z3735 / Z3736 quad core processor running Windows 8.1 with Bing, and since it’s now pretty clear all these device should run Ubuntu or other Linux desktop distributions with full GPU support, they’ll gather more interest from Linux users, especially given this mini PC with 2GB and 32GB storage can be pre-ordered for $89.98 on GearBest with PX7CN or PipoX7LM coupon, making it more interesting price-wise than MeegoPad T01, especially since it comes with an Ethernet port, and (probably) an Intel Atom Z3736 processor with a higher burst frequency (2.16 GHz vs 1.83 GHz) Since GearBest has done a pretty poor job at listing the specs for this item, I got the full technical details from GeekBuying, with some errors as well, but still better: SoC – Intel Atom Bay Trail Z3736F up to 2.16 GHz with Intel HD graphics […]

CloudProject Air X1 and Air S1 Intel Bay Trail Mini PCs to Support Windows 8.1, Android 4.4, and Linux Distributions

Lots of Intel Atom Z3735 based mini PCs have been announced, and some such as MeegoPad T01 have already ended up in the hands of end users, but most of them are running Windows 8.1 with bing, with some featuring a dual boot image with Windows and Android, but no company has yet committed to release one supporting a Linux desktop distribution. This may change thanks to CloudProject Air X1 and Air S1 mini PCs that already support Windows 8.1 (with bing or pro), and Android 4.4.4, but the company is also working on a Linux port, and both models will be available in consumers and enterprise editions. Air X1 is the black mini PC, and Air S1 an HDMI stick stick, both powered by Intel Atom Z3735F processor, and they share most of the same specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F  “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz […]

Best Android Mini PCs Awards of 2014

I’ve reviewed quite a few Android media players this year, and as 2014 comes to an end, I thought it might be worth writing a best of 2014. But it’s difficult to announce an overall winner since all have some flaws one way or another, I’ll classified by categories: Best Ethernet, Best Internal Storage, … a bit like for “Oscars ceremony awards, based mostly on objective results from my tests. However, and somewhat oddly for a media player, I won’t select any TV boxes based on their video playback capabilities, as so far I haven’t found one that can play most 4K / H.265 videos reasonably well in Kodi, and video playback tests are also subjective. This is obviously a flawed contest as they all are, because in order to be nominated, the media player must have been reviewed on CNX Software. But it should be fun anyway, so let’s […]

Vensmile iPC002 is an Ultra Thin Windows 8.1 mini PC with a 7,000 mAh Battery

Several mini PCs and sticks based on Intel Atom Z3735f/g tablet processors have been announced in the last few months, including MeegoPad T01 and MINIX NEO Z64. But iPC002 introduced to me by VISSON, is a little different, as it includes most features of a tablet with a thin form factor, and an internal battery, but the display, and adds full sized USB ports. iPC002 specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F  “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Bust freq: 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics Gen 7 (2W TDP) System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L Storage – 32 GB eMMC + micro SD slot Video Output – micro HDMI Audio I/O – micro HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack, and built-in microphone Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG 2.0 port Misc – Volume Up/Down Key, Power Key […]

Giada F110D and Asus E210 Fanless mini PCs Feature Intel Bay Trail Celeron N2807 Processor

We’ve seen many small computer based on Intel Atom Bay Trail-T (Tablet) Z3735F/G processor lately including MINIX NEO Z64 and MeegoPad T01, which should ship by the end of the month (it keeps getting postponed). But Intel also makes Bay Trail-M (Mobile) processor for laptops, including Celeron N2807 dual core processor found in ECS Liva. Two new products based on N2807 processor has recently surfaced: Giada F110D and Asus E210. According to CPU Boss (see Google cache if link has problem), Z3735F has slightly greater multi-core performance than N2807, but the latter has better single thread performance based on Passmark. One key advantage of the Celeron processors over the Atom ones is that they support up to 4GB RAM instead of 1 or 2 GB for the Bay Trail-T processor. Giada F110D also has one version with a more powerful Intel Bay Trail-D (Desktop) Celeron J1900 quad core processor. Giada […]

Jesurun Maxone Allwinner A80 mini PC with 4GB RAM Sells for $184 (Promo)

Yesterday, I discovered DealExtreme listed four versions of new Allwinner A80 mini PC called Jesurun Maxone, with a combination of 2GB RAM/16GB Flash, or 4GB RAM/32GB flash, and US or EU power adapters, for respectively $167.40 and $207. But after a closer look, I found out those boxes are probably based on the same hardware used for Tronsmart Draco AW80 Meta and Telos, minus the external Wi-Fi antenna, and the price was a little higher so I did not feature this device in a new article. But today, GearBest provided a coupon code (JM4GCN) allowing to get Maxone 4GB RAM for $183.99, or about $15 discount compared to Draco AW80 Telos. They’ve also provided JM2GCN coupon for the 2GB RAM version, but the price ($149.99) is almost exactly the same as Draw AW80 Meta. Remember that when shopping online from oversea websites, you may be hit by custom duties back […]