Rikomagic MK80, MK12, MK05, V5 Android TV Boxes and Sticks Are Now Available for Purchase

Rikomagic unveiled their MK80, MK12 and MK05 Android media players a few week ago, and somehow I missed (or ignored) their Rikomagic V5 TV stick, which looks very similar to Jesurun T034 / MK802 V powered with Rockchip RK3288 processor, and features an Ethernet port, but differs as full-sized USB ports are used instead of mix of micro and full-sized USB ports. All four devices, even five with MK80 Plus, are now available on Rikomagic’s Aliexpress store. MK80 and MK80 Plus are Android mini PCs powered by Allwinner A80 SoC, and are probably using the same Sunchip board as Tronsmart Draco AW80 Meta and Telos, The standard version comes with 2GB RAM, 16GB eMMC, and the “Plus” version with 4GB RAM, and 32GB eMMC, and can be purchased respectively for $155.90 and $199.99 including shipping. MK12 is based on the new Amlogic S812 processor which adds HEVC/H.265 hardware video decoding […]

Rikomagic to Launch MK80 and MK12 TV Boxes based on Allwinner A80 and Amlogic S812 Processors

There’s a three processors fight right now in the Android mini PC market with Rockchip RK3288, Allwinner A80, and Amlogic S802/S812 SoCs. All have their own strength and weaknesses, and have about the same performance, but so far I like Rockchip RK3288 for 3D gaming, Amlogic S802 and S812 for video playback, and Allwinner A80 for its possibly better potential to run Linux desktop distributions (TBC). Rikomagic have already been selling Rikomagic MK902 II powered by Rockchip RK3288 processor for a little while, and they’ve now announced two new upcoming products: MK80 with Allwinnert A80, and MK12 with Amlogic S812. Rikomagic MK80 and MK80 Plus Preliminary and probably incomplete product specifications: SoC – AllWinner Ultra Core A80 4x Cortex 15 @ 2016 MHz, 4x Cortex A7  @ 1320 MHz big.LITTLE processor with Imagination Technologies PowerVR GC6230 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.0, Directx 9.3 System Memory – 2GB (MK80), […]

Rikomagic MK802 IIIS Dual Core HDMI TV Stick Sells for $14

Yet again, sellers are trying to get rid off their old stock, and today Rikomagic MK02 IIIS HDMI TV Stick powered by Rockchip RK3066 sells for $14.40 on Aliexpress for the next four hours, but if you miss it, you can also buy from another seller for $17.99. Both prices include worldwide shipping, and the sellers have good feedback. MK802 IIIS specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3066 dual core Cortex A9 @ 1.6Ghz + Mali-400MP4 GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 8 GB NAND flash + micro SD slot (up to 32GB) Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth 3.0 Video Output – HDMI (male) USB – 1x USB Host 2.0, 2x micro USB for power and OTG port The package includes the mini PC, a USB cable for power, an OTG adapter, a short male to female HDMI cable, and user’s manual. It’s said to run running Android […]

Rikomagic Announces MK902II LE Ubuntu Mini PC Powered by Rockchip RK3288 SoC

Rikomagic announced their MK902II mini PC based on Rockchip RK3288 in May, and which has started shipping recently for about $130. The company have now announced MK902II LE (Linux Edition) based on the same hardware, but instead of running Android 4.4, it’s running Xubuntu 14.04 with some virtualization technique that allows it to run x86 Linux programs such as Skype, and it can even support Wine to run Windows programs. MK902II LE specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 Quad Core Cortex A12/A17 up to 1.8GHz with ARM Mali-T764 GPU supporting OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.0, Open VG1.1, OpenCL, DirectX11 System Memory – 2GB (Dual channel 64 bit DRAM controller) Storage – 16GB Internal eMMC with Xubuntu 14.04 preinstalled + micro SD card slot Video Output- HDMI (1080p), and AV output Audio Output – HDMI, AV output, optical output, or external USB audio card (not included) Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. USB – […]

Easy and Safe Way to Try Linux on Popular Rockchip RK3188 mini PCs

Until recently, installing Linux on Rockchip R3188 based TV boxes or HDMI TV dongles meant you had to flash one or more binaries to your device using various type of tools for Linux or Windows. But thanks to various members of the community, it’s now as easy as flashing an image for the Raspberry Pi, as long as you own Minix Neo X7, PQ Labs iStick A350-SSD, Radxa Rock development board, or Rikomagic MK802IV (AP6210 or 8188EU Wi-Fi module versions) thanks to images provided by Ian Morrison on G+ mini PC community that can be booted from a (micro) SD card, which the added advantage that it won’t mess with your Android installation. You can do it whether you use a Windows or Linux PC, and it should also be possible on Mac OS X, but I don’t know the commands. Here are the steps to follow for MINIX NEO […]

List of Rockchip RK3288 Android TV Boxes So Far

In the previous years, you’d normally learn about new devices as they get listed on Alibaba or Aliexpress, and that’s how I built my – now very incomplete – list of Rockchip RK3188 based devices. But now companies seem to be anxious to let people know about their new devices even before they hit the market, and albeit I’ve been told full production of Rokchip RK3288 powered Android TV boxes is only planned by the end of July, many companies are already showing off their new devices, even though only the PCBA may be ready, or in development. Let’s go through the list of Rockchip RK3288 quad core Cortex A17 media devices that’s known (to me) so far: No brand D368 – HDMI 1.4 TV dongle with 1 or 2 GB RAM, 4, 8 or 16 GB flash, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac + (optional) Bluetooth, and 2x USB host ports. No […]

Rikomagic MK902 II Android TV Box with Rockchip RK3288 Coming Soon

Rikomagic MK902 is an Android mini PC powered by Rockchip RK3188 quad core processor, and there’s even a Linux version. The company has announced it has been working on an upgrade of the device named MK902 II, and powered by Rockchip RK3288. It will initially sell with Android, but I would not be surprised with a PicUntu version is also sold later, and even an MK 902 II Chromebox could hit the market, since Rockchip released Chromium OS overlay files for RK3288. They’ve also provide MK902 II specifications: SoC – Rockchip 3288 quad core ARM Cortex A17 up to 1.8 GHz with Mali-T764 GPU System Memory – 2G DDR3 Storage – 8 or 16 GB flash + micro SD slot (up to 32GB) Video Output – HDMI, AV Audio Output / Input – HDMI, stereo audio (via AV port), optical S/PDIF, microphone Video Codecs – MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.263, H.264, […]

How-to Install and “Hack” Linux on T428 or MK802 IV mini PCs

PicUntu 4.5 installer is probably the easiest method to install Ubuntu on a Rockchip RK3188 based mini PC, but if you want a little more flexibility I’ll provide another method to install Linux on T428, MK802 IV or compatible devices, as well as links to go further: dual boot Android / Linux, create your own official distro, status of Mali-400 GPU support in RK3188… The method below is not new, as it was posted by Linuxium (Ian Morrison) in Freaktab in September, but this is the first time I’ve taken the time and managed to run Linux on Rockchip RK3188, and I’ll provide some more detailed steps. Prerequisites Even though in some cases it’s possible to install Rockchip firmware from Linux, AFAIK the tools available in Linux lack supports for the parameter and loader files, so ironically, you’ll need a Windows XP/7/8 machine to install Linux in your mini PC. […]

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