How To Root CX-01 Android mini PC

CX-01 is a cool low cost Android mini PC (as low as $40), but unlike many other Chinese Android device it is not rooted. Here are the instructions to root it: Download Unlock Root http://www.unlockroot.com/. NB: The download link does not appear to work right now, but the filename is unlockroot23.exe, so here are some alternative untested download links. Find Unlockroot\driver\android_winusb.inf in the directory where you install Unlockroot Open the file in a text editor, and add the following lines: For Win 7 (64-bit): [Google.NTamd64] 64-bit] ;TCC8920 %SingleAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\Vid_18D1&Pid_DEED&MI_01 %CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\Vid_18D1&Pid_DEED&Rev_0231&MI_01 For WinXP (32-bit): [Google.NTx86] ;TCC8920 %SingleAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\Vid_18D1&Pid_DEED&MI_01 %CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\Vid_18D1&Pid_DEED&Rev_0231&MI_01 Connect CX-01 to your PC via USB, it should then detect your new device. If it doesn’t simply press “fn” key on CX-01 TV Stick. Select the driver that you edited in Unlockroot\driver\android_winusb.inf Once the driver is installed, run unlockroot Press ROOT, then […]

Building the Linux Kernel 3.0.8 For Telechips TCC8925 mini PCs (CX-01, Z900, TizzBird N1…)

Yesterday, we got Linux kernel 3.0.8 source code from Telechips, as well as some files related to Android 4.0 (Webkit + OMX). Today, I’ve had a look at the kernel source code and found a few very interesting things. First let’s get the code from github:

Good news! The code for the latest Telechips TCC892X is present in arch/arm/mach-tcc892x, and there is support for 3 types of boards: board-m805_892x – TCC8923 M805 board board-tcc8920 – TCC8920 evaluation board board-tcc8920st – TCC8920 STB evaluation board TCC8920 STB evaluation board appears to be relevant to products such as Diyomate A6, but if it’s also used for TCC8925 HDMI Dongle such as CX-01 mini PC, Zero Devices Z900 or ValuePlus TizzBird N1. Now let’s have a look at the default config directory for arm (arch/arm/configs):

Nice! tcc8925st_dongle_defconfig and tcc8925st_donglehs_defconfig look particularly interesting! A quick comparison shows that the only difference is […]

Telechips Releases Linux Kernel 3.0.8 and Android ICS Source Code

Telechips has just uploaded the GPL source code for kernel 3.0.8 and Android 4.0 to the open source section of their website. If downloading from telechips website is too slow, you can also try alternate downloads (Thanks Gabe!): Kernel-3.0.8.tar.gz Ics.tar.gz I’ve also created 2 repositories in github: telechips-linux – Linux kernel source code telechips-android – Android platform open source code (webkit + OpenMAX source code) It haven’t looked into the source code in details yet, but hopefully, this will allow developers to customize the firmware running on Telechips TCC8925 based mini PCs such as CX-01 mini Android TV Box or Zero Devices Z900. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011. www.cnx-software.com

Telechips 8803 based Android Tablet

Mobile Tech, a Hong Kong based company, showcased two Android tablets (8″ and 10″) based on the new Telechips 8803 processor (ARM Cortex A8) running at 1.2GHz that supposedly offers better performance than the first Galaxy Tab. Both devices use an Innolux capacitive touchscreen, the 8″ version has a resolution of 800×600 and the 10″ 1024×768, both have 512MB RAM and 4GB Flash memory, HDMI output, 802.11n Wifi and optionally 3G and a 1.3MP front camera. They plan to support Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with this version of the hardware for the time being. Honeycomb will need more RAM (at least 1GB) and more time for the porting with Telechips TCC8803. They only expect Android 3.0 to be ready by the end of the year on that platform. The 8″ version is already in mass production, their price target is 300 Euros retail. The 10″ version should be ready in May […]

3D Capable Android Tablet: iStation Zood (Z3D)

iStation, a south korean company, announced the iStation Zood (codenamed Z3D) one the first (if not the first) stereoscopic 3D capable Android Tablet. You’ll need 3D content and wear polarised 3D glasses to take advantage of it. It features a 7″ multi-touch capacitive touchscreen and is powered by a Telechips ARM11 core processor (TCC8900?) running Android 2.1. The performance does not seem that great, but it’s still usable and being based on Telechips the price should be relatively low. Here are the Zood specifications on iStation website: Real 3D panel 7″ TFT-LCD (WVGA, 800×480) Capacitive touchscreen 16/32 Nand flash Acceleration sensor Wifi 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR FM Radio USB 2.0 Host and Slave SDHC card reader HDMI output Android 2.1 In the video below (but not in the specs?), they say this tablet also supports digital terrestrial television (DTT), now only supporting T-DMB, the standard used in south […]

Resources for Telechips TCC890x: TCC8900 & TCC8902

Telechips TCC 890x is now widely used in low cost Android Tablets among other applications (automotive, portable media player..). Here’s the description provided by Telechips: The TCC890x is a system LSI for digital multimedia applications based on ARM1176JZF-S, an ARM’s proprietary RISC CPU core. It is designed for high-end multimedia entertainment devices such as car AVN, portable multimedia player and home entertainment. The TCC890x supports decoding and encoding various types of video and audio standards with software and dedicated hardware codecs including JPEG / MPEG1 / MPEG2 / MPEG4 / H.264 / VC-1 up to Full HD (1080p) and MP3 / WMA / EAAC+ / AC3, etc. In addition, TCC890x offers a hardwired 3D graphic accelerator to enrich next generation GUI and other graphical applications. Although, Telechips claims to support WinCE, Embedded Linux and Android, they now fully focus on Android development giving other OSes a lower priority. However, the development board […]

Android Tablet Review: Augen Gentouch 2

Soldierknowsbest reviewed the Augen Gentouch 2 (same as Augen Gentouch 78 ??), one of the first Android tablet available (Cost around 150 USD). Basically, his advice is to avoid it, the device is terrible: poor touch screen (resistive), no multitouch, navigation requires to use external buttons, Android Market not working, some dodgy battery usage… On the hardware side, Augen Gentouch uses Telechips 8902 @ 600 Mhz, 256MB DDR2, 2GB Internal Storage, Wifi etc… Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011. www.cnx-software.com

ARM-based Android Set-Top-Box

Last month, I posted a blog entry about demo featuring Sigma Designs Android STB that was shown at CeBit last January. AFAIK this is still being developed and there is still no Android STB products based on Sigma Designs Chips that can be purchased. Earlier this month, another company Webia Technologies demo’ed an Android STB (HDMI 1080p – ARM 11) whose factory price would be 50 USD, which is well below the price of a similar Sigma Designs STB based on SMP8640 or SMP8650 series. They also showed a smaller box that can support 720p and selling for 25 USD (Factory price, not retail price). You can see the demo below showing both set-top-boxes. Interestingly enough, I was unable to find Webia Technologies website or other previous news about this company. All I found is Webia Technologies is supposedly registered in Hong Kong. Update: After searching which ARM-based solution may […]

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